ASTANA — WebTotem, a software as a service (SaaS) based in the capital, won the Kazakh round of Seedstars World. The company will represent the nation at the Seedstars Summit in Switzerland to compete for up to $1 million in equity investment and other prizes.
Local winner WebTotem at Seedstars Astana. Photo credit: Facebook page @seedstars
The world’s biggest startup competition in emerging markets, Seedstars World conducts more than 65 local contests to identify the best seed-stage startups, provide pitch training and award the winners with an opportunity to vie for the global title.
The Central Asian competition took place July 5 at Astana Hub, the first international IT startup hub in the region. Seedstars Astana brought together 10 selected startups with their innovative solutions to present their companies before the local jury panel.
“For the past three years, we have seen ecosystem growth in Kazakhstan in terms of quality of startups and increasing support of the local ecosystem enablers, such as Astana Hub, Zerde, MOST and many more. It was great to see promising entrepreneurs and hear their pitches on July 5. We believe that having such a commitment and dedication will help them succeed in building their ventures,” said Seedstars Regional Manager for Europe and Central Asia Agahuseyn Ahmadov, reported the Seedstars press service.
Seedstars Astana also included a panel discussion on the key factors that can boost technology and entrepreneurship in Central Asia. Astana Hub, for instance, is ready to accept and support entrepreneurs who can positively impact regional development, it added.
Speakus, from Gorey, Ireland, was awarded second place for its innovative solution for conducting multilingual events and conferences through a cloud-based interpretation delivery platform.
Smart Zapravka (fueling) app from the Kazakh capital captured the third spot by targeting drivers and providing them with a new way to find cheaper fuel and the best service at gas stations through online payment and pre-ordering.
The remaining startups included AIR (advance in robotics), a mobile app for programming robots, and assistent.kz, an electronic service targeted at small and medium-sized enterprises that substitutes for an accountant by generating reports and calculating taxes.
KazMotor provides a marketplace to sell spare car parts. LinguaHub is a marketplace for online and self-education courses as well as customer relationship management for schools.
The Zumcare mobile app connects patients and doctors and provides transparency through available reviews and rankings. Podpishi Online (sign online) provides the ability to sign agreements quickly and remotely. Egistic is an information and analytical platform for crop field monitoring and precision farming through online services.
The event was organised by Seedstars World local ambassador and MOST Business Incubator Director Alim Khamitov with local partners Astana Hub and Zerde, the national infocommunication company.
Seedstars World’s mission is to impact people’s lives in emerging markets through technology and entrepreneurship, particularly addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Its next stop is Ulaanbaatar to select the best startup in Mongolia.
