Kenya’s VunaPay Emerges Victorious at Latitude59 Pitch Competition

Kenyan startup, VunaPay, emerged victorious at the Latitude59 Pitch Competition hosted in Nairobi, Kenya impressing the jury with its impactful solution for farmers and its scalable potential.

The victory secures VunaPay a spot at Latitude59 2025 in Tallinn, getting fast-track access to the pitch competition.

Founded by:

* CEO, Judy Njogu Mokaya

• COO, Koya Matsuno
• CTO, Ian Wambai

VunaPay enables farmers earn instant payment from their produce. The firm partners with Agricultural Cooperative Societies and other farmer collectives to provide efficient and transparent produce management solutions that result in speedy and maximum payouts to farmers.

Meanwhile, influencer marketing company, Twiva, was honored with the Walk the Talk award from Infobip, along with platform credits valued at $20,000. Besides Latitude59, organizations like Cloudplexo, Emerging Valley, IHUB, and Spurt Group also contributed to the competition’s prize pool and had the opportunity to present awards to startups of their choosing.

Latitude59’s CEO, Liisi Org, stated that while the final competition was tough, the jury unanimously selected VunaPay.

This year’s [2024] Latitude59 Pitch Competition received 382 applications from 37 countries, with only ten startups advancing to the final round.

“I was glad to witness three female founders pitching on stage, all leading impact start-ups.

This year’s focus was heavily on impact-driven solutions, and there were many strong candidates – most were ready to raise a round and had properly functioning products!” said Latitude59’s CEO, Liisi Org.

This was the second satellite edition of Latitude59, Estonia’s premier startup and tech event. The event attracted nearly 2,000 attendees to the A.S.K Dome, fostering a dynamic environment for startups, investors, and tech enthusiasts to network and collaborate.

Known as L59, the event serves as a global platform for founders and innovators from Africa, Estonia, and beyond. It offers them the opportunity to share their innovations, build valuable connections, establish partnerships, and strengthen existing international relationships.

“Thanks to our deeper understanding of the ecosystem and incredible partners and friends in Kenya, this event exceeded our expectations. We’re already planning for next year, with the ambition to become the highest-quality start-up and tech event in Africa,” added Liisi Org.