*Achievement unlocked: With more than ‘4 billion’ in total votes -- almost half the population of earth voted for startups!*

JUST KIDDING! Some companies had a unique approach to accumulating their votes.

In 2021, for the first time in forever (make sure you sing it in Anna’s voice), HackerNoon.com decided to host Startups of The Year to highlight the backbone of the future - tech startups!

More than 44,000 startups were nominated all across the globe, spanning over 4,553 cities.

That’s.Just.Spiffy!

The Startups Winners Announcement Series will announce the winners per region in their respective cities.

We’d like to take a moment here and thank every single person who cast a vote and every single company, both nominated and not nominated yet this year.

Furthermore, we thank you for existing and opening more opportunities for the wonders of the future to come. Even if you don’t win anything today, you’ve won something much more valuable - our hearts <3

Okay, sorry for the long introduction.

Below are all the Startups Winners:

Startups of the Year (SOTY) in Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa

With more than 900 votes cast, #SOTY calls....

MiBRAND

Thank you for connecting businesses and consumers, great job!

Lagos, Nigeria

With 836 votes in the bag, let’s give it up for...

Goodtalent

Thanks for helping tech companies build great engineering teams.

Cape Town, South Africa

Want to learn more about finance and use that knowledge to make better financial decisions? Look no further. Introducing winner of Startups of The Year, Cape Town:

Revix

With 527 votes cast, it seems like a lot of people have more money in their pockets thanks to Revix.

Mahé, Seychelles

With around 515 votes cast, #SOTY summons...

DAOLaunch

Thank you for bridging the gap between investors and startups.

Lusaka

And the winner for #SOTY in Lusaka is...

ComGrow

Thanks to them, people here are getting closer to the reality of the digitization of village banking.

Nairobi, Kenya

With 252 votes cast,

UTU

came out top as the Startup of The Year. Thanks for building the trust infrastructure of the internet to help businesses and consumers engage and transact in a more reliable way.

Yaoundé

Accounting for more than 73% of total votes,

CamPay

won this award fair and square. Thank you for making sending and receiving payments easier between online merchants.

Abuja, Nigeria

A proud winner in the prestigious capital of Nigeria,

Elesaro

deserves all the plaudits it gets. Elesaro is a suite crowdfunding protocol built on BSC, Reward, Equity, Lending & NFT Marketplace. Congratulations!

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Jamii Africa

is the name that will always be engraved on the #SOTY trophy. As a mobile micro-health insurance, Jamii Africa has done a great job for the health sector in Tanzania.

Kigali, Rwanda

Another #SOTY medal in the bag for none other than …wait for it…

BAG Innovation

BAG Innovation applies Gamification to offer real-time access to experience-based learning for University students in East Africa. Everybody loves playing games, but using games to learn in school is on another level.

Gauteng, South Africa

And the award goes to...

Planet42

Thanks for democratising mobility by enabling people ignored by banks to get access to a personal vehicle through a car subscription service. Once again, congratulations!

Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Cryptocurrency is the present and the future, as we’ve all come to know.

FLITBASE

makes these digital assets more accessible to everyone.

#SOTY is proud to add you to our Hall of Fame.

Cairo, Egypt

With 18 votes won out of the 91 cast, it seems there was fierce competition. Congratulations to...

SubsBase

for winning Startups of The Year. SubsBase allows businesses to manage their subscribers, automate recurring billings, set pricing plans, and monitor subscription KPIs.

Tunis, Tunisia

Come one, come all! Witness the greatness of yet another wonderful startup in the #SOTY.

Thank you...

VYND

for providing a fully integrated digital platform to help venue owners better serve their customers and grow their businesses.

Stellenbosch, South Africa

BankTech

connects clients to a payment network where it provides a convenient interface to meet various payments needs. You’ve won #SOTY proudly!

Pretoria

#SOTY acknowledges...

Grays Pharmaceuticals

Thank you for all you do.

