SA Tech Challenge 2025

The SA Tech Challenge aims to empower micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by providing a platform to showcase innovative solutions. Participants will compete across six categories, with the opportunity to win the national competition and represent South Africa at the international G20 Digital Innovation Alliance (G20-DIA) summit in Cape Town. This guide will walk you through the application process and help you prepare all the necessary information and documentation.

• Table of Content
• About South African
• SA Contest
• Aim and Benefits of SA Contest
• Requirements for SA Contest Qualification
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About South African

SA Contest

Application Deadline	30 Jun 2025
Type	Contest
Sponsor	South African
Gender	Men and Women

Aim and Benefits of SA Contest

With a R3 million prize pool and a chance to represent South Africa at the G20 Digital Innovation Alliance (G20-DIA) Summit in Cape Town, The SA Tech Challenge 2025 is South Africa’s most lucrative tech innovation competition ever. The winner of each category will pitch their solutions against each other for the grand prize of R1 million. The runner up receives a whopping R750,000 with a healthy R500,000 prize for 3rd place. 4th, 5th and 6th all receive R250,000 each. Beyond the funding, winners will also receive support packages from stakeholders as well as access to global markets and investors via G20-DIA

Requirements for SA Contest Qualification

We are looking for formal Micro, Small and Medium (MSME) technology enterprises from South Africa who meet the following criteria:

•  Must be post-revenue with less than 250 employees and less than R250 million annual turnover.
• Your technology or solution should be at a minimum of TRL 7 as per The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) guidelines. It should be post-prototype, with demonstrated use by clients and implemented in relevant environments.
•  Must address at least one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with potential for regional/global growth with quantifiable social outcomes.
•  Companies should be owned and headquartered in South Africa and meet all compliance requirements as per CIPC and SARS.

• Sector Categories - Operate in, or serve any of the following 6 sector categories:

• Digital Platforms
• FinTech
• Secured Digital Infrastructure
• Circular Economy
• Innovations for Connectivity
• Innovations for Development (Agri-tech, Health-tech, Ed-tech)

Application Deadline

June 30, 2025

How to Apply

Interested and qualified? Go to South African on innovationbridge.info to apply

View the application guideline for how to apply.

For more details, visit the G20 Initative webpage