Latitude59, the flagship startup and tech event of the world’s first digital nation, Estonia, is seeking the boldest early-stage startups from Kenya and across Africa to compete for a prize pool of non-equity funding and a chance to pitch in front of 2000 people at Latitude59 Kenya Edition 2024 this November. Most importantly, one African startup will receive an invitation to participate at the semi-finals of Latitude59 2025 in Tallinn, Estonia. For two years in a row, the prize pool for the Latitude59 Pitch Competition in Estonia has been one million euros.
Latitude59’s CEO Liisi Org, stated that Latitude59 is the most international, impactful, and diverse startup and technology conference in the Baltic States and New Nordics and a global platform that connects startups, investors, and other startup ecosystem builders around the world. “Last year’s strong results showed us that African startups are competing at the highest level, and have great potential in globally important areas such as greentech, fintech, and cleantech. So now we are back in Kenya for the second year in a row and invite founders all across Africa to apply and present their startups at the Latitude59 Pitch Competition in Kenya,” said Org.
The Latitude59 Pitch Competition is seeking startups with proven traction and a core team based in Africa. The application deadline for the Latitude59 Kenya Pitch Competition is November 1, 2024. The finals will be held on the main stage of the Latitude59 Kenya Edition conference in Nairobi, Kenya, on November 28.
From among all the applying startups, a selection will be made, and the 10 strongest teams will be selected to receive professional pitch training and mentoring. These teams will compete for a prize pool of non-equity funding and various partners’ prizes. One startup will receive a fast-track invitation to Latitude59 2025 in Tallinn, Estonia, and will participate in the pre-finals among the top 40. Latitude59 will cover the cost of the roundtrip to Estonia for the founding partner, ready to pitch on the stage in Estonia in May 2025, competing for a prize pool.
According to Dolores Daniel, the project manager for Latitude59 Kenya Edition, early-stage B2B startups from Kenya and across Africa are welcome to apply. “Last year’s pitch competition in Kenya was impressive, with nearly 300 startups. The level of candidates was very strong – many had already secured customers, clients, and initial investments. We are excited to be in Kenya once again and look forward to working with this year’s candidates. We do not limit the areas, but the presence of a technological component and a visibly scalable business model are important. Ideally, we are seeking startups with a functioning MVP, clear traction, and teams who are actively fundraising,” explained Daniel.
Latitude59 Kenya Edition 2024 will take place on November 28 in Nairobi, Kenya. This will be the second satellite event organized by Latitude59 in Nairobi. Last year’s event, held in December, attracted nearly 800 participants from Africa and around the world. In 2024, the event organizers are expecting 2000 participants to attend. Tickets for the Latitude59 Kenya Edition 2024 to see the finals of Latitude59 Pitch Competition, which will be held at A.S.K Dome in Nairobi, Kenya on November 28, are available here: https://latitude59.ee/kenya/
Latitude59 is the flagship startup and tech event of the world’s first digital nation, Estonia. The 12th edition, held in Tallinn, Estonia in May, attracted over 3,500 attendees, including more than 900 startup representatives and nearly 600 investors. The event featured 195 speakers, 40% of whom were women. In total, participants came from 65 countries worldwide.
