The Global Startup Award is the world’s largest independent startup ecosystem competition, with its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is funded by the Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG) Africa Fund and supported by The Loudhailer, an internationally recognized innovation firm in Africa. GSA is present in 124 countries and aims to connect different stakeholders to facilitate innovation. GSA featured 7,600 startups and ecosystem players from 54 African countries competing in 12 categories.
Throughout the five-month selection process, a group of 215 independent, industry-expert jury members judged the nominees to determine 60 regional finalists and 12 continental winners. A total of 45 African countries, including some of the continent’s smallest nations like Seychelles, So Tomé and Principé, Comoros, and Swaziland, submitted solutions for the health-tech category, which accounted for 11% of all African category entries. This category included startups that helped pave the way for medical advancements by creating cutting-edge BioTech, HealthTech, wellness, and telemedicine solutions to enhance the quality of life.
AUC Venture Lab started in 2013 and is an accelerator widely recognized in Africa, the Middle Eastern, and North Africa (MENA). It has accelerated 270 startups covering multiple sectors with evidence-based entrepreneurship and created over 12,000 job opportunities. AUC Venture Lab helps innovation-driven startup solutions into viable businesses: a model for other African universities. AUC V-Lab previously won the same award at the North Africa Startup Awards in December, ranking among the top 60 African digital future shapers. Rology and DentaCarts, two AUC Venture Lab startups, have actively pursued health tech and expanded their African reach by attracting investors and providing regional services. Rology is an AI-assisted on-demand teleradiology platform that addresses the global shortage of radiologists. After graduating from AUC V-Lab, both startups have reached new heights with investors from Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Ghana, and more.
