Silicon Cape, French Tech event to connect investors with African startups

Silicon Cape and accelerator French Tech have joined forces to create AfricArena, a platform to connect investors from across the world with startups from Africa and beyond.

The conference will take place on 6 and 7 November at the Century City Conference Centre and aims to attract 500 delegates, with a strong proportion being international visitors.

It will host keynote speeches and panel discussions with top speakers from Europe and Africa, as well as pitch battles to win investment opportunities from committed angel investors, venture capital funds and private equity players.

Several challenges ahead of the conferences will enable startups to win free access to the conference to compete during the event.

The conference is supported by numerous partners, such the South African Venture Capital Association (Savca) and Wesgro, and sponsors, including Air France.

‘We hope that we can speedup the creation of global synergies and create lasting impact’

Silicon Cape CEO Ellen Fischat said the forum will give entrepreneurs, investors, and corporates from across the globe a forum to connect with African startups.

“We hope that by bringing key stakeholders from across the globe and continent together, we can speed up the creation of global synergies and lasting impact,” added Fischat.

Christophe Viarnaud, leader of French Tech in South Africa and CEO of Methys, said Africa is already home to major innovations in various key areas such as mobile payments, smart city technologies and tourism.

“Our goal is to make AfricArena the event of reference for international investors, entrepreneurs and large companies interested in the digital transformation opportunities taking shape on the continent,” said Viarnaud.

Tickets for the conference are available with early bird pricing until end of next month on www.africarena2017.com and sponsorship opportunities are available.