SEEDSTARS IS COMING BACK VIRTUALLY TO SAMOA AND IS LOOKING FOR THE BEST START-UPS FOR SEEDSTARS APIA 2020

Around ten of Samoa's best seed-stage start-ups will participate in a bootcamp and compete to represent the country at the regional Seedstars Competition with the chance to access the final stage in Switzerland and win up to USD 500,000 in equity investments and other prizes.

Apia, Samoa, 1 October 2020 - Seedstars World, the largest early-stage start-up competition for emerging markets and fast-growing start-up scenes, is coming back virtually to Apia for the second time. With the support of the Australian Government and the GSMA, Seedstars will be holding a preparatory bootcamp for all the selected start-ups, before the public pitching event that will be broadcasted on the 27th of November.

The companies invited to the training session and to pitch at the Seedstars Apia event must have raised less than USD 1M in funding and built a minimum viable product, ideally with existing traction. The Seedstars team is searching for one additional criterion - the potential for regional and global scalability.

The Pacific Islands continue to forge a path towards digital and financial inclusion, realising and employing the potential of digital technology in reducing inequalities, improving their economies, and addressing climate change. We're really pleased to be able to bring these bootcamps and pitching competitions back to Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Samoa. We're looking forward to seeing the power of innovation on display in the region again!' - Max Cuvellier, Head of Mobile for Development, GSMA

Besides representing Samoa at the Seedstars Regional Competition, Seedstars will also award two full months access to the Investment Readiness Program to the winning start-up invited to pitch locally. It is a non-time bound and data-driven acceleration program focused on boosting tech start-ups looking to get ready for fundraising. Seedstars connects entrepreneurs to global experts and mentors, emerging market specific training materials based on best practices, and access to the Seedstars Global investor network.

The applications are open until October 15th and start-ups are invited to apply at https://bit.ly/SSWApia20. After careful screening, the Seedstars team will shortlist around ten of the best seed-stage start-ups to receive pitching training before competing to access the regional stage of the competition. The winning start-up will get access to two full months of the Investment Readiness Program and get local and regional visibility.

In order to provide local entrepreneurs with this opportunity and to deliver the best possible event, Seedstars is working closely with the Australian Government and the GSMA.

ABOUT SEEDSTARS
'They tried to bury us, they didn't know we were seeds.' - Mexican proverb

Seedstars is a Swiss-based private group of companies with a mission to impact people's lives in emerging markets through technology and entrepreneurship. The groups' activities cover over 80 emerging ecosystems through a variety of events such as the Seedstars World Competition, acceleration programs, physical hubs called Seedspace, venture capital investments and company building activities.

ABOUT SEEDSTARS WORLD COMPETITION
Seedstars World is the world's largest startup competition in emerging markets. For the past six years, Seedstars Teams travel around for a 9-month world tour and scout for the best early-stage startups in 65+ countries, organizing 100+ events. One winner is selected to represent each country visited, and is invited to attend the Regional Stage of the competition. Local winners are also awarded the chance to represent their countries at the Seedstars Summit, the competition's final happening in Switzerland, where startups compete for up to $500,000 in investment. The Seedstars Summit is the flagship event of Seedstars, filled with breakout sessions, panel discussions, specialized workshops and the best minds from emerging markets.

Press Contact:
High-resolution photos, logos, as well as press information and interview options are available on demand.

Media Relations, Seedstars
Michaela Villaroman
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- Australian High Commission, Samoa Seedstars

October 2, 2020