A local provider of smart solutions for the administrative, safety, and procurement requirements of the mining industry, Passport 360 is one of four African start-ups that have secured a coveted pitch slot at the Start-ups Unearthed Africa session at the Investing in African Mining Indaba on 6 February at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

Open innovation platform Unearthed and the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2019 partnered to offer four African emerging technology businesses the opportunity to pitch their innovative industry solutions at the world’s largest mining investment conference at the so-called Start-ups Unearthed Africa session. Unearthed comprises a community of over 5 000 entrepreneurs, innovators, and industry professionals focused on solving the energy and resources sector’s challenges.

Applications were open to any hardware or software tech start-up from across the continent that had a prototype, product, or service that can impact the mining industry. The successful applicants were announced on Thursday 17 January by Unearthed Industry Lead – Crowdsourcing Holly Bridgwater.

Bridgwater herself will moderate the one-hour start-up session. Following a short introduction about Unearthed, each company will have a ten-minute pitch slot, followed by a group question-and-answer session.

“I am excited that we have the opportunity to share some of the amazing tech being developed in Africa with a global audience, including about 750 investors, leaders of over 220 mining companies, and 34 government ministers,” Bridgwater highlights.

In addition to the four pitch slots, each start-up secures a full complimentary pass to the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2019 from 4 to 7 February. The top ten applicants will also receive media coverage profiling their businesses, and to spread the word about Unearthed’s global network.

“This is really exciting for Passport 360. It represents an amazing opportunity for us to highlight how our solutions can optimise any mining company’s overall organisational efficiency, from the moment the first contractor is engaged, all the way to the end of the project lifecycle,” Passport 360 Director and Co-Founder Siobahn Whitehead comments.

“Our solutions ensure transparency, productivity, and efficiency within the procurement and onboarding process. We aim to change and improve processes by applying technology that results in better and more sustainable outcomes for all our clients and stakeholders.”

Clients include leading Blue Chip companies such as WBHO, Concor, ABB, Anglo American, De Beers, and Thyssenkrupp. Passport 360 will be represented in the pitch slot by Strategy and Business Growth Lead Jared Kangisser.

The Start-ups Unearthed Africa session at the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2019 takes place from 13:30 to 14:30 on 6 February.

For more information, visit www.miningindaba.com and https://unearthed.solutions/.