Written by Michelle Atagada | From Venture Beat

There is nothing revolutionary about startup competitions, especially in the tech scene, and even more so in Africa.

Africa has played host to so many startup competitions in its various corners in the last few years. Those of us who are embedded in the startup scene have grown cynical.

Some of the startup competitions that I’ve judged feel random and purposeless. It’s all about short-term gain, with few thinking: What happens to the startups after? How can we help them gain investment? The really high-quality startups don’t bother to enter anymore. For Africa, the world of tech is still new, so we need to take pains to do better.

However, there are new players coming on to this scene that are giving me new hope.

I recently took a trip to Nigeria to judge a startup competition (TechCabal’s Battlefield), among other things. In my time there, I took a hard look into Africa’s starry-eyed startup scene. I’m now questioning my initial assumption about startup competitions. The key is that these competitions need to offer a funding option for viable and deserving ventures.

Here’s why…

There is a certain caché that comes with being a startup in Nigeria, which is similar to Silicon Valley. You’re basically a rock star with a ticket to all the cool parties. But that said, funding is really hard to come by and everyone is looking for it. Battlefield was observed like a spectator sport, and according to organizers, the tickets closed as quickly a famous concert would. That is unprecedented in Africa, especially for an inaugural event.

Read more at Venture Beat