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Former ‘beach bum’ aims to turn fog into water to address Cape crisis
From the outset it sounds like a crazy idea. To turn fog into water. But this is exactly what high-school dropout Grant Vanderwagen from Cape Town plans to do. The 25-year-old business consultant's idea to develop fog farms to help the city to battle its water crisis has already been featured on a number of online publications (such as 9lives.co.za, htxt and even on a site for a water network based in Germany). His H20 Catchers solution consists of metal frames covered with fine netting to gather condensation. He claims each fog farm can produce up to 10 000 litres at...
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PitchDrive aims to help 15 African startups raise collective €20m in Europe
Fifteen African startups will get the chance to raise a collective €20-million in Series-A funding from European funders when startup tour PitchDrive gets off the mark in the coming weeks. The three-week tour, which is set to begin on 14 August, is an initiative of Nigerian technology innovation centre Co-creation Hub (CcHUB) which has partnered with Google for Entrepreneurs. The tour kicks off at Google's Campus in London, before heading to TQ Amsterdam, Factory Berlin and then to the Impact Hub in Zurich, Switzerland, before concluding at NUMA Paris. Startups will get to explore the various markets the tour passes through and get the chance to pitch in front...
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Vusi Thembekwayo extends deadline for #Top40 entrepreneurship programme
Venture capitalist Vusi Thembekwayo has extended his #Top40 mentorship programme to mentor black entrepreneurs, after his investment company MyGrowthFund received an "overwhelming" response from entrepreneurs. In a press release to Ventureburn, MyGrowthFund announced the new due date as 7 June at 12pm. The competition, which opened for applications on 15 May and was to close on 31 May, has to date received 1,100 applications. The programme is open to black entrepreneurs with companies that generate at least R1 million in annual revenue and are looking to grow. The 40 selected participants are expected to announced at the end of June. They will then undergo an 18 month mentorship programme...
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SA Startup AIR makes it as finalist in Citibank Tech for Integrity Challenge
Always In-touch Real-time (AIR) founder Prashant Paima is waiting eagerly to hear whether his online security service startup has been chosen as the winner of this year's Citi Tech for Integrity Challenge (T4I) after taking part in a pitching event in Abu Dhabi earlier this month. The Johannesburg-based startup is competing against 102 other startups from around the world who are pitching in events in six different cities (see the list here). The challenge kicked off in Abu Dhabi on 14 and 15 May and ends with Hyderabad, India on 12 and 13 June. The overall winner will be announced next month, following the conclusion of the...
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Former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene appointed as chairman of Arise
African investment company Arise today announced the appointment of former South African finance minister Nhlanhla Nene, to its supervisory board. Nene will assume the position of chairman as from Thursday (1 June). “We are excited to have someone of Mr Nene’s calibre on our board, and are grateful that he chose to accept the appointment”, said Arise CEO Deepak Malik in a media release posted on the company's website today. Arise was launched in February and focuses on the banking sector. Read more: Investment company Arise launches to accelerate banking “Mr Nene’s extensive financial experience and background in the public and private investment sector...
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Nigerian startup Tuteria wins Royal Academy of Engineering Africa Award
Nigerian online tutoring network Tuteria took home a cash reward of £25,000 after winning the top Engineering Innovation prize at the Royal Academy of Engineering Africa competition. Tuteria connects students to qualified tutors closest to them. Customers can find any skill they want to learn using the mobile app, they simply set their budget and wait for the nearest tutor to contact them. The platform also uses a rating system and allows customers to book lessons by paying for them through an upfront payment system. Once the tutors are paid after the lesson has been confirmed, Tuteria takes a commission of 15% to 30% for each paid lesson. 'Godwin Benson’s invention changes way Nigerians, Africans share knowledge' Tuteria founder Godwin Benson...
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Unpacking South Africa’s tech startup and scaleup investor landscape
Getting access to the right seed and growth finance is critical to the success of most emerging technology companies. But finding the right investor can be a daunting task for any founding team. You have to deal with different mandates, big egos, various terms and long lock-in periods just to start discussions and there are many boxes to tick. In working on over R300-million worth of seed and growth finance deals for our clients (see the infographic below), our team has seen it all. Without significant direction, founders can spend months worth of crucial time and energy in pursuit of an investor instead...
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Top startup events in South Africa, Africa you should know about this week [29/05/2017]
Looking to get into the South African startup scene or catch up on some of your skills? Well, you've come to the right place. There are loads of competitions, networking sessions and workshops happening around South Africa and the rest of the continent (namely Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana) that we've rounded them up to make your life a bit easier. This article is part of a weekly series that highlights all the top startup competitions, networking sessions, workshops and conferences around South Africa, and the greater region. If you have any event recommendations for us to add to the list,...
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Microsoft, CGHE launch AppFactory Academy in Ethiopia to boost local talent
IT graduates and related computing discipline graduates at Ethiopia's Wollo University will be able to access a six-month internship, where they will work on real-world software development projects with senior software engineers. It follows the launch by the Center for Global Health Equity (CGHE), and Microsoft 4Afrika of a new AppFactory Academy in Ethiopia. In a press release to Ventureburn, Microsoft 4Afrika said on completion of the internship graduates will be able to design, implement and deploy cloud-enabled, mobile and IT solutions in various sectors. They will also be equipped with critical business skills helping them to secure jobs or create their own businesses. This is the...
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Q&A: Taxify reveals plans to take on Uber in Nigeria by being more ‘driver friendly’
The ride-hailing sector may remain attractive in Lagos, with 15 ride-hailing apps competing for a portion of Nigeria's biggest city's vast taxi market, but until now only Uber seems to have achieved some success. Estonian ride-hailing app Taxify, which arrived in the city in November, aims to change this. Uchenna Chukwuebuka Okafor, Taxify’s Operation Manager in Lagos told Ventureburn how the app has its eye focused on being a more driver-friendly app. Ventureburn: What is different about Taxify in comparison to similar services? Uchenna Chukwuebuka Okafor: We treat driver-partners better so that they can offer high quality service to customers. Our commission (that the company...
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