Demo Africa has released the top forty list of startups received that have qualified to launch their product on the Demo Africa stage scheduled to take place between September22nd and 26th 2014 in Lagos ,Nigeria. Out of over 400 applications received, only 242 had met threshold for the adjudication with Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana leading respectively.

Communication attracted the highest number of applications out of the 12 categories with finance and banking also having a good representation.

"This presents another opportunity for African tech startups. Africa may have missed out on the industrial revolution, but we surely will not in the ICT revolution. Through innovation, we will put Nigeria and Africa in general on the ICT map. Realizing the huge potential of the software industry, we have put in place a set of initiatives that will assist the tech startups to create successful businesses, which will directly create jobs and wealth." said Nigeria Minister for Communication technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson.

The standard of applications has grown over the years giving the judges quite a hard time in the  shortlisting process.The selected forty start-ups will have a chance to launch their products to an ecosystem of VCs, investors, tech acquisition specialists, IT buyers and media from across the region and around the globe. They will also benefit from one and a half month coaching and mentorship program to be spearheaded by DEMO Africa and the US State Department. The Mentorship program will be coordinated by Dr. Susan Amat, CEO, VentureHive and will include both local and international mentors and coaches.