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
The Western Cape Funding Fair is a joint initiative between Deloitte Western Cape and the Department of Economic Development and Tourism. It is an exhibition and conference styled platform aimed at creating awareness and access to multiple funding organisations.
Date: 8 May, 8.30am to 3.30pm
Location: 1 Somerset Road, Green Point, 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: 9 May, 8.30am to 9.30am
Location: 1 Somerset Road, Green Point, Cape Town
Startup Grind Cape Town hosts Nicollete de Freitas (Fish4Africa)
Join Nicolette de Freitas, CEO and co-founder of Fish4Africa, as she chats about supplying retail chains and creating franchises.
Date: 9 May, 5.30pm to 8.30pm
Location: Workshop 17, 17 Dock Road, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
The cost of yes, the art of no
Solution Space Learning Lunches provides a space for entrepreneurs to learn from experts in their field. Invited guests speak on a range of topics that address common pain points faced by all founders.
This month, join Anjie Berlin, an executive coach, and communication specialist with more than 25 years experience in communications. Berlin will discuss how to recognise whether you are leading with your priorities or reacting to other peoples.
Date: 10 May, 1pm to 2.30pm
Location: UCT Graduate School of Business, Solution Space, 9 Portswood Road, Cape Town
Are you ready to disrupt the justice sector?
Access to justice still remains out of reach for many thanks to high costs, lack of lawyers in rural areas, poor contracting and enforcement issues.
The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) believes that justicetechs can revolutionise access to legal services much like fintechs have done for financial services. Join this event to learn about opportunities in the justice sector and the HiiL Justice Accelerator.
Date: 11 May, 8am to 10am
Location: Bandwidth Barn, 66 Albert Road, Cape Town
Technovation regional pitch event
Technovation offers girls around the world the opportunity to become tech entrepreneurs. Girls of ages 10 to 18 work in teams to build a mobile app and a business plan for an app that solves challenges in their communities.
At the regional pitch this year, girls from secondary schools within South Africa will be showcasing their problem-solving mobile Apps and business plans.
Date: 12 May, 10am to 2pm
Location: Rise Barclays, 66 Albert Road, Woodstock
Johannesburg
EntrepreneurshiT, uncensored and unplugged
Join this event to learn ways to tackle some of the challenges that you face as an entrepreneur.
Date: 10 May, 6pm to 9pm
Location: Villa Sahib, Villa Sahib, Midstream Ridge Estate
Startup Grind Pretoria celebrates women founders at this week’s event. Find out more about ICT on Heels and what the organisation is doing for women in tech.
Date: 8 May, 5.30pm to 8.30pm
Location: African Beer Emporium, 367 Helen Joseph Street, Pretoria
Durban
Startup Grind Durban hosts Vinny Lingham ( Civic, Dragon’s Den, and Shark Tank)
This week, Startup Grind Durban hosts Vinny Lingham, serial entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of Civic.
Date: 10 May, 5.30pm to 8pm
Location: Pavilion Hotel Durban, 15 Old Ford Road (KE Masinga), Durban
Egypt
Startup Haus Cairo opening reception
Join this event to celebrate the launch of Startup Haus Cairo.
Date: 9 May, 6.30pm to 9.30pm
Location: Startup Haus Cairo, 37 Talaat Harb Street, Downtown, Cairo
Ghana
Startup Pitch Bootcamp: Learn how to pitch from top entrepreneurs
Pitching is a key skill of every successful entrepreneur. How do you communicate your business clearly to employees, customers, and investors? What are some common pitching mistakes that make you look inexperienced? What is the best way to pitch your business?
In just three hours, this intensive workshop will help you improve your pitching skills and understand the components of a great pitch, providing plenty of practice until you get it right.
Date: 8 May, 6.30pm to 9.30pm
Location: KPMG Headquarters, Ocean House, 13 Yiyiwa Drive Off The Olusegun Obasanjo Way (formerly Achimota Road), Abelenkpe, Accra
Kenya
Digital Skills for Her: Empowering women in technology
Digital Skills For Her is a digital acceleration programme for female founders in Kenya. This event will look at the challenges faced by Kenyan women venturing into entrepreneurship.
Topics to be covered include business trends and technology, personal branding, financial stewardship, and leadership.
Date: 12 May, 9am to 2.30pm
Location: Moringa School, Ngong Lane, Nairobi
DrinkEntrepreneurs Nairobi meetup
DrinkEntrepreneurs is a gathering of entrepreneurs, startups and corporates.
Date: 11 May, 5.30pm to 8.30pm
Location: The Twig Cowork Limited, Nairobi
Marketing in the Digital Landscape: Isaac Hunja (Sky Garden Kenya)
Struggling with your marketing and keen to learn from a game-changer in East Africa’s digital marketing space? Eager to tap into the immense potential of online marketing in today’s ever-changing marketplace?
Join Sky Garden chief marketing officer Isaac Hunja as he shares his expertise and helps entrepreneurs navigate through the pool of all things digital marketing in regards to startups.
Date: 11 May, 5.30pm to 9pm
Location: Mettā Nairobi, 14 Riverside Drive, 6F Belgravia Building, Nairobi
Unlock your startup’s full potential with the Sage accounting business clinic.
Date: 11 May, 8am to 5pm
Location: Nailab- Bishop Magua Centre- 4th Floor, Bishop Magua Centre Ngong Road, Nairobi
Mettāclass : The Entrepreneur with the solution to ship
Join ECEMEA Oracle marketing vice president Karim Mokhnachi on this masterclass on how to get your product, solution and idea out to market faster.
The workshop will also cover how to measure ROI and how to understand your consumers.
Date: 10 May, 9am to 12pm
Location: Mettā Nairobi, 14 Riverside Drive, 6F Belgravia Building, Nairobi
Moringa Tech Talk : Technopreneurship
Join a panel of CEOs and CTOs as they discus entrepreneurship.
The panel will look at the essentials of entrepreneurship in the tech space, securing funding and building a sustainable tech enterprise.
Date: 10 May, 6.30pm to 9pm
Location: Moringa School, Ngong Lane, Nairobi
AION Nairobi meetup 2.0: Creating interchangeability across blockchain networks
Join Blockchain Academy instructor and Raise founder Marvin Coleby along with a panel of representatives from Andela, Moringa School, Institute for Blockchain Studies, and Health Wealth Coin as they discuss blockchain networks.
Date: 10 May, 6pm to 9pm
Location: Nailab, Nairobi
Tanzania
Tanzania Breweries Green hookup dinner
Last month AB InBev Africa launched the Africa Sustainability Challenge. This event will unpack the challenge which will provide selected innovators with up to $50 000 in seed capital, and a trip to Silicon Savannah in Nairobi.
Date: 8 May, 6.30pm to 9pm
Location: Sahara Sparks, Kinondonu B near, Open University, Dar es Salaam
Tunisia
Join a panel discussion on entrepreneurship and social startups. The panel will look at value creation and provisions of Tunisia’s startup act.
Date: 12 May, 2pm to 5pm
Location: Pasha Hotel, Sfax,
Growth hacking: The startup’s marketing weapon
Attendees at this event will learn about the meaning of growth hacking and how it can help startups grow.
Date: 12 May, 2pm to 5pm
Location: El Space, 10 Bis Rue d’Algerie, 1000 Tunis, Tunis
