Cape Town based location tech startup MyDoorHandle is to travel to the US in mid-July after being selected to participate in Google’s Blackbox Connect Summer ’13 immersion programme.

MyDoorHandle offers a service that allows anyone with a web-enabled device to associate their latitude and longitude coordinates with a unique name or in this case a ‘handle'.

This handle in turn can be shared with others as a simple web link, enabling individuals and businesses to find each others' locations without necessarily having to rely on traditional address systems.

And the Google Blackbox Connect Summer ‘13 programme, which is supported by Google for Entrepreneurs, is regarded as being prestigious, as only eight startups from around the world are invited to participate in Silicon Valley in the US.

The two week course is planned to let the South African’s interact with their fellow entrepreneurs as well as attend course and lectures presented by leading figures in the technology and venture capital ecosystems.

They will also be given an opportunity to demo their products to Silicon Valley investors at the end of the course.

“Our service, we believe, is particularly pertinent in Africa and other emerging markets, where address systems are often inaccurate or incomplete, making navigation or logistics extremely difficult. It is, in essence, a web address book system,” explains co-founder Steven Ellis.

Ellis along with his co-founder Dylan Kohlstadt conceived and fashioned MyDoorHandle while working through a three month incubation period at business accelerator 88mph.

“Innovation is often born from necessity in Africa. 88mph start-ups like MyDoorHandle are using mobile to solve Africa's great problems," says Kresten Buch, founder and managing director of 88mph.

The MyDoorHandle solution is one that, while created to alleviate a traditionally location problems in Africa, is equally applicable to use in emerging markets worldwide and even has possible applications in established markets.

The opportunity to gain an understanding of a global market that an event like Blackbox Connect presents to these South African innovators is not lost on them.

“We are very excited about being able to see first-hand how the Silicon Valley juggernaut operates. But, more importantly, we will get to network with like-minded entrepreneurs from all over the world, and get invaluable mentoring and advice from experienced VCs and executives. It really is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” concludes Ellis.