Ingenico Group (Euronext: FR0000125346-ING), global leader in seamless payment, announced its sponsorship of Seedstars World, a global competition designed to recognize and support innovative startups in emerging markets.
Following the opening of its regional headquarters in Casablanca in May, this sponsorship demonstrates Ingenico Group's continuing commitment to deepen its presence in Africa.
Seedstars World was launched in 2013 by Seedstars Fund, a venture capital firm based in Switzerland. Carefully-vetted startups from 30 countries are selected to compete in regional events, and this year's winners will gather on February 4-6, 2015 in Geneva to compete for the title of "Seedstars World Best Startup."
Ingenico Group sponsored Seedstars World competitions in Casablanca (Morocco), Accra (Ghana), Lagos (Nigeria) and Nairobi (Kenya) between May and July. Winners of the Ingenico-sponsored events included creators of an e-learning platform in Morocco, a bitcoins-based payment system in Ghana, a process for converting waste into energy in Nigeria, and a way for Kenyans lacking a physical address to create and share a secure address via mobile phones.
Our engagement in the Seedstars World project demonstrates our commitment to local development in Africa," said Jacques Behr, Ingenico EMEA EVP. "It provides a great opportunity to get closer to local companies and markets fully in line with our "multi-local" strategy. For us, it's important to combine global expertize with a thorough understanding of the forces driving innovation at the local level."