​The 12 Trailblazing days of Christmas: Emerging Markets finalists

Today we bring to you a slightly different shortlist, with a mix of IT categories: the Emerging Markets finalists. These are startups from the BRICs region (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and other emerging geographies who’d entered the different tech categories. Such startups were put forward for this category to gain recognition for their innovation as a startup in a developing market.

The Tech Trailblazers 2014 Emerging Markets finalists are…

-Fortis Innovations (@FortisKenya), www.fortisinnovations.com – Nairobi, Kenya

-Nerve (@NerveMobile) www.nervemobile.com – Lagos, Nigeria

-Sr. Pago (@SrPagoOficial), www.srpago.com - Álvaro Obregón, Mexico

-Tambero (@Tamberoweb), www.tambero.com – Monteros, Argentina

-Temasys Communications (@Temasysrtc), www.temasys.com.sg - Singapore

The Emerging Markets shortlist 101:

Fortis Innovations is a Kenyan-based IT company that primarily focuses in healthcare IT software solutions, with great focus upon Hospital Information Management Systems. This healthcare startup is privately funded.

Another startup in the running is Nerve Mobile, a Nigerian company dedicated to bringing Africa more smartphone technology that is affordable and therefore accessible. According to the Mobile category startup, “While more than 500 million Africans are today certified mobile subscribers, less than 10 % of the lot use smartphones. To engage the remaining 90% (the largely “mobile-first” and savvy young Africans), affordable and more useful smartphones are badly needed. With novel technology underpinning Nerve’s software and hardware interfaces, we bring convergence to the market- profitably by making smartphones affordable and useful.” Nerve is currently privately funded.

Also in the running is Mexican startup Sr. Pago, said to be revolutionizing the cash-based financial ecosystem that 70% of the population of Mexico currently relies upon. This startup has also gained recognition in the FinTech category with its flagship product - a payment system that provides a secure, chip-based debit card, a card reader that connects to any smartphone or tablet, and an app for managing transactions. According to CrunchBase, this FinTech startup is currently Seed funded by Barrett Lyon, Center Electric and Defense.Net, with no doubt a view to achieving Series A funding soon.

Another startup fighting for winner’s title in the Emerging Markets category is privately funded Argentinian startup Tambero.com – describing themselves as “the first web and mobile free platform for cattle and agriculture management with a global user base.” In Tambero.com farmers can use smartphones to manage information about their animals and land plots, therefore improving farms with consolidated information at their fingertips.

Last but not least on the shortlist is Temasys Communications, a Singapore-based startup that creates tools that build the next generation of web communications, bringing new applications to life, powered by WebRTC. The company is currently raising Series A, with $2.2 million in financing under their belt. Supporters include the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) and the Media Development Authority (MDA).

Who should be crowned this year’s Emerging Markets Trailblazer? Help decide at www.techtrailblazers.com/shortlist/ before 23.59pm Pacific Time on 16^th January 2015.