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  • SAVCA gets three new board members

    By on 23 September, 2016

    The South African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA) has acquired three new board members after their Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Johannesburg on 21 September 2016. The new directors, Paul Boynton, Cathy Goddard, and Yvonne Maitin have more than 25-years experience between them. "We are pleased to welcome these three highly respected individuals to our board, who bring a wealth of industry knowledge, as well as commitment and passion for the industry," said the CEO of SAVCA, Erika van der Merwe, in a press release to Ventureburn. "All three directors already are active participants in SAVCA's various activities, including...

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    SA consumers doing their product homework before purchase

    CompareGuru on 1 September, 2016

    At a time when most consumers are spending conservatively, with a hawkish eye on every last Rand, value for money has become paramount. Long gone are the days when people sign on to mobile contracts on a whim, or buy insurance products at the behest of a smiling salesman. With deep-seated economic and political uncertainty prevailing, consumers are looking to inform themselves as best they can before spending a cent. “The good news for sceptical South Africans is that a host of new and sophisticated digital tools are coming online, giving people much-needed access to information,” says Ryan Marx, CEO...

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  • CT conference to connect African startups to the world

    By on 22 September, 2016

    Major business and tech incubator AfricaCom, in collaboration with Ericsson, are set to kick off their AHUB conference in November at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The conference, in partnership with leading accelerators and innovation hubs, aims to connect entrepreneurs/startups to successful channels of investment. At the conference, entrepreneurs are encouraged to share their ideas as well as collaborate and connect with attending angel investors and VCs.  Attendees will be given presentations on many topics such as how initiatives are creating opportunities for entrepreneurs, and many others. The AfricaCom and Ericsson conference is set to deliver plenty of sessions and opportunities for startups The conference...

  • 5 disastrous mistakes entrepreneurs need to avoid in business blogging

    By on 22 September, 2016

    The primary objective of a business blog is to create valuable resources for your target audience, which will, in turn, make them interested in your business. Today, it is regarded as one of the core components of inbound marketing strategy. Having a business blog not only enhances brand awareness, but also helps you generate more inbound links, indexed pages, leads, and conversions. Business blogging can be extremely productive if done right. Like every other business initiatives, there is a right approach of maintaining a successful business blog and, quite obviously, a wrong way as well. While many businesses are starting to...

  • ASENTI entrepreneurship platform to kick off in Kenya

    By on 22 September, 2016

    The African Summit on Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ASENTI) will take place from 4-5 November 2016 at the United States International University-Africa in Kenya. ASENTI is a global platform where participating entrepreneurs can display their innovative ideas as well as network with top industry leaders. This year's summit will focus on areas such as youth empowerment, social innovation, film, green energy, media, science and mobile technology, intellectual property, finance, and many others. ASENTI is set to bring together more than 700 delegates as well as over 40 speakers from across the African continent. Delegates from SMEs, African startups, industrialisation stakeholders, universities, NGOs, and more have...

  • Real estate startup ToLet.com receives US$1.2-million in funding

    By on 21 September, 2016

    The Lagos-based real estate business, ToLet has managed to raise US$1.2-million from Frontier Digital Ventures through a Series A round of funding. ToLet, originally Estanode, was founded in 2012 by Ogundipe Fikayo, Balogun Sulaiman, Eludire Oladapo and Ayeni Oluwaseyi. A year after its inception, the company received US$230 000 in seed funding from Spark, which was then used in the ToLet.com.ng rebrand. "The new funds raised will be used to improve the platform’s technology offering to both property seekers as well as that used by listing agents. The rest of the funds will be channelled into improved marketing efforts and aggressive...

  • French Tech Cape Town looking for 2 startups to pitch in France

    By on 20 September, 2016

    French tech ecosystem hub French Tech Cape Town is looking for two startups to pitch in France. Those chosen will be able to meet investors, "leading" firms, and public institutions in France at Development and Digital Africa Days 2016. The event takes place from 26 to 28 of October and is organised by the French Directorate General for Enterprise and La French Tech. In order to apply, SA startups will need to be "willing to develop partnerships with French firms from the digital industry". The startups will also need to operate in the digital content, digital economy services, digital infrastructures, or e-government services spaces. If...

  • Seedstars World announces the 10 Dar Es Salaam startups

    By on 20 September, 2016

    Pitching competition Seedstars World has announced the 10 startups to compete at their Dar Es Salaam event in Tanzania on 24 September. The winner of the Tanzanian event will attend the main pitching competition in Switzerland, with a chance to win US$1-million as well as the opportunity to network with investors and mentors from around the globe. Tanzanian startups featured at the local Seedstars World leg include Planbook and Jamii "The startup ecosystem in Tanzania has been growing exponentially and so does the quality of the startups themselves. We are looking forward to seeing what awaits us in this exciting place and cannot wait...

  • 7 easy ways entrepreneurs can reach the state of unfuddle

    By on 20 September, 2016

    WrkRiot, a startup caught up in chaos and claims of forged wire transfers, fake records, late payments, and borrowing money from employees, recently collapsed in spectacular fashion. While WrkRiot is an extreme example, it wouldn’t be far off the mark to say that startups are synonymous to chaos and crisis. You often hear stories about startups failing, founder fatigue, funding problems, and as Trudeau Sr. would have said, general fuddle duddle ups. However, there are some easy ways startup owners can avoid, well, fuddle duddle ups and reach the state of extreme peace and unfuddle. Let’s look into some such...

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  • Uncovered: Ventureburn lists South Africa’s fintech ecosystem [update]

    By on 20 September, 2016

    Financial technology, or Fintech as the buzzword goes, is a hot topic in the international startup industry. Companies launching in this space are usually looking to disrupt banking institutions, the way money is handled, or empowering those without access to cashless payment systems. In SA, these startups cover a broad range of industries, from Blockchain to Lending, and even Remittance. It's an industry that has gained phenomenal traction with the likes of PayFast, FinCheck, and BitX making waves in SA. Ventureburn has created an infographic on all of the companies that we know about and categorised (in a broad sense). Of course,...

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  • French Tech, Orange Business Services hold Digital Skills Development event in Johannesburg

    By on 20 September, 2016

    The French Tech ecosystem, along with IT and communications service provider, Orange Business Services, held a Digital Skills event in Johannesburg on 15 September. The event aimed to addressed issues around skills development pertaining to all things digital. "I am delighted to see that the French Tech Hub in Cape Town is expanding its activities in Johannesburg thanks to a dynamic community of French and South African entrepreneurs who take advantage of a leading innovation ecosystem in Africa," explains the ambassador of France in SA, Elisabeth Barbier, in a press release to Ventureburn. "This success will also encourage business and youth talent exchanges...