Like the famous coffee houses of the 1800s, co-working spaces for tech startups are the modern repositories where ideas can grow, projects become startups — essentially, engineering serendipity.
Apart from housing techies and freelancers tapping away at their Mac keyboards, these co-working spaces host events and workshops. These spots are also significant ground that help materialise the growing startup communities within Cape Town, South Africa.
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Cape Town Garage
Found in the artsy, coffee-loving Woodstock Exchange complex, the Cape Town Garage was set up to be a place where tech entrepreneurs can come together and build stuff. The open floor, brightly coloured couches and large windows are usually the popular choice for events like Seedstars Cape Town and other startup demo events.
It’s also home to 88mph’s Cape Town Accelerator Programme which has helped push through popular startups such as 8bit, Ekaya and GraphFlow.
It has a bunch of packages with the premium group option charging R2 000 per month and a flexible space option that goes for R950 per month.
HubSpace
Headquartered in Woodstock’s Old Castle Brewery, HubSpace is a social space for entrepreneurs seeking access to a shared work environment and advisory services.
The initiative has also opened up other chapters in Khayelitsha and in Philippi where they provide local entrepreneurs with a base to collaborate and promote their ideas. Described as a social-enterprise, the operation has been running for over two years.
Apart from providing the basic environment for people to help their ideas to reality, HubSpace also hosts events which aims to make capital and mentorship available. This takes form in an initiative called Pitch Perfect which allows entrepreneurs to showcase their ideas.
Take a look at their promotion video:
We’ve covered Twenty Fifty before. Based in Banhoekweg just above the famous Truth Coffee Roastery, the “clubhouse for entrepreneurs” has grown very popular acting as the hub for freelancers, writers and digital nomads.
The space hosts many workshops, fireside chats and networking events, with beer and pizza a plenty.
Twenty Fifty has a host of different membership packages. To give you an idea, for a month’s 9-to-5, you’re charged R1500 or R2050 if you want access around the clock.
Presented by the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business, the Solution Space is part of Workshop 17 initiative which will see an MIT-equivalent innovation hub at the V&A Waterfront. The hub and lab initiative wants to showcase Africa’s innovative business and design on world standard.
The Solution Space charges R800 per week, R1850 per month, and an after hours 6:00 to 12:00 monthly deal of R650.
Okay, not really based in Cape Town, but close at least. LaunchLab is part of Stellenbosch University’s Innovus programme which is responsible for technology transfer, entrepreneurial support and development among students.
The hub recently announced its annual Pitching Den competition where entrepreneurs from all over the country can win their share of R80 000 in seed funding.
Delivered by the Daddy’s World group, Daddy.O is located in the Old Biscuit Mill. The co-working space slash incubator carries a unique edge of charging desk space per hour, day, or month.
With hanging plants and all, the space recently hosted Cape Town’s Get in the Ring Startup Competition which saw transporting startup GoMetro win the opportunity to pitch on a global level and standing a change of winning a massive R15 000 000 in November.
Please let us know which ones are your favorite.