Lekki, Nigeria

Middletrust

provides reliable escrow services in Africa. Congratulations on winning a #SOTY medal.

Addis Ababa

Thank you...

Hello Solar

for consistently accelerating sustainable energy solutions, especially for remote communities. With half of the votes cast, you beat the odds.

Accra, Ghana

UT Bank Ghana

provides various commercial banking services to individuals and companies in Ghana. We cannot emphasize enough the importance of financial services to humankind.

#SOTY is proud of all you do.

Gîza, Egypt

Big congratulations to...

HOVO

for winning this award. Your on-demand mobile app for ordering trucks is truly appreciated!

Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo

Congratulations for coming out on top of #SOTY,

SillonBlue Technologies

As an ICT Consulting and SaaS company, SillonBlue Technologies focuses on software and mobile app development, and data collection.

Yaba, Nigeria

With more than half of the votes cast, this nominee conquered undisputedly. Let’s give it up for...

Kuda

a no-fee full-service digital bank making banking affordable for all Africans on the planet.

Morocco City

Almes

provides infrastructure and logistics services. Congratulations on earning a #SOTY medal.

Dakar

ShopMeAway

provides families and businesses with new ways to shop around the world with reduced shipping costs. You deserve the plaudits you’ve received!

Casablanca

Sheaply

provides crowd shipping and crowd shopping solutions. This reduces cost and improves efficiency on shipping and shopping. Congratulations on winning a #SOTY medal.

Nguru, Nigeria

Accounting for 88% of the votes,

TradeBuza

wins #SOTY almost flawlessly. TradeBuza is a tech-enabled commodities sourcing platform for commodities aggregators and out-grower schemes.

Ikeja, Nigeria

PropertyPro Nigeria

is now pronounced Startup of the Year in Ikeja. Let’s admit, who doesn’t appreciate a platform built to search for real estate properties?

Ibadan, Nigeria

No Bank, No Problem! (That’s probably not their motto, by the way)

Shield Finders

is a fintech and financial service provider to the unbanked. Congratulation on winning most of the votes!

6 October City, Egypt

Wuilt

is a website builder where you can create your own Arabic website in under 5 minutes. Thank you for making this technology accessible to people. One #SOTY medal for you!

Algiers

The only nominee who outvoted all others, please give it up for...

Yassir

Thank you for providing convenient transport services using your app.

Enugu

In an area that usually suffers from inconsistent electricity,

Greenage

comes to the rescue with their green cape and spandex suit. Greenage Technologies is a Nigerian startup solving electricity problems in Nigeria using solar energy technology. Congrats, Greenage.

Abeokuta, Nigeria

A government organization creating opportunities for entrepreneurs and the unemployed - no one deserves the title Startup of The Year better than

Ogun Innovate

Congratulations!

Ariana

And the award goes to...

E-Stores Factory

a web platform that helps rent and manage e-shops for enterprises seeking to sell online. Thank you for making the e-cosystem(not a typo) more friendly!

Benin City

Health really is wealth.

MOBicure

provides mobile technology solutions for Africa's biggest health problems. Thank you for all you do. From #SOTY with love <3

Centurion

GameZBoost

offers white label gaming platforms, including online desktop solutions, fully responsive mobile and social platforms. Thank you for making the world a more fun place!

Gaborone

Augmenta Cyber Security

provides services in cyber security, safe data storage, SCADA security, SAP Security, etc. Congratulations on winning 10/10 of the votes. You rock!

Garki

There can never be enough medical platforms in the world. Congratulations to...

Wella Health

an operator of a healthcare technology company intended to provide treatments and medicines for malaria. Thank you for all you do!

Lilongwe

Yellow

is a digital platform enabling informal merchants in Africa. #SOTY welcomes you to its hall of fame. Make yourself at home ;)

Luanda

Access to finance is important for any company or sector to succeed. And no other company deserves the title Startup of The Year more than

Deya

the first Angolan and PALOP crowdfunding platform that aims to increase access to financing for social impact causes and entrepreneurs. 10/10 will recommend.

