Looking to get into the South African startup scene or brush up on some of your skills? Well, you’ve come to the right place.
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
SingularityU Cape Town Chapter: Space, technology and the future
Come and join the SingularityU Cape Town Chapter for an inspiring evening of discovery and learn from assistant project scientist, Anne Verbiscer, who is the New Horizons Space Researcher for Nasa mission to Pluto and the Kuiper-Belt.
Verbiscer will be joined by Mike Alec-Kearney, from South Africa’s satellite startup CubeSpace and Carla Sharpe from the Square Kilometer-Array (SKA) project.
Date: 19 March, 6pm to 8pm
Location: Workshop17, 17 Dock Road The Watershed, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
MEST Community Conversations Cape Town
One of the biggest challenges startups face is marketing their products and services. Social media is one of the best ways to reach out and communicate with your audience.
This week’s Community Conversation will get you started with the most practical tips for your social media startup success.
Date: 20 March, 1pm to 2pm
Location: MEST,Woodstock Exchange, 401a, Albert Rd, Woodstock, Cape Town
Fuckup Nights is a global movement born in Mexico in 2012 to share business failure stories. Hundreds of people attend each event to hear three to four entrepreneurs share their failures.
This month’s edition will feature Keet van Zyl, Yoco CEO Katlego Maphai and Evolve Integrated Marketing co-founder and strategic director Taryn Springhall.
Date: 20 March, 1pm to 2pm
Location: 46A, Canterbury Street, Zonnebloem, Cape Town
For those working in startups, Lean (startup) coffee is a weekly one-hour coffee meetup that runs a mashup of leancoffee.org with theleanstartup.com.
Date: 21 March, 8.30am to 9.30am
Location: 1 Somerset Road, Green Point, Cape Town
Future Females: The power of personal brand
This week’s talk is on how to build and share the personal brand that will help you stand out, in the way you want.
Date: 22 March, 6pm to 8pm
Location: Workshop17, 17 Dock Road The Watershed, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
Johannesburg
HackerNest Johannesburg March Tech Social
HackerNest Tech Socials are a fun, relaxed way to connect with your local tech community.
Date: 20 March, 7pm to 10pm
Location: Nexus, 21 Harley Street, Ferndale, Randburg, Johannesburg
Yoco Meets is an empowerment platform where entrepreneurs participate in a product showcase, entrepreneurship chat, and a networking session.
The Retail Learnathon session is focused on helping entrepreneurs in Johannesburg that are involved in retail to be mentored and learn from other experienced and established entrepreneurs.
Date: 20 March, 6pm to 8pm
Location: 30 4th Avenue, Randburg
The Business Activator Programme
Get an opportunity to work with experts on how to think critically about your business idea, develop comprehensive business plans and develop an easy implementation strategy to execute your plan.
Date: 24 March, 9am to 10am
Location: Rutega Learning and Business Hub, 5 Rente Street, Shop A4, Johannesburg
Kenya
Tech Lex 101: Artificial Intelligence and machine learning
This Metta event will tackle legal, ethical and social issues raised by artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Date: 20 March, 6pm to 8pm
Location: Metta Nairobi, 14 Riverside Drive, 6F, Belgravia Building, Nairobi
StartupGrind hosts Peter Nduati (Resolution Group)
Peter Nduati is the founder and CEO of Resolution Group which he started as Resolution Health East Africa in 2002. This fireside chat will dwelve into Nduati’s entrepreneurial journey and uncover what it took to grow the multi-billion company.
Date: 23 March, 6pm
Location: Metta Nairobi, 14 Riverside Drive, 6F, Belgravia Building, Nairobi
Aeternity is a new blockchain technology, designed to deliver efficiency, transparent governance and global scalability. Join guest speakers Aeternity COO Emin Mahrt and CBDO Nikola Stojanoe as they discuss the new blockchain technology works.
Date: 24 March, 3.30pm to 5.30pm
Location: Metta Nairobi, 14 Riverside Drive, 6F, Belgravia Building, Nairobi
Nigeria
Digital financial services and financial inclusion workshop
Join this event to get the newest trends in digital finance and financial inclusion in Nigeria and around the world.
Date: 21 March, 9am to 12am
Location: Oriental Hotel, Oniru, Lagos State, Victoria Island, Lagos
Pitch and Grill is a platform that provides startups access to potential funding opportunities by bringing together relevant stakeholders such as entrepreneurs, investors, donors, and partners.
At Pitch & Grill, selected start-ups pitch their businesses with the hope of connecting with funding opportunities and getting business advice.
Date: 21 March, 10am to 1pm
Location: Civic Hive, 42 Montgomery Road, Lagos
Are you a founder interested in learning about business development?
Join Oluyomi Ojo and udoka Uzoka at this meetup to learn about the importance of the product market fit, securing partnerships and acquiring customers, and how to plan towards profitability.
Date: 24 March, 10am to 2pm
Location: Civic Innovation Lab, 50 Ademola Adetokunbo Crescent, Abuja
Tunisia
Startup Weekend Manouba
If you have a lot of ideas and want to launch a startup, but lack experience, then Startup Weekends is the place to pitch your startup idea and to take action.
Startup Weekends gather together participants from different profiles in one place with one ultimate goal — to found sustainable startups in 54 hours.
Date: 23 to 25 March, 3.30pm to 5.30pm
Location: Metta Nairobi, 14 Riverside Drive, 6F, Belgravia Building, Nairobi
Zambia
Digital Natives: Building a financial future for Zambia and Africa
Why is fintech important in Africa and for Africans? What does fintech activity in the US mean for the continent’s entrepreneurial landscape?
This week, join BongoHive finance and strategy consultant Ruth Lawanson as she discusses the future of fintech on the continent as well as shares insights from around the globe.
Date: 21 March, 1.30pm to 4pm
Location: BongoHive, Thabo Mbeki Road, Lusaka
AgriBusiness Bootcamp Zambia final pitch event
Last year, the World Bank Group and the Zambian Ministry of Commerce and Industry in partnership with BongoHive and AgriProfocus Zambia launched the Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Bootcamp in Zambia with support from the World Bank Group.
Join the top 20 agro-processing small businesses from the bootcamp as they pitch their businesses.
Date: 21 March, 1.30pm to 4pm
Location: BongoHive, Thabo Mbeki Road, Lusaka
Zimbabwe
Can the experiences of Zimbabweans who have worked in Silicon Valley inspire innovation in the country’s tech sector?
Join Lodrina Masiyazi, Lilian Mapuranga and Techwomen Zimbabwe founder Rumbidzayi Mlambo as they share the lessons they learnt around technology and business in Silicon Valley.
Date: 22 March, 5pm to 7pm
Location: B2C Coworking, Corner Jason Moyo Avenue and First Street, Harare
