Here’s why Demo Africa is moving to Morocco for the next two years

Startup launchpad DEMO Africa will for the next two years be held in Morocco. Applications for this year’s edition close on 15 June, with the main event set to be held in October.

The programme aims to link tech startups with investors and technology stakeholders and by doing so connect African tech startups to the global ecosystem.

In a statement last week (26 March), US-based Africa Technology Foundation (ATF) — the managing partners of Lions@frica — announced that the next two editions of DEMO Africa (2018 and 2019) will be held in Morocco.

Demo Africa 2018 will take place in October, applications close on 15 June

“As codified within our conference charter, we are heading to North Africa for the 2018 and 2019 editions of the annual event, and we are excited to announce Morocco as our host country,” DEMO Africa executive director Harry Hare (pictured above) said in the statement.

Stephen Ozoigbo, a Lions@frica managing partner, added that holding DEMO Africa in Morocco will give the organisation the opportunity to engage with francophone startups across the continent and to “bridge the language barriers that previously affected our engagement with a significant number of startups”.

The initiative, has over the last six editions helped launch 205 African startups, with the annual summit having raised over $50-million in aggregate funding.

The top 30 startups shortlisted after the application deadline will be invited to launch their solutions in front of investors, tech stakeholders and the media.

Selected startups will each receive more than $150 000 worth of software and tools, in addition to access to an eight-week mentorship programme that aims to accelerate the participants readiness for market expansion and investments, as well as two-day bootcamp.

The Morocco gathering is expected to be attended by over 500 angel investors and VCs.

Featured image: DEMO Africa via Twitter