Once again, xneelo is proud to be affiliated with South Africa’s Top 5 Most Exciting Startups Awards, organised by fellow small business enablement champion, Heavy Chef.
Now in its sixth year, the annual celebratory event shines a light on the good work that South Africa’s entrepreneurs are doing to drive our country’s economy forward.
We extend our heartiest congratulations to the nominated companies.
The awards call on judges from some of the country’s top companies – including xneelo’s very own Mark Peddle, as well as previous winners of the award. Startups are judged on their innovation, scalability and IP. To qualify, businesses must have been operating for less than seven years, be registered as businesses in South Africa, and have at least one South African founder.
Many of the recipients go on to become great success stories, including previous winners Yoco, Jumo and SweepSouth.
This year, the level of competition was high, with entrants covering industries from Fintech and insurance to wellness and education – with more than a few industry disruptors in the mix.
Xneelo Brand Strategist and awards judge Mark Peddle believes that South African entrepreneurs are embracing technology to help solve old problems and open up new industries. “Lots of work is being done by these businesses in the Fintech sector, for example, driven by technology and developing new products to reduce the friction for transferring funds across African borders. And in the education sector, the diversity of educational resources indicates how technology is being embraced as a means to spread information. Entrepreneurs are finding opportunities to not only fill a need, but also do it in a financially sustainable way – essential for long term sustainability.”
Other trends emerging in the South African startup space include addressing mental wellness and access to specialist gender-based health care. He was also impressed by completely new and novel ideas and solutions from all the startups.
“There are some truly innovative and unique ideas that are just getting off the ground but the journey is long,” says Mark. “Businesses that only started in 2016-2018 have now only reached wider national exposure. They are testament that an idea, with hard work, can reach lofty levels given the time and support to develop and evolve.”
SA’s Top 5 Most Exciting Startups 2022 will be named at Workshop17 Watershed venue, Cape Town on 1 December 2023. See the 12 nominees here.
