On October 11, TechCrunch and Facebook hosted Startup Battlefield Africa in Nairobi, Kenya. The Startup Battlefield pitch-off competition featured startups from all over Africa in three categories: Productivity and Utility, Social Good, and Gaming and Entertainment. Top notch investors and founders served as judges to pick the winners in each category as well as an overall winner.
We also had a great line-up speakers that discussed everything from investing in startups to improving connectivity across the entire continent of Africa.
From speaker sessions to Startup Battlefield pitches, here are all the videos from the event.
1) Africa Unicorn: How Do We Produce the Next African Unicorn?
Panelists: Eghosa Omoigui (EchoVC Partners), Tayo Oviosu (Paga), Sacha Poignonnec (Jumia)
Moderator: Jon Shieber (TechCrunch)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puNFkNjP6r8
2) Startup Battlefield: Productivity and Utility
Judges: Wale Ayeni (International Finance Corporation, Aaron Fu (Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology), Andreata Muforo (TLcom Capital), Lexi Novitske (Singularity Investments), Eghosa Omoigui (EchoVC Partners)
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Join 10k+ tech and VC leaders for growth and connections at Disrupt 2025
Netflix, Box, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, Vinod Khosla — just some of the 250+ heavy hitters leading 200+ sessions designed to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss a chance to learn from the top voices in tech. Grab your ticket before doors open to save up to $444.
Moderator: Matt Burns (TechCrunch)
Pitch #1: WeCashUp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8BQ1dcJjDw
Pitch #2: Form+
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVtEPwGN0Jo
Pitch #3: Delivery Science
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRlYzF4NMyE
Pitch #4: Abacus Invest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaNZa6G-m10
Pitch #5: Sellio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y02j7t_stM0
Pitch #6: Lori Systems
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPsSAu7tU_A
3) Connectivity: Solving Africa’s Connectivity Equation
Panelists: Kamal Bhattacharya (Safaricom), Erik Hersman (BRCK), Bitange Ndemo (University of Nairobi), Uche Ofodile (internet.org)
Moderator: Romain Dillet (TechCrunch)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UH58JiATXgc
4) Startup Battlefield: Gaming and Entertainment
Judges: Kamal Bhattacharya (Safaricom), Monique Idlett-Mosley (Reign Venture Capital), Leo Stiegeler (Ringier Africa AG), Chris Savides (ShowMax)
Moderator: Matt Burns (TechCrunch)
Pitch #1: Big5 Games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDIZjyny95E
Pitch #2: Tango TV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMQR8GiemK0
Pitch #3: Lomay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JB3ZkSr2Ww
Pitch #4: SynCommerce
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcuYP0lmPrg
5) Will Startups Solve Africa’s Biggest Development Problems
Panelists: Dr. Solomon Assefa (IBM Research – Africa), Rebecca Enonchong (AppsTech), Wambui Kinya (Andela), Juliana Rotich (Africa Tech Ventures, BRCK)
Moderator: Megan Rose Dickey (TechCrunch)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iwSL7h2bec
6) Startup Battlefield: Social Good
Judges: Shuonan Chen (Agile Venture Capital), Yariv Cohen (Ignite Power, Kaenaat), Tomi Davies (Lagos Angels Network, African Business Angel Network), Isis Nyong’o Madison (Asphalt & Ink), Alexia Tsotsis (investor and former co-Editor, TechCrunch)
Moderator: Matt Burns (TechCrunch)
Pitch #1: ConnectMed
[tc_unified_video code=”35658bee-be42-3d72-9bc1-63056e09250b”]
Pitch #2: M-Shule
Pitch #3: Dot Learn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA3qySwki8I
Pitch #4: Talent2Africa
Pitch #5: AgroCenta
7) Creative Industries: Digitizing Creative Industries
Panelists: Obi Asika (Dragon Africa), Bill Sellanga (Just a Band), Graeme Cumming (MultiChoice), Monique Idlett-Mosley (Reign Venture Capital), Samuel Mensah (Kisua)
Moderator: Ingrid Lunden (TechCrunch)
8) Keynote and fireside chat with with Ime Archibong (VP Platform Partnerships, Facebook)
Moderator: Ingrid Lunden (TechCrunch)
9) Facebook Session: The Startup Journey to Success
Panelists: Chijioke Dozie (Co-founder and CEO, OneFi), Mark Essien (Founder and CEO, Hotels.ng), Eric Thimba (Co-founder and CEO, MOOKH)
Moderator: Emeka Afigbo (Head of Middle East and Africa, Platform Partnerships)
The Startup Journey to Success (full panel) #TCBattlefield https://t.co/5cit5Y5HTA
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) October 11, 2017
10) Announcing the winners of Startup Battlefield Africa
And the winners of Startup Battlefield Africa 2017 are…https://t.co/Bu3fLdvjHz #TCBattlefield pic.twitter.com/LLFekBZaSZ
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) October 11, 2017
Read more about Startup Battlefield Africa and the winners.
