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Global seed stage startup competition Seedstars World will visit 20 African countries for the 2016 edition of its world tour, as it seeks startups to compete at the global final in Switzerland with the possibility of walking away with up to $1 million in equity investment.

Seedstars World hosted heats in 13 African countries last year, visiting Mozambique, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Angola, Tanzania, Senegal and Botswana.

South African mobile recruitment platform Giraffe was eventually named the overall winner, taking home US$500,000 in investment. For its fourth tour on the continent, Seedstars World has announced it will travel to an additional seven countries, adding Mali, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia to the list.

Applications are now open for all 20 events to startups that are less than two years old, have received less than US$500,000 in funding and have an available minimum viable product (MVP). The 2016 tour begins in Maputo, Mozambique on May 13.

“After three years of identifying incredible entrepreneurs across the continent we have seen over and over again that African startups are competitive on a global level. This is why we are expanding the number of countries we are targeting this year while also offering a more structured support and acceleration program for all winners at the end of the tour,” said Marcello Schermer, regional manager for Africa at Seedstars World.

“We are incredibly excited about this year’s Seedstars World tour and how it ties into our other initiatives such as Seedspace and the Seedstars Academy in Lagos. Our goal is to impact people’s lives in emerging markets through the use of technology and we will have a very strong focus on expanding our impact around the world and on the African continent in particular,” said Alisee De Tonnac, chief executive officer (CEO) of Seedstars World.

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