Yoco’s Katlego Maphai tops speaker line-up for BigFive Summit

Business intelligence organisation BigFive Digital has revealed the speaker line-up and agenda for its BigFive Summit which takes place between 13 and 15 May at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. The summit is aimed at media, telecom, financial and tech companies bringing digital products to market for small businesses.

Topping the list is Yoco co-founder and CEO Katlego Maphai (pictured above). In September last year the SA point of sale payments provider announced that it had raised a massive $16-million in a Series B funding round led by Silicon Valley-based VC firm Partech (see this story).

The summit aims to highlight the opportunity for bringing to market digital marketing and back-office solutions for local small businesses while addressing the challenges involved in doing so.

BigFive Digital will present the findings of an executive survey on how industry leaders view the Africa and Middle East digital opportunity at the BigFive Summit

Apart from Maphai other confirmed speakers include Outsourced CFO co-founder and MD Louw Barnardt, Praekelt Group founder and CEO Gustav Praekelt, Vendasta co-founder and CEO Brendan King, and Nick Grubb the chief executive for radio at Kagiso Media.

BigFive Digital co-founders Thabo Seopa and Paul Plant will also speak at the summit. Other confirmed speakers include:

• Metis Online CEO Chantelle Bowyer (SA)
• The Digital Media Collective digital marketing director Cheryl Ingram (SA)
• vCita CBDO Adi Engel (Israel)
• Yola CEO Trevor Harries-Jones (SA, USA)
• Vendasta CRO George Leith (Canada)
• Matchcraft CEO Sandy Lohr (USA)
• Trudon’s CEO Lunga Siyo (SA) and CRO Lyndon Munetsi (SA)
• Local Knowledge CEO Trevor Nadeau (Dubai)
• Former CEO ACS Media Sohail Nawaz (Bahrain)
• AfriGIS MD Magnus Rademeyer (SA)
• Africa 118 founder and MD Ezana Raswork (Kenya)
• BPS & Vicinity Media CEO Daryl Van Arkel (SA)

In a statement on Tuesday (9 April) BigFive said the summit will feature topics that are “highly relevant” to any company selling or servicing tech solution to the region’s small businesses.

These include such topics as why Africa is poised for a small business revolution, how the payments revolution is transforming of Africa’s small business ecosystem, the do’s and don’ts of search and social marketing, the path to ecommerce for small businesses and many more.

The summit will also feature two cocktail receptions and a networking dinner where delegates will have the opportunity to engage with like-minded companies.

BigFive is currently running an executive survey to gauge how leaders inside companies which serve or sell to small businesses view the digital opportunity. The full findings of the survey will be presented at the summit.

Individuals who participate in the survey will receive a discount codes on tickets to the conference. Those looking to register as a delegate or speaker at the summit can do so here.

Featured image: Yoco CEO Katlego Maphai (Facebook)