Startup Club ZA, in conjunction with The South African Future Trust, has initiated The Big Pitch 2025, a pioneering US$1 million startup pitch competition in South Africa. Over a six-month period, 20 select startups will present their businesses live, vying for investment, media coverage, and partnerships with leading firms.
The competition will unfold in three stages. Each of two regional qualifiers, set for Johannesburg (April) and Cape Town (August), will feature ten startups. The top five from each qualifier will advance to the grand final at the South African Future Trust Summit, to be held at the Sandton Convention Centre in October.
“Our primary objective is to highlight the remarkable startups, founders, and solutions emerging across South Africa,” stated Mathew Marsden, founder of Startup Club ZA. “The Big Pitch 2025 is more than a pitch event; it’s a platform to promote our country’s most promising tech entrepreneurs and expose the untapped potential within our innovation ecosystem.”
To be eligible, businesses must exhibit disruptive innovation, commercial scalability, and the capacity to address significant problems using technology. While the competition encourages applications from around the world, applicants must adhere to the stipulated criteria. Applications for the initial qualifier in Johannesburg are due by April 8.
