Korea-Africa Foundation successfully concludes startup competition

By Kim Hyun-bin

The Korea-Africa Foundation successfully concluded the 2024 Korea-Africa Startup Competition with the final evaluations held on Dec. 20. The program, which began in August, aims to foster startup growth and enhance business understanding of the African market.

The annual competition targets preliminary and early-stage startups, offering them a comprehensive grasp of the African business environment and opportunities to participate in local startup conferences. These conferences provide networking opportunities with accelerators, venture investors and support for business development tailored to the African market.

This year's competition saw 10 teams, spanning sectors such as health care, education and the circular economy, advance through rigorous document and presentation evaluations. Before their visit to Africa, these teams received personalized consultations and engaged in premeetings with local experts to refine their business ideas. In November, the teams attended the Grand Summit 2024 and African Startup Conference 2024 in South Africa and Algeria. These events included expert mentoring, local market research, partner meetings and IR pitching events, which helped the teams network with business stakeholders and seek tangible results.

To broaden the understanding of the African market, the foundation selected 20 companies through a review to participate in the Africa Entrepreneurship Academy. From these, 10 teams were chosen through presentation evaluations to move forward.

The final 10 teams included: Lab SD (health care), Bomgen (health care), Brown Skin (circular economy/consumer goods), Flip Jungle Lab (education/employment), Equip (education/employment), Innocep (water), aeacbio (circular economy/food), Oslo (circular economy/construction), NAWA (circular economy/recycling) and Celldi (circular economy/energy).

In the final evaluations, four startups with exceptional global capabilities were selected from these 10 teams. The foundation awarded a total of 21 million won ($14,390) in commercialization support funds, with the first place team receiving 10 million won, the second place team 5 million won and two third place teams each receiving 3 million won.

Innocep, which developed a simple water purification system using pore control and nanomaterial technology, won first place.

"The 2024 Korea-Africa Startup Competition provided a valuable opportunity to dispel preconceived notions about Africa. Through consulting and group education with African market experts, and market research in two African countries, we identified the potential and needs of the African market, allowing us to redefine our future entry strategies," Jang Kyung-hoon, CEO of Innocep, said.

For the past six years, the Korea-Africa Foundation has supported preliminary and early-stage entrepreneurs through the Korea-Africa Startup Competition, aiming to align startup ideas with the African market. Additionally, the foundation operates the Unicorn Acceleration Program for midsized startups, aiding their participation in exhibitions and promoting their entry into African and global markets.