Founders Live Volume 3
The third edition of Founders Live Harare was held on 22nd March 2019 and the pitching entrepreneurs came ready to fight. The Founders Live development incorporates remarkable and live-streamed 99-second pitches, which blast open extra pockets of inventiveness and innovative movements around the globe. In bringing Founders Live to Zimbabwe, Impact Hub Harare’s goal is to develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem by creating networks and opportunities for both start-ups and corporations.
First up on the mic was Beezoo represented by Dylan Manguwa. Beezoo is a cloud-based digital library that provides users with the ability to access or submit reading materials for educational, research and personal purposes, in a more affordable manner. Their platform also allows readers to pay using RTGS dollars. Independent authors receive 80% and Bezoo takes 20% of the sales. Distributing houses and associations collect 70% while Bezoo remains with 30%. Dylan confidently delivered his pitch with 2 seconds to spare!
Our second startup of the night was the Affordable Virtual Learning Society (AVLS) an association handling the issues of open access to tertiary training in rural areas, rural advancement, and reducing teenage pregnancies. AVLS is bringing virtual open distance learning to remote areas by making use of pre-recorded lessons as well as Skype lessons. Apart from offering access to courses, AVLS propels and challenges students to take part in business ventures and provide new, inventive initiatives. They help incubate and develop these initiatives with the expectation that they give back and bolster the company as well as themselves. The projects help to keep the whole programme sustainable. AVLS hopes to develop a platform where people can volunteer to teach the students remotely.
Noble Savage is a company tackling one of the world’s current problems, plastic waste. The company is taking waste management to the next level by turning plastic into reusable products which include roofing tiles, bridges and pavers with the distinct advantages of being lighter, stronger, cheaper and resultantly, creating a safe and greener world. Noble Savage looks to raise US$70,000 for a 10% stake. The funds would be utilized to purchase modern equipment in order to increase manufacturing capacity to meet demand.
The final pitch of the night came from Bizani, a company that helps to tell stories with visual content which engages and educates. Bizani helps organisations to produce exciting films, graphic material and publications. Their value proposition is that they offer unlimited graphic designs for only $90 per month (yes, unlimited!). Their model aims to make professional design available to everyone at an affordable price compared to the other industry players.
As the audience prepared to vote, we received a video update from the Vol. 2 winner Marvelous Nyongoro, the founder of The Housing Hub. The Housing Hub is a student housing resource centre & digital marketing business solution. Nyongoro offered words of wisdom and detailed the progress that the Housing Hub has made since pitching including winning $7,000 from CBZ to develop their digital system.
After the pitches, it was now time for the audience to do the heavy lifting and choose a winner. Nathan from Beezoo won the night! All the startups that pitched received $5,000 in-kind from Amazon Web Services and the winner received incubation at Impact Hub Harare. The audience stuck around to talk to different business people as well as the start-ups. The 3rd edition turned out extremely well and if you missed it, catch the next one on the 24th of May 2019.
Many thanks to our sponsors and friends from Area 46 Productions and Utande for making the event memorable.
For details about the next event please follow our social media pages @ImpactHubHarare and visit our website www.impacthubharare.net