One of the biggest events set to take place this week is the BigFive Summit, which kicks off tomorrow (13 May) in Cape Town. The event is aimed at companies that offer digital marketing, commerce and back-office solutions for small businesses based in Africa and the Middle East.
For those in Johannesburg, look out for the Investor Readiness workshop on Tuesday (14 May) led by SW7 co-founder Keith Jones.
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Elsewhere on the continent, a seminar on Friday (17 May) in Nairobi will teach startups about the anatomy of a deal, this while one of the continent’s largest ICT leadership events Transform Africa Summit kicks off on Tuesday (14 May) in Kigali, Rwanda.
This article is part of a weekly series that highlights all the top startup events, competitions, networking sessions, workshops and conferences in Africa.
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.
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.
Bloemfontein
Sales guru Mark Keating will provide insights on what one needs to succeed in the new digital world with Google Africa. You can also learn how to fund your business courtesy of FNB and join a one-on-one session with entrepreneur Funeka Khumalo, the executive director of Kevali Chemicals Group.
Date: 18 May, 8.30am
Location: President Hotel, Bloemfontein
Cape Town
The BigFive Summit is the first-ever event for companies building digital marketing, commerce, and back-office solutions for Africa and Middle East small businesses.
Date: 13-15 May
Location: V&A Waterfront, Workshop 17, 17 Dock Rd, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
Stellenbosch University IdeaSmash
Stellenbosch University’s best early-stage entrepreneurs will present their business ideas to a panel of judges at the Stellenbosch University IdeaSmash pitching event
Date: 14 May, 5pm to 9pm
Location: Nedbank Stellenbosch University Launchlab
Paxful Campus Tour (UCT)
Peer-to-Peer bitcoin marketplace Paxful and Startup Grind South Africa are partnering to offer a free workshop on how you can take advantage of the bitcoin economy. Attendees will learn how to use bitcoin to start their own bitcoin-powered businesses.
Date: 15 May, 5pm to 8pm
Location: The New Lecture Theatre, Upper Campus, UCT