Mombasa

Life can be hard, and so a little humor helps ease these hardships. Congratulations to this political satire puppet show,

The XYZ Show

for winning #SOTY. Thanks for putting smiles on our faces.

Port Louis Town

Bet you’ve never heard of a Smartcup. Thanks to

Intellicup

that exists now, and therefore earns this startup a #SOTY badge. Intellicup is a unique high-speed beverage dispensing solution with integrated smart technology. While this cup won’t be able to wake you up in the morning, you have to agree that it’s still pretty impressive.

Rabat

Atlan Space

is a startup building AI to autonomously pilot any fixed-wing drone, to monitor and take measures over very large areas. You deserve the #SOTY medal.

Réunion

Imagine having the power to do ultrasound scans on your handheld device. OSCULT by

Oscadi

is a handheld ultrasound imaging device interfaced with the Apple iPad. Congratulations on making it into the #SOTY!

Somerset West

Winning the award fair and square is

Sticitt

a cashless payment platform that is also aimed at teaching learners at school the basics of finance. The future of the world would be in good hands when our children know how to adequately manage finances. Thank you for saving the world in advance.

Thika

Flowers make the world a beautiful place to live in.

Wilmar Flowers

exports summer flowers grown by small and medium-sized farmers from Kenya. Kudos for making the world beautiful, #SOTY is honored to have you in our Hall of Fame.

Kampala, Uganda

Yo-Waste Limited

is an African startup that provides waste, recycling and “smart city” solutions to businesses and governments. Your #SOTY gold medal shines as much as you do <3

Harare, Zimbabwe

The world is becoming more and more digital every day. Thanks to companies like

Golix

that provide services of digital currencies for people in Africa, the digitization of the world is becoming more robust.

Freetown

Easy Solar

is a distribution company making energy, durable goods and financial services affordable and accessible through pay-as-you-go tech. Thumbs up!

Kicukiro

FOODLINE

specializes in non-genetically-modified grocery farming and production lines. Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! #SOTY

Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo Startups

Nuru

is a renewable and environmental company that specializes in the fields of storage micro-grids and solar energy. After racking up all the votes, #SOTY honors you.

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

Digitech

provides a fully integrated and cloud-based InsurTech platform to incumbent insurance companies. You are awesome!

Durban

Security can never really be enough. We’d like to honor

Blue Security

the title Startup of The Year, for specializing in the installation and monitoring of intruder detection systems, and in providing armed response services.

Ikoyi

And the Startup of The year goes to...

Winich Farms

an Agritech Startup leveraging tech to connect rural farmers to Finance & Market, thus, increasing productivity and cutting post-harvest loss. You rock!

Lomé

The last recipient of #SOTY in Africa calls for...

Gozem

a transport technology platform for Francophone West and Central Africa. Thank you for providing a platform for transportation. We are honored to have you!

*Winners missing from this list will be added accordingly.

More Information

If you’re a winner, please answer this interview! If you’re a reader, participant, just a curious individual, consider answering one of our interviews here.

Read the FAQs about Startups here or here.

To see all of the winners you may visit this site, pick any city and view the name that appears at the top.

If you’re interested in partnering with us, we invite you to look through some of these unique sponsorship options or reach out to our business department.

Perhaps creating your very own writing contest tickles your fancy or maybe you have a whole new idea for how we can partner!

Thank you to all of our sponsors!

We truly appreciate your contribution to the tech world and thus the future!

The Startups Awards are sponsored by:

Blockster, Brex, FreeCodeCamp, LaunchDarkly, Coil, Udacity, Udemy, Vercel, Asia Pacific Transgender Network, Bybit, Everscale Network

This post was written and edited by Kien Dao and Joshua Omale.