Bonaire, march 20th 2020 - Wanika Games is the winner of the first edition of Present Your Startup Bonaire, they raised 50.000 USD dollar with 3 informal investors and won also the jury prize to pitch in a next round in Curaçao. The evening took place at the Spice Beach Club in Kralendijk, hosted by Ramon Koffijberg and co-hosts by Damaly Linkers (from Bonaire) and Valerie Vallenduuk, (PYS founder). Entrepreneurs Vanessa Peralta and Fernando Nava, founders of Wanika Games, impressed the panel with their solid business plan and powerful pitch.
From the PYS team, Mike Rijkers, PYS Project Leader; Milou Stroek, PYS Lead Partner and Nicholas Morgan, trainer and leader of the Bonaire Academy were in Bonaire as representative members of the foundation.
Wanika Games is a startup founded by Vanessa Peralta and Fernando Nava. Locally inspired to make you fall in love with the place you are at, they provide educational board games about the history, culture and nature of tourist destinations. They are an amazing way to have fun with friends and family away from the screens of the phones, building real experiences and memories.
“What Present Your Startup does is helping people make a living out of their passion. Image a world where we can do what we like all the time. If we have succes Present Your Startup was and will always be part of this succes. It changed our lives!“ said the winners. On the event, they raised 50.000 USD dollar with 3 informal investors and won also the jury prize to pitch in a next round in Curaçao and a training worth 6.000,- euro. To see more about this company, visit their website: wanikagames.com
“The best days for Bonaire are in front of us. Big ideas can come from small places. Present Your Startup Bonaire brought out such big ideas. The event creators coached, guided and encouraged the entrepreneurs. Even if there was one winner, all teams benefited from the learning. It was excellent and this should be an annual feature. In fact, our firm will invest in at least one of the ventures; and our foundation will support some of the ideas that came out of this process." said the chair of the jury panel, Adnan Hassan, investor, founder of The BIG Ideas Foundation- Bonaire; and CEO of Mecasa Advisors Europe, B.V.
“I am happy that audience chose me as a winner! The Present Your Startup program was very very intensive! My advise to entrepreneurs is: be yourself!“ said Joelissa Martina, founder of Creative World, who was awarded the Public Choice’s prize.
About Present Your Startup
Since 2014, the foundation helps startups through their accelerator programs and pitch competitions. So far, over 750 startups applied for the PYS program. After 6 editions in the Netherlands, 4 in New York and 3 on Curacao, now was the perfect time for Bonaire.
This year, we received 75 applications of innovative and outstanding startups; nonetheless, we had to select only 10 companies that experienced the benefits of our Academy in Bonaire. After all the faces of the program, constant feedback, evaluations and pitch practice, PYS selected the top 5 startups that pitched in front of a large and warm audience. The judging line-up included Luis Santine (former banker, consultant and owner CXpay), Ron van Bijsterveld (Investor VB digital ventures), Oscar de Goederen (Mahot), Rob van den Berge (investor), Adnan Hassan (Investor) and Hennyson Thieleman (Bonaire).
Also, Lieutenant Governor Edison Rijna and Deputy De Heyer were part of the audience. Present Your Startup was proud to organize the Bonaire edition together with the Chamber of Commerce Bonaire (KvK Bonaire).
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Written by Claudia Flores Jiménez
Comments, questions & suggestions: claudia@innovate.today
