I don't Want to Assume Everyone Here Know #startupsouth and What It's About

Introduction
Startupsouth is Nigeria’s premier Startup Conference focusing on founders mainly in the South-South and South-East of the country.

It’s main objectives is to educate, expose and possibly attract funding to founders in the states that make up these geo-political regions. More on Startupsouth including videos from last year here.

Why #StartupSouth?
Well, because Lagos already have all the exposure and in fact is believed (rightly so) as the main startup hub in Nigeria. Some even think it's the only one and it's to help this second category of people that #StartupSouth was instituted. Another reason is to encourage local HNIs to lead the way in investing in early stage ventures as a tool to reduce youth related vices.

Application, Selection & Training
We had a total of 24 Startups apply to Pitch at #StartupSouth2. 10 of them will receive virtual and physical training by Uchey Ariolu (of Foodstantly.com) & others

At the end of the training ending with a mock pitch, 4 will be selected to pitch at #StartupSouth2. Each of them will get a free pass to the networking Dinner and possibly investments.

The Criteria
With the exception of one, it's important to note they are all early stage startups. Hence criteria used are:

Social Media Presence: The thinking here was to demonstrate founders ability to utilize free resources for promotion.

Market Size: Is there enough potential users or custoners for the solution?

Scalability: How difficult/easy can it get to scale the idea.

Innovation: How innovative is the idea? Can it be replicated easily?

Relevance: How relevant is the solution both now and into the future.

Team: How compact and skilled the team is and their ability to progress solution to a more investible stage.

Traction: What level of progress has the team achieved on the solution so far? Product dev, user signups,  Revenue.

The Breakdown
We received applications from Startups in 5States namely - Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Abia, Delta and Bayelsa. Our eventual goal is to cover 11States.

We received entry from Startups operating in Agro-Alied, Fin-Tech, eCommerce, Edutech, Energy, Fashion and Entertainment.

The Startups
The following Startups have been shortlisted to progress to the next phase.

wattclass (www.wattclass.com) - An online learning platform that enable to tutors and students get value for their time and money respectively, it’s like the Nigerian Coursera

Dresnice (www.dresnice.com) - Online Tailoring Shop that allows you to order and select designs and get it them made and delivered to you.

Studacom (www.Studacom.ng) - Online off-campus student hostel booking and roommate finding platform

Notify - Smart school solution that automates test/exams with integrated schools fees collection and reconciliation feature.

Ioumoney (www.ioumoney.com.ng) - Online directory for loan providers in Nigeria.

Piston Park - Producers of organic Solar Cell for electricity generation by recycling waste lead from lead acid accumulator batteries used in cars

Payconnect (www.payconnect.ng) - Online Lending portal for the un-banked. Allows for quick loan application

Mabiri(https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mabiri.store) - find and buy item from local stores/retailers near you. Helping to bring more street corner shops online for the growing population of Smartphone wielding shoppers.

MusicCloud (www.musiccloud.com.ng.) - Online streaming portal that connects unsigned artistes to their fans. Gives them dedicated pages that allow fans to discover and follow their up and coming stars just like Reverbnation

Garden Groceries (No Website Yet) - An online grocery store that delivers fresh ORGANIC farm produce and products to corporate buyers using an ordering app and delivery support.