Entries for the 2025 South African Startup Awards, aimed at recognising SA's early-stage tech start-ups shaping the future, are officially open.
The awards were established in 2023 and are hosted by Startup Club ZA, a tech start-up and investor network. The awards were created to bring fairness, independence and credibility to how excellence is recognised in the local innovation ecosystem. Now in its third year, the programme continues to attract promising start-ups in SA.
The country's start-up scene remains stable, maintaining its ranking of 52 in the global start-up ecosystem, the same as last year.
This is based on start-up ecosystem and research centre StartupBlink’s latest Global Start-up Ecosystem Index 2025, which ranks 100 countries and 1 400 cities.
Mathew Marsden, founder of Startup Club ZA, says the awards were built to raise the bar for industry recognition.
“We created the South African Startup Awards to bring legitimacy, fairness and meaning to how recognition is given in the start-up ecosystem – through expert adjudication, vertical-specific categories and a transparent process that celebrates the collective effort of start-up teams, not just their CEOs.
“Over the past two years, this rigour has set the awards apart – and it’s a key reason why South Africa’s leading start-ups continue to apply.”
The 2025 edition features:
- Thirteen vertical-specific categories, including the new NextGen (under 25) category.
- A 28-person judging committee made up of founders, VCs and ecosystem leaders.
- Hundreds of anticipated entries and thousands of national public voters.
Award recipients gain both recognition and practical support, including the Startup of the Year title and trophy, a fine-dining winner’s experience courtesy of FNB South Africa, free legal consultations from Dommisse Attorneys, custom team workwear provided by Jonsson Workwear and national media exposure.
Start-ups must be tech-driven, post-revenue, South African-led, under five years old and pre-Series A to qualify. Entries are open to South African teams across all regions.
The awards are presented in partnership with The South African Future Trust, RMB, FNB South Africa, E Squared Investments, Futuregrowth, Paystack, MakeReign, AIONS Ventures, Origen Software, Dommisse Attorneys, Jonsson Workwear, Finovate, Impact Capital Africa and Disraptor.
For further details about awards and the application process, visit startupclubza.com/awards. Entries close on Friday, 21 November at 8pm.
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