11 Start-Up’s Receive Recognition At NUST

The Namibia Business Innovation Institute (NBII) in partnership with the National Commission on Research, Science and Technology (NCRST) and First National Bank Namibia (FNB) hosted the first-ever Southern Africa Start-up Awards (SASA). SASA is an official Southern Africa circuit for the Global Start-up Awards, which have been running annually since 2012.

A total of 525 nominations were received, of which 46 were eligible to compete in 11 categories. The categories are Start-up of the Year, Best Newcomer, Founder of the Year, Best Student Start-up, Best Accelerator/Incubator Programme, Female Role Model in Tech, Best EduTech Start-up, Best Social Impact Start-up, People’s Choice, Best Start-up Ecosystem Initiative, and Best Water Crisis Management Solution.

2022 Intakes in Namibia [Universities, Colleges, VTC Intake]

FROM LEFT: Mckevin Ayaba Dormithienne, CEO and Founder: SASA; Vincent Nowaseb, General Manager, Innovation and Technology Development: NCRST; Enid Keramen, Acting CEO: NCRST; Pedrito Agostinho Da Fonseca, Winner of two categories, namely Start-up of the Year and Best Ecosystem Initiative; and Morné du Toit, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration and Finance: NUST.SASA places the spotlight on model entrepreneurship and aims to inspire a dynamic community of start-up enthusiasts; encourage serial entrepreneurship and involve policy makers as well as diverse mentors and promoters of tech-innovation. The NBII Manager of Innovation marketplace, Silas Newaka, said: “The event was hosted not only to recognise talent and give awards, but also to build an ecosystem of start-ups in Namibia. NBII recognises the need to prepare Namibia’s start-ups to compete with industrialised countries in the region and globally. A successful SASA programme requires partnerships, collaborations and sponsorships from all sectors of Namibian society.” The Start-up of the Year Award was won by Black Gold Engineering for being a tech start-up that has shown the greatest development over the last year based on growth, innovation and impact with its services. The Best Water Crisis Management Solution went to Solve Namibia, a venture that has shown the greatest development over the last year based on growth, innovation and impact with a product/service that uses technology to contribute to the sustainable improvement of the environment.

The awards are divided into three stages: National, Regional and Global Awards. The regional awards are slated for 21-22 November 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa, where all the Namibian award winners will represent the country.