The competition
A filtering funnel
that ends
on a stage.
Everyone starts in the same place. Assessment scores, submissions and engagement decide who moves forward — and the judging rubric is published to participants in advance, deliberately, so you can build against it from day one.
The stages
Cohort places
Selected from applications across Namibia and Botswana. Every participant gets the full programme.
Weeks of assessment
Assessments, submissions and progress tracking on the learning platform, with your position visible on a live ranking.
Finalists
The highest-ranked participants or teams are shortlisted, matched with mentors, and prepare a business idea or technical solution.
Days of finals
A three-day pitch competition and networking event at a university venue in October.
Seed funding
Awards to the top-performing ideas, plus a separate award for the strongest assessment performance across the whole programme.
What the judges score
Six criteria,
published in advance.
The problem
A sharply defined problem, a named customer group, and credible first-hand evidence that it is real.
The solution
Clear, well-scoped, and directly addressing the problem — with a realistic account of how it would be built.
Evidence and validation
Customer conversations, a cheap experiment, or data — with honest reporting of what did not work.
Business model and viability
Credible unit economics, a clear channel, and an honest account of the main risk.
Use of programme skills
Analysis, code or data genuinely informing the proposal — not decorating it.
Communication
Compelling and tightly argued. The reader knows exactly what is proposed and why it matters.
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