Johannesburg, South Africa – Startup Club ZA, in collaboration with the Oppenheimer SA Future Trust, has announced The Big Pitch 2025, a competition designed to award $1 million (approximately R18 million) to promising South African start-ups.
Applications are now open to tech companies from around the world who meet the specified criteria. The competition aims to identify and support innovative businesses capable of solving significant problems using technology.
Over the next six months, twenty of South Africa’s most promising start-ups will compete for the grand prize, as well as media exposure and partnerships with top-tier organizations. The competition will unfold in a series of stages, including two regional qualifiers in Johannesburg and Cape Town, with the finals taking place at the South African Future Trust Summit in Sandton in October.
“Core to our mission is spotlighting the exceptional start-ups, founders and solutions that are emerging across South Africa,” said Mathew Marsden, founder of Startup Club ZA. “The Big Pitch 2025 offers more than just investment; it’s a platform to highlight our country’s most promising tech entrepreneurs and to unlock the vast potential within our innovation ecosystem.”
To qualify, start-ups must demonstrate disruptive innovation, commercial scalability, and the ability to use technology to solve significant problems.
Start-ups that have already secured some funding are welcome to apply, provided they are considered “pre-Series A”—meaning they have not yet raised a Series A round. According to Marsden, they are looking for innovation-led, high-growth, technology-enabled companies.
“We are sector- and technology-stack agnostic, but applicants must meet our definition of a start-up – a disruptive early-stage business that is using innovative technology to solve a significant problem for a large market, while creating or capturing commercial value. The mandate here is to meet incredible entrepreneurs, building solutionist businesses through innovative technologies,” Marsden explained.
According to Marsden, the lack of risk capital is a crucial challenge for South African start-ups, particularly those in the early stages. For many, the challenge is having built the technology and established the foundation, but need capital to scale and properly launch.
Applications for the first qualifier in Johannesburg are due by April 8th. Interested applicants and spectators who want to buy tickets can find more information on the Startup Club ZA website.
