The race for Africa’s largest startup prize intensified this week as five ventures emerged from a high-stakes qualifier of The Big Pitch 2025, the country’s most ambitious entrepreneurial competition, presented by Startup Club ZA and The SA Future Trust.
Held before a packed audience in Cape Town, the second national qualifier brought together ten of South Africa’s boldest founders, each vying for a place in the November finale at the SA Future Trust Summit in Sandton, where a $1 million investment awaits the winning startup.
After an evening of tightly contested pitches, the judging panel named Lelapa AI, MariHealth Solutions®, Jobox, Jem and Kasi Money as the companies progressing to the grand stage.
The Winners
Lelapa AI, led by founder and CEO Pelonomi Moiloa, is positioning itself as Africa’s answer to the global AI race. The socially grounded lab develops resource-efficient, culturally rooted artificial intelligence solutions, bridging the gap between global technological advances and African realities.
MariHealth Solutions®, a Cape Town–based marine biotech venture founded by Dr Sarah Carroll, is pioneering the use of proteomics and data analytics to tackle aquaculture’s “black box” challenges. By decoding fish health at a molecular level, the company aims to transform food security and sustainability in global aquaculture markets.
Jobox, under the leadership of Sbusiso Buna, is rethinking graduate employability. The company has built a digital ecosystem connecting universities, students, and employers offering employers access to diverse young talent, while providing students with opportunities, upskilling, and career pathways backed by real-time data insights.
Jem, founded by Simon Ellis, has created an employee benefits and HR platform tailored to Africa’s deskless workforce. Its WhatsApp-based service integrates payroll with financial education, debt management, and savings, while digitising HR functions for businesses. Already reaching over 150,000 workers, Jem is positioning itself as a financial wellness champion for the informal and semi-formal economy.
Kasi Money, founded by Thami Hoza, is disrupting township finance by building banking solutions that address the needs of underserved communities. With South Africa’s financial inclusion gap widening, Kasi Money is targeting the grassroots economy with tailored, accessible banking products.
A Surge of Entrepreneurial Energy
The qualifier, hosted in partnership with the South African Future Trust, showcased the breadth of innovation shaping South Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. From medtech and biotech to fintech and artificial intelligence, the ventures reflected both the dynamism and the challenges of operating in Africa’s most competitive markets.
This was more than a pitch competition. It was a snapshot of Africa’s entrepreneurial future, bold, adaptive and global in ambition.
Looking Ahead
The five finalists now join winners from the April qualifier in the line-up for the finale at the Sandton Convention Centre in November, where 20 of the country’s most promising startups will compete for what is being described as the largest single investment prize in South African history.
For founders like Dr Sarah Carroll of MariHealth Solutions®, the recognition is as critical as the capital. “Needless to say, the competition was proper stiff,” she said. “I never imagined we’d be selected, but I am ever so grateful to know that people understand and believe in what we are doing for fish health and aquaculture.”
As South Africa positions itself as a continental hub for venture capital, The Big Pitch is fast becoming a bellwether for the resilience and creativity of African founders.
For the entrepreneurs advancing to Sandton, November represents not just a shot at $1 million, but a moment to define the future of African innovation.
