#PIWPitch Judging

Each submission will be judged based on the elements below.

Structure of Venture Summary: clarity and quality of writing; structure and sequence of ideas; the document reads well.
Innovation & Value Proposition: original/innovative idea; solving a problem for customers; must-have vs. nice-to-have; feasible, marketable, profitable.
Market Opportunity & Strategy: potentially large/fast growing market; niche identification; competitor and customer analysis; effective strategy.
Product & Services (Platform): clear product/service/platform description; product/service is superior to competitors; addresses actual customer needs.
Potential to invest in this idea: credibility and persuasiveness; it can work and will create value; understanding of entrepreneurship; demonstrates industry knowledge.
Social impact: Clear outline of the social impact and how it will be achieved and sustained.

The judging is in two stages:

Stage 1: Ranking of all applying companies by individual judges according to the judging criteria.
Stage 2: Pitches by the 15 top-ranked companies during the Pwani Innovation Week event.

Judges

Dianne Oldhinkel

Her career has been focused on both operational and strategical roles in sales and marketing in the medical device and pharma industry. Has experience in strategic marketing, sales and working with sales teams to implement tactics, cross-functional collaboration, product development and creating and implementing business processes.

Joyce Chan

Manages a family business that holds distribution rights for a few international equipment brands. Also transitioning into management team of the whole group, which includes construction and property development. Her job requires her to deal with overseas principals daily on pricing, strategy and financials. She is experience in general management, sales and marketing strategies and negotiation skills.

Peter Ngunyi

EarlyBird Venture lab’s founder and CEO and the former President of BRCK. Peter Ngunyi is a Kenyan entrepreneur passionate about startup business strategies in emerging markets.

Mohamed Gharib

Experienced executive in data analysis and business systems with proven experience in East Africa on monitoring & evaluation, research methods, data analysis, visualizations as well as innovations in data projects for improvements in agriculture, manufacturing, trade and transport.

Key dates

The following process and timeline will be followed towards and after the awarding of the prize:

Milestone	By Date	Key Contact points
Stage 1: Ranking of all applying companies by individual judges according to the judging criteria.	29^th Nov	Judges
Consolidation of rankings by judges to select top 15.	30^th Nov	Swahilipot Hub & 1000 Alternatives
Notification to companies to prepare for Pitch Day	2^nd Dec	Swahilipot Hub
Stage 2: Pitches by the 15 top-ranked companies during the Pwani Innovation Week event.	4^th Dec	Swahilipot Hub & 1000 Alternatives
First selection of top-5 from Pitch Day	4^th Dec	Swahilipot Hub & 1000 Alternatives
Award Ceremony	5^th Dec	#PIWPitch Awards by 1000 Alternatives
Due diligence of top 15 companies	5^th Jan	1000 Alternatives
Cash transfers after due diligence passed	10^th Jan	1000 Alternatives
Incubation programme starts for top 15 companies	20^th Jan	Swahilipot Hub & 1000 Alternatives
End of incubation programme	30^th Apr	Swahilipot Hub & 1000 Alternatives