Startup Knight is a competition for software based tech startups that are getting ready to start a viable business. Byte Orbit, the company behind Startup Knight, will be hosting this exciting event.

A series of established organisations such as Microsoft, Nokia, Bandwidth Barn and 8ta have come on board with significant sponsorship for the winning startup. 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.

Byte Orbit 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”.

Participants can enter online at www.byteorbit.com from 1 October and 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.

Byte Orbit would like to acknowledge the associate sponsors which include:

Microsoft -­‐ www.microsoft.com
Nokia – www.nokia.co.za
8ta – www.8ta.com
Bandwidth Barn – www.bandwidthbarn.org Media sponsor:

Bandwidth Blog – www.bandwidthblog.com Mentorship and Marketing Assistance: Ching Payments -­‐ www.chingpayments.co.za

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 | Senior Managing Executive
Bandwidth Blog / OnNet: Charl Norman | Managing Director Ching Payments: Martin Ras | Managing Director

Contact Details:

Byte Orbit, Unit 27, Medical Centre House 1, Wellington Business Park, Wellington Roa, Durbanville, 7550, Cape Town South Africa
Email: hello@byteorbit.com | Tel: +27(21) 979 1213| www.facebook.com/ByteOrbit | www.twitter.com/ByteOrbit