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Top startup events in South Africa, Africa you should know about this week [02/11/2015]
Looking to get into the South African startup scene or scratch 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 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, or next week’s, please let us know in the comments below or send us an email.
Cape Town
As per usual, this week the Mother City is abuzz with events which range from sales workshops to a couple of interesting challenges and competitions.
The Barclays Africa Supply Chain Challenge
The Barclays Africa Supply Chain Challenge had teams of innovators from across the continent submit their game-changing ideas aimed at shaking up the supply chain. Five shortlisted finalists will be given a platform to present their ideas to a panel of industry experts, after which the winner will be announced and receive US$10 000.
If you can’t make it, you needn’t worry. Ventureburn will be there to report on the event so be sure to follow us on Twitter for all the updates. For more information on the event, you can contact Yolande Lundie from Absa.
Date: 3 November, 12:30pm to 19:00pm
Location: The Bandwidth Barn, Woodstock Exchange Building
Social Innovation For The Next Generation
If you’re interested in social innovation and design thinking, the Social Innovation For The Next Generation is perfect for you. The conference looks to explore, refine and generate ideas and solutions around disconnected spaces and communities in regards to urbanisation. Supported by Scandinavian countries including Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway, the one-day event is filled with panel sessions, keynotes, workshops as well as an expo, and, of course, some drinks. Ventureburn recommends this one.
The event is free to attend, and you can register by following the link here.
Date: 4 November, 8:30am to 20:30pm
Location: V&A Waterfront Workshop17
This one’s for the early bird networker. Lean (startup) coffee is a weekly one-hour coffee meetup that runs a mash-up of leancoffee.org with theleanstartup.com — culminating in an agenda-less meeting which sets out to democratically generate topics and ideas.
The meetup is free to attend and you can register here. There’s also another Lean Coffee meeting happening on Thursday.
Date: 4 November, 8:30am to 09:30am
Location: TRUTH Coffee, Somerset Road, Greenpoint
Top Ways to Grow Your Business workshop
The Shift One Training Academy hosts a bunch of workshops and meetups every month. If you’re looking for some inspiration and golden nuggets on growing your business, this might be the right place for you. At this Freebie Fridays session, CEO of Shift One Digital Dylan Kohlstadt will speak about what it takes to crack it as an entrepreneur.
Tickets for the Freebie Friday Workshop are (as you can imagine) free and you can grab them right here.
Date: 6 November, 10:00am to 12:00pm
Location: Shift One Training Academy
Small Business Startups@SORTED — Sales Skills
Small Business Startups@SORTED aims to connect people with others who are establishing themselves.
Any startup looking to make it out in the dog-eat-dog world of business needs sales skills. For this workshop taking place at A Touch of Madness, participants will be able to learn the ins-and-outs of closing that deal by chatting to transformational therapist Shaldon Fitzgerald.
Read more: 6 marketing hacks all entrepreneurs should have in their pockets
The event costs R220 to attend and includes a meal. For information on payment and registration options, click here.
Date: 7 November, 9:15am to 12:30pm
Location: A Touch of Madness, Observatory
Johannesburg
Networking, networking and networking. That seems to be the overarching theme of Jozi this week.
The Freelance Breakfast Meetup is an initiative organised by ZWBDC Magazine and consists of free workshops and networking opportunities. Not specifically geared for startups, but they can certainly take advantage of these workshops. This week the event seeks to help you learn how to run your business more efficiently using online tools using the internet.
For more information on the event, click here.
Date: 3 November, 07:00am
Location: Mugg & Bean (branch not specified)
Have your business cards on stand by, guys. The networking event will focus on building long-term business relationships through word-of-mouth referrals. The organisers are looking for professionals in selected industries so that attendants can tap into one another’s networks.
The event comes with a price tag of US$75 and you can register here.
Date: 4 November, 07:00am to 08:00am
Location: Cafe Dolce Vita — Shop 20, BluBird Shopping Centre
This full-day forum by Mergermarket will bring together business owners and investors within the advisory community to find out more information on exploring and approaching merger and acquisition opportunities outside their existing markets. The event is focused on growth, private equity and asks questions like whether Africa is really rising and where investors should be on the lookout.
For more information, you can follow this link.
Date: 3 November
Location: Hilton Sandton Hotel
Practice pitching your business and get some valuable feedback, while at the same time standing a chance of being chosen for the free half-day business support meeting. The Pitch Your Business event is organised by Business Doctors.
Read more: 8 tips for marketing your startup on a shoestring budget
For more information on the event, follow this link.
Date: 4 November, 04:00pm to 07:00pm
Location: Wild Fig Office Park — Unit A4
More events from around the continent
If you’re one of the continent’s jet-setting entrepreneurs or investors and happen to find yourself in Lagos, Accra or Nairobi, perhaps some of these events will be worth your time.
Lagos Professional Business Networking initiative is backed by UK-based Sterling Business Network International (SBN). For the inaugural event, participants are invited to pitch their idea and hear more about SBN and how it can help grow your business.
For more information on the event, click here.
Date: 3 November, 07:15am
Location: Prime Chinese Restaurant, Victoria Island, Lagos
How to Start a Startup in Nairobi
Hosted by local accelerator, the Founder Institute, the event will gather representatives from different entrepreneurial organisations to give participants insight into the startup ecosystem and the opportunities available.
Date: 4 November, 06:30pm
Location: Nailab, Bishop Magua Centre, Nairobi
Hosted in Ghana, Angel Fair Africa invites selected African entrepreneurs to pitch to a room of curated investors with the intent of doing deals. The event will bring selected entrepreneurial businesses from Pivot East, Seedstars World and Demo Africa to pitch, giving investors the opportunity to prioritise those they wish to meet. We definitely recommend this one.
For more information on early-bird tickets and registration, please click here.
Date: 5 November, 08:00am to 18:00pm
Location: Labadi Beach Hotel, Accra
If there are any other interesting and productive occasions you’d like us to add to this list, please let us know in the comments below or send us an email.
