Southern Africa Startup Awards, a circuit of the Global Startup Awards which first arrived in Africa in 2017 and launched it Southern Africa (SADC) region in 2018, has a mission to connect, support, and celebrate key players in national and regional startup ecosystems worldwide and to fuse them together on a global entrepreneurial network.
The initiative creates a matrix of opportunities for international partnerships, commercial exchange, and investment opportunities. This is done through a ‘bottom-up’ strategy with local startup ecosystems that put the founders and startup ecosystem supporters first.
More than 2,400 nominations from organisations and individuals across 15 countries were submitted for the 2019 edition.
The national finalists from Tanzania are:
| Best Accelerator or Incubator Program | Smart Lab |
| Best Newcomer | Bulili Stephano kaliwa |
| Best Newcomer | Toolboksi |
| Best Newcomer | NLab Innovation Academy |
| Best Newcomer | Robotech Labs |
| Best Social Impact Startup | Robotech Labs |
| Best Startup Ecosystem Initiative | Toolboxsi |
| Founder of the Year | Robotech Labs |
| Startup of the Year | Julius J. Mbungo |
| Startup of the Year | Toolboxsi |
| Startup of the Year | Niajiri Platform |
