On April 4th, ten of East Africa’s most promising early-stage startups took center stage at The Next Stage, a high-stakes pitch competition and showcase held in Nairobi. DigiTax, a Nairobi-based startup making tax compliance easier for Kenyan corporates, was selected by the judges to take home the top prize of the competition.
DigiTax impressed judges with its profound product market fit and ability to improve tax compliance in Africa. As the winner of The Next Stage, DigiTax received $10,000 USD in cash to use for business growth and expansion, $50,000 USD in AWS credits, and access to a highly-exclusive mentorship program giving the founders access to top-tier founders and investors from across the globe.
Thuku wa Thuki, the Co-Founder at DigiTax, stated, “It was an absolute pleasure to be featured and win The Next Stage pitch competition. The event brought together like-minded,
problem-solving founders tackling industry pain points across the continent. We learned a great deal about the future of innovation and we’re excited about the future of the tech ecosystem in Kenya and beyond.”
Organized by Kitsilano Technologies Ltd. and co-hosted with Tech Safari, one of Africa’s top tech newsletters, The Next Stage brought together investors, operators, and founders for a one-day event spotlighting innovation across East Africa’s startup ecosystem.
The event featured 10 handpicked startups—each with an active minimum viable product, early customer traction, and bold ambitions—pitched live to an audience of influential investors, founders, and ecosystem leaders at Nairobi Street Kitchen.
The Next Stage welcomed a diverse group of startups including fintechs, agricultural technology, artificial intelligence, educational tools, mobility, and talent, all rapidly growing sectors necessary to economic growth across Kenya. More than just another startup pitch competition, The Next Stage proved to be a powerful launchpad for the next generation of African tech companies.
The keynote for the event was delivered by Paul Kimani, CEO of Workpay, a startup which has successfully raised $5M USD from Norrsken22 and Visa, on building scalable infrastructure for African startups while also sharing hard-won insights from his own journey in building Workpay.
The event was backed by some of the continent’s most respected voices in tech and venture, and featured a curated judging panel alongside closed-room mentorship sessions for participating founders.
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