On the 10 May 2013 Cape Town played host to the South African leg of the international Seedstars World competition where  two of our startup participated.

We interviewed Obakeng Matlhoko about their experience in participating in the Seedstars World finals.

AftaRobot Obakeng Matlhoko

Tell us a little about your company?

Sowertech was founded by Nathi Tshabalala and Obakeng Matlhoko in September 2011 and was the first gold-member of mLab Southern Africa. In 2012 the company won the inaugural Gauteng Innovation Competition in the mobile stream with an a mobile app that helps professional trainers and coaches to assess their learners.

Sowertech is a mobile applications developer. The company has developed and launched the pilot of Afta-Robot, a suite of enterprise mobile apps that make it easy for minibus taxi associations to manage and share taxi business information. Afta-Robot also consists of a consumer app for minibus taxi commuters which allows the commuter to “request a taxi” using a mobile device.

What was your experience?

Our experience with pitching AftaRobot at Seedstars World was eye opening. The feedback that we received from the judges and fellows startups that attended the event was encouraging. It meant that in AftaRobot we have a “hot” app. To participate in this event meant that AftaRobot was among the top ten apps that were invited to pitch to Seedstars World investor in South Africa.

What have you learned?

We have learnt that the competition out there is tough. Transportation focused apps have to compete with apps that support mobile payment. We also learnt that AftaRobot is a solution that has immense social impact and a potential to change the lives of “ordinary” South Africans.