Bantu Stall, a pan-African travel-tech start-up has been selected as a top eight global semi-finalist in the United Nations (UN) Tourism Artificial Intelligence (AI) Challenge.
The Cape Town-based company was chosen from a competitive field of 440 start-ups across 84 countries. It emerged as the only African start-up to make the cut.
Aiming to spark innovation in the tourism sector, the contest identifies and supports start-ups and scale-ups that use AI to address key challenges, accelerate sustainable development, and enhance the overall traveller experience, noted the travel-tech company.
Bantu Stall’s platform harnesses AI to create an equitable travel ecosystem, connecting corporate teams and leisure travellers with a vetted network of African venues and local service providers.
As a semi-finalist, the Bantu Stall team will participate in an exclusive two-month acceleration programme at SPARK by Les Roches, hosted at campuses in Switzerland and Spain. The programme will provide mentorship, strategic support, and opportunities to scale operations globally.
Commenting on the milestone, Pertunia Leballo, co-founder of Bantu Stall, noted that the achievement comes at a time when South Africa will be hosting the G20 Summit, highlighting the continent’s role in tourism.
She said: "This selection is a powerful validation of our mission; proving that under-represented founders can not only compete, but also lead in shaping experience for those who travel into Africa."
The grand finale will see the finalists pitch their innovations, and takes place on 8 November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of the 26th Session of the UN Tourism General Assembly.
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