Tanzanian Toolboksi Steals The Show At Daikin-Samurai Airtech Bootcamp Africa Event

Dar Es Salaam-based online marketplace startup, Toolboksi Technologies Ltd, has won the inaugural Daikin-Samurai Incubate Airtech Bootcamp Africa event. The two-day pitch event was held in Nairobi, Kenya, between December 10th – 11th, 2019.

As a reward for winning the competition, Toolboksi gets to work on a project fully covered by the air-conditioning giant, Daikin, and the startup also stands a chance of receiving funding from Samurai Incubate pending approval from investment committee.

Toolboksi was founded in 2018 by Julius .J. Mbungo II as a platform that helps people find local handymen – fundis, buy hardware and rent equipment. The startup won the competition after pitching to a panel of judges (which included Japanese investors) who adjudged the startup’s pitch as the most solid.

But Toolboksi was not the only winner on the show. Kenyan crowdfunding platform for SME financing, Marks Rate Limited, won the special award from Daikin for its project, which shall be fully covered by the company.

Founded in 2017 by Steve Mwenda, the fintech startup facilitates fundraising for SMEs at a negotiated rate of return while assisting SMEs in obtaining working capital from the general public.

More than 160 startups had applied for the first-ever Daikin-Samurai Incubate Airtech Bootcamp Africa event out of which 9 finalists were selected from six different countries to pitch in the finals.

Daikin and Samurai Incubate had partnered for the inaugural Africa Ideathon event. Through this event, Daikin set out to work with African startups that can come up with innovative methods to sell its products in local markets.

Samurai Incubate Africa, an early-stage VC, was scouting for its next investment through this pitch event. The VC currently boasts a portfolio that includes 16 African startups drawn from countries like South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Nigeria.