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.
No ad to show here.
Not all of the events are free and some will require booking in advance. Please click on the event names to find out more information.
Cape Town
Silicon Cape to Silicon Valley
The Silicon Cape Initiative will be hosting Gyft founder and Dragon Vinny Lingham and Matthew Buckland (Creative Spark, Burn Media) in a fireside chat about the startup eco-system. The talk will cover Lingham’s entrepreneurial journey from his successes in South Africa to Silicon Valley.
Location: Workshop 17, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
Date: 7 March, 13:00pm – 15:00pm
Blockchain Conference Highlights
Conference speakers from the recently hosted Blockchain Conference will discuss highlights from the event as well as global trends for blockchain and cryptocurrency.
Location: Barclays Rise, Woodstock Exchange, Woodstock
Date: 7 March, 4:30pm – 6:00pm
Innotribe will be hosting an information session on its next startup challenge. It will be partnering with SWIFT’s African Regional Conference to “bridge the gap between the FinTech startup ecosystem and the financial services community”.
Location: Workshop 17, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
Date: 7 March, 6:30pm – 8:00pm
Startup Grind hosts Matsi Modise (SiMODiSA)
Managing director of SiMODiSA, Matsi Modise will be talking about her story and how she transformed entrepreneurship in SA. The fireside chat will also an open Q&A session with Modise.
Location: Townhouse Hotel, Cape Town
Date: 7 March, 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Le Cap40 will be hosting a panel discussion themed around Women in Business. The event will include discussions around mentorship, rise of the female currency, evolution of archetypes, and role models.
Location: Alliance Française, Loop Street, Cape Town
Date: 10 March, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Johannesburg
Centurion Empowered Capital Business Network
This weekly networking group in Centurion cover five core activities on a monthly cycle, have sales and marketing support from Empowered Capital, as well as networking.
Location: Leriba Hotel and Spa, Centurion
Date: 9 March, 7:00am – 8:30am
Entrepreneur Social and Networking
This monthly social meetup focuses on networking, social and learning about each member’s business interests. According to the event’s page, “For some of us it’s been as good as doing business on the golf course, just easier.”
Location: Picolinos, Fourways, Johannesburg
Date: 9 March, 7:00pm
Nairobi
Nairobi Garage is having an open day this week. Attendees will be shown around, introduced to those who utilise the facilities, and see what it’s like to work out of the Garage.
Location: Nairobi Garage, Piedmont Plaza
Date: 10 March
Image by David Stanley via Flickr.
