One thing that’s extremely prominent in South Africa’s culture, both socially and professionally, is that it’s extremely fragmented. While there might be great ideas looming, without coordinated direction and collaboration they are neither here nor there.
No ad to show here.
A new initiative called Entrepreneur Traction believes that the Western Cape’s tech innovators are to play a critical role in driving job creation in South Africa. Raised out of the Silicon Cape’s foundation, Entrepreneur Traction is building an established network of tech experts that would cement this gap of Cape Town’s tech startup community.
It’s aiming to do this, initially, by introducing a series of high profile networking breakfasts aimed at driving partnerships and collaborations set to put promising local tech businesses on the global map. And who can say no to a free breakfast and a meet-and-greet? There’s also to be a mystery speaker at each monthly intervention.
“The emerging technology sector in SA, however is already a critical economic driver for the country, as we see a healthy demand and rapid adoption of technologies among African businesses, spanning the telecommunications, e-commerce and IT industries”, says Eric Edelstein, co-founder of Entrepreneur Traction.
Edelstein further points out that there are a bunch of challenges making it extremely difficult for tech startups in South Africa. These include a lack of business skills, funds, devs, confidence, and so forth. “[These], coupled with the existing fragmentation among these start-ups in the Silicon Cape region made us aware of a burning need to bring like-minded tech entrepreneurs together to collaborate, innovate and problem solve collectively rather than in silos,” he argues.
Edelstein believes that if this inherent problem in the industry can be resolved, then SA’s tech sector will have the ability to impact the global technology industry. Ariel Navarro, CEO of Entrepreneur Traction says that while there startups are exposed to workshops, seminars and sales pitches the ecosystem is lacking:
“Although there is a solid place for education, we see a significant need for simply providing a quality environment for tech entrepreneurs to network with substance. We would ultimately like to see collaborations and business partnerships becoming success stories through the exclusive network that we are creating.”
Young tech entrepreneurs who are hungry and passionate to grow themselves and their organisations are encouraged to register online in order to be considered for inclusion in this vibrant community.
Image: amien du Toit via Flickr.
