Introducing the Startup Knight competition, an event created especially for software based tech startups that are preparing to start a viable business.

Byte Orbit, the company behind and host of the event and, pride themselves on being the first software development company in South Africa to offer such a great opportunity in the form of an event to young and innovative tech entrepreneurs.

Amit Ramdath, CEO of Byte Orbit announced, “We would like to extend a challenge to other established technology based companies to identify and incubate innovative entrepreneurs in South Africa”.

Companies such as Microsoft, Nokia, Bandwidth Barn and 8ta have come on board with significant sponsorship for the winning startup.

The Prizes:

Microsoft will be providing software packages for the winning startup to run their business for 3 years as well as $60 000 worth of Azure Services. Bandwidth Barn will be providing office space for the duration of 6 months and Nokia has come on board as a product sponsor. In addition 8ta will be providing a 3G data modem loaded with their 60Gig + 60Gig offering.

The grand prize will be sponsored by Byte Orbit and will consist of software development to the value of R100 000 and ongoing mentorship. Byte Orbit will take a small equity stake in the winning business and subsequently support them on an ongoing basis leveraging 9 years of industry experience to increase their ability to succeed.

The Judges:

The judging panel will consist of:

Byte Orbit: Amit Ramdath | CEO
Nokia: Anthony Stonefield | Head of Ecosystem
Microsoft: Kethan Parbhoo | Equity Equivalent Lead
8ta: Amith Maharaj | Managing Director
Bandwidth Blog/OnNet: Charl Norman | Managing Director
Ching Payments: Martin Ras | Managing Director

How to Enter:

Participants can enter online at www.byteorbit.com from 1 October. Entries close on 25 October.

Fifteen finalists will be announced by 26 October and they will be required to pitch to a judging panel at Byte Orbit Offices in Durbanville, Cape Town on 3 November.

The results of the winner will be announced on the evening of 3 November at a venue in Cape Town. The main requirement is that the entry must be focused on a software product.