Chinese TikTok invites African entrepreneurs to join elevator pitch event

NAIROBI, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese video sharing service, TikTok on Wednesday invited African entrepreneurs to join the world-first elevator pitch in the sky event.

Boniswa Sidwaba, content operations manager at TikTok Africa Team, said in a statement that all founders of early-stage start-ups in Africa and the Middle East have until Sept. 24 to submit an innovative one-minute TikTok video pitch that will inform and impress the global panel of expert judges, using the platform's easy-to-use video editing tools.

Sidwaba said that the funding initiative will provide entrepreneurs with the opportunity to compete for a 1.08 million shillings (about 10,000 U.S. dollars) investment and one-year mentorship from the Gritti Fund which is the world's first purpose-driven and happiness-focused investment fund.

In addition, three finalists will be awarded the once in a lifetime chance to skydive in United Arab Emirates' Dubai, while simultaneously completing their winning elevator pitches.

Sidwaba noted that it has always been TikTok's mission to inspire creativity and bring joy to its users and the launch of such a unique event is a testament to that.

"Through this event, we aim to support our local community of budding entrepreneurs by providing them with the opportunity to creatively express their ideas with the possibility that those ideas may materialize," she revealed.

Sidwaba noted that an expert panel will judge entries and give exclusive personal interviews throughout the event about the challenges that lead to their success and will feature some of the world-famous entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

She said that the spectacular finale on Oct. 17 aims to be the most live-streamed start-up pitch event in history, and will enable millions of TikTok viewers to discover who has what it takes to reach the top.

According to Sidwaba, as part of the initiative, local TikTok users will be able to view the pitches tagged #PitchUpInTheSky as well as interviews with the judging panel of world-famous entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, giving entrants and TikTok users insight on their personal challenges.