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Seedstars Lagos winning startup readies for US$1-m contest

Seedstars Lagos winning startup readies for US$1-m contest

Founders of Kangpe, the winning startup at last week's Nigeria leg of the global seed-stage startup competition, Seedstars, are confident that the health platform stands a good chance of securing the overall prize.

Dr Femi Kuti, co-founder of Kangpe, says coming first in Lagos was a great experience although it was only the second time that they presented a pitch of the health platform which facilitates confidential interaction between patients and approved doctors through mobile app, SMS and the Web.

"The lessons we learned from the competition came from the opportunity we had to put together a story for us as a company and present it in a straightforward way. We met other startups and mentors and although the pitch itself is nerve wrecking, it was exciting and winning is always good. We are now part of the seedstars family of startups that have won regional editions of the competition and we can interface with many others in the network. We also got the prize of an all expenses paid trip to Switzerland for the Seedstars Global Summit where we will have the opportunity to pitch for USD 1 million in investment."

Dr Kuti says his team of seven at Kangpe are already helping him to prepare for the global contest in March next year.

"An African startup has won it before. It is going to be extremely competitive because we are talking about sixty five of the best startups from around the world, so obviously we are doing our best to put ourselves in a good position. The good thing about the competition is that it is not simply about putting together a good pitch but it is also about having a good business and working hard. We think about how we would spend the big prize every single day. When we launched Kangpe from the very first day we launched in Lagos, we had a pan-african mindset. We will be looking at opening regional offices in key areas around the continent for our expansion and invest in marketing, adding to our staff and improving the product."

Dr Kuti adds that while the global prize would be a wonderful achievement, the exposure Kangpe has received since their win in Lagos has been astounding. "We have heard from potential partners, possible investors. Even if we don't win at the global summit I think the partnership and the network that we are beginning to grow is just phenomenal. That in itself is a big prize."

25% of Kangpe users come from Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda, although the bulk of them still access the health platform from Nigeria.

The Seedstars local competition will travel to eleven other African cities until November, with Accra scheduled for later this week and Abidjan during the final week of August.

Stephen King, Partner at Omidyar Network, who helped to organise Seedstars Lagos, says the competition offers invaluable opportunities for African startups. "We are delighted to be a sponsor of Seedstars. We see it as a very important part of encouraging early stage entrepreneurs and providing them with mentorship, access to investment, support and learning."

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