The AiDiA Pitch, the first startup competition for Black founders, took place for the third time in Hamburg. The idea pitch for projects in their development phase was won by Stay & Pay, an app for paying restaurant bills. The main prize went to ADDOBEA with a ready-made sauce for the African speciality jollof rice.
Since its premiere in 2022, AiDiA has secured itself a permanent place in the Hamburg startup ecosystem. The combination of a competition for startups at the very beginning of their development and a small cultural festival, which, among other things, is characterised by several musical performances is unique. Around 60 teams applied for the pitch in two categories and eight competed in the final in front of a jury and an enthusiastic audience.
The three startups from the idea pitch
Blue Housing International is developing a solution for the housing shortage and at the same time against waste pollution. It uses recycled plastic as a building material. Long-term plans include a cooperation with DIY superstores. The Funding Crew, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to connect startups with investors and funding programmes, is already up and running. It was awarded second place and 1,000 euros at the idea pitch. Prize money of 2,000 euros and therefore first place went to Stay & Pay. This startup wants to enable payments in restaurants via app and thus avoid unnecessary waiting times.
Wide range of topics at the founder pitch
Five young companies that have already made their mark in their markets competed in the founder pitch. Konzoom, a food delivery service, is active in the metropolitan region of the Ghanaian capital Accra. The promise is to be able to deliver within an hour and at up to 20 % lower prices. Serverless Salad is an IT startup that offers cloud-based software modules that also utilise AI. Digital children's books in which the main characters can have any skin colour are ZULA's business model. The jury put this startup in third place and rewarded it with 5,000 euros.
Adon Health came second, with a prize of 15,000 euros, with an offer aimed primarily at men over 45. Almost 40% of them are affected by testosterone deficiency but are often unaware of it or are reluctant to visit a doctor. They can receive a laboratory test by post and also the necessary medication if they decide to undergo treatment. Adon Health has already completed a financing round totalling 700,000 euros.
The victory went to a classic of African cuisine
Addobea Schmidt was delighted to receive 30,000 euros and first place in the founder pitch. Her startup ADDOBEA is currently still a one-woman company and wants to bring African food to German supermarkets. The first product is a ready-made sauce for Joloff rice, an extremely popular dish in many parts of West Africa. The sauce is already available at several points of sale in Berlin, as well as nationwide in the online shop. Further African specialities are to be added soon.
