Kenyan startup, Hustle Sasa, is among 10 finalists picked from seven African countries to pitch their products during a Demo Day at the NBA headquarters in New York City, USA.

The 10 selected by NBA Africa will pitch to a panel of global industry leaders on Wednesday September 25, 2024 as part of the “Triple-Double: NBA Africa Startup Accelerator.”

The program was launched by the NBA league in April 2024 in a bid to boost the technology ecosystem in Africa and the next generation of entrepreneurs across the entire continent.

The four winning startup companies will receive financial support and mentorship including attendance of workshops and development initiatives courtesy of NBA Africa or its partners.

Here are the 10 startups that will compete for the four top spots:

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1. HustleSasa (Kenya): provides live event services that support payment processing, attendee check-in, merchandise sales, customer data management and influencer tracking.

2. Backrest (Rwanda) provides a wearable technology solution called WristWrist for venues and event organizers to facilitate cashless payments at event venues. WristWrist provides a payment system whereby attendees can load money onto wristbands before an event and spend it at the event venue through seamless, quick transactions.

3. Buzza (Nigeria) helps sports organizations improve their operations through digital solutions, including enabling organizations to transition from paper-based to digital management, setting up websites, collecting payment, and growing revenue. Athletes can also sign up for the platform to track their matches and scores and build their profiles to become more prominent sports figures and influencers across Africa.

4. Festival Coins (Nigeria) is an event technology company that offers a customizable, no-code event registration and ticketing platform called Tix Africa for events in Nigeria and Ghana. It enables event organizers to sell tickets online, process payments, and handle on-site registrations.

5. Gara (Côte d’Ivoire) is a pan-African video gaming and comics platform that encourages and facilitates the distribution of digital entertainment experiences on the continent. Through culturally relevant products, including games featuring local celebrities and adaptable payment systems for local currencies, Gara aims to facilitate greater reach and monetization of the creative and cultural industries on the continent.

6. Naemo Global (Nigeria): Seeks to revolutionize sports scouting in Africa through its proprietary scouting software, Afriskaut, which uses data analytics and AI. Afriskaut processes football match videos and extracts critical data, making it available to clients through a platform and application programming interface (API) to support scouting the next generation of elite talent.

7. Power to Girls Foundation (Ghana): Provides social connection and mentorship platform, My Power App, dedicated to empowering and supporting girls and women of ages 13-20 by providing educational resources, connecting users with mentors, offering a confidential helpline, and fostering a supportive community of like-minded girls to address critical growth areas such as education, mental health, and personal development.

8. Salubata (Nigeria): Creates modular shoes repurposed from plastic waste, has a global patent and two design rights for its innovation as it seeks to reduce the global carbon footprint through its environmentally friendly products.

9. UBR VR (Egypt): Delivers state-of-the-art, fully immersive, in-person virtual reality (VR) experiences across Egypt.

10. Vambo Technologies (South Africa): Provides a digital language technology platform that leverages AI to provide real-time translation, content creation, and language learning technology.

NBA Africa CEO Clare Akamanzi expressed the US league’s pledge to continue supporting innovation and growth of African startups as it also seeks to promote basketball elevation.

“We have been inspired by the level of talent and creativity from all of the applicants, and we congratulate the 10 deserving finalists who will showcase their innovative solutions at Demo Day later this month,” stated Akamanzi.

“Triple-Double: NBA Africa Startup Accelerator” is run by ALX Ventures and was open to early-stage startups in Africa that develop solutions in event management and ticketing, youth development, AI, and digital marketing.

The initiative aims to nurture the next generation of African techpreneurs by connecting them to mentorship and capital to drive their growth in the sports and creative industries.

The names of the four prize-winning startups are expected be announced at the Demo Day.