Lori Systems takes home Sh2.5 million

NAIROBI, KENYA: Lori Systems, a Kenyan startup was on Wednesday evening crowned as Sub-Saharan Africa's most promising startup at techcrunch battlefield Africa 2017, held in Nairobi.

The Nairobi based company has built a logistics platform that has revolutionises the cargo-transport value chain in Africa – from the ground up.

Lori Systems won in the productivity and utility category in the vent that saw 15 African startups battle it out and judged by eight judges including Bob Collymore, CEO of Safaricom, TechCrunch editors as well as top VCs and entrepreneurs.

AgroCenta was chosen as the winner of the social good category, while SynCommerce won the top prize in gaming and entertainment.

TechCrunch startup battlefield Africa 2017 which was sponsored by Facebook, searched for Sub-Saharan Africa's best innovators, makers and technical entrepreneurs.

The event – the first ever TechCrunch startup competition in Africa – was streamed live on TechCrunch and Facebook.

 The founders of Lori Systems won US$25,000(Sh2.5 million) in cash plus an all-expense paid trip for two to compete in the Battlefield at TechCrunch's flagship event, Disrupt San Francisco 2018.

Startup battlefield has been bringing world-class founders into the spotlight since 2007, and 700 contestants have gone on to raise $7 billion(Sh700 billion) in funding and accumulate nearly 100 exits.

Some of the battlefield alumni include Mint, Dropbox, Yammer, TripIt, Getaround and Cloudflare.

"We decided to bring the Battlefield to Sub-Saharan Africa because its tech market is on the rise—the region has produced its first unicorn in the shape of Jumia, exits are increasingly frequent, and global venture capitalists are taking note. Our judges were impressed by the high quality of the finalists, their creativity and their focus on solving real problems, often with limited resources,” said Ned Desmond, Chief Operating Officer(COO) at TechCrunch.

"We love to see startup ecosystems develop, and hope that Battlefield Africa will shine a light on the many promising, world-class young tech companies in the region.  We look forward to meet Lori Systems again in San Francisco, where it will join the best and brightest entrepreneurs, investors, hackers, and tech fans in the world for the global Startup Battlefield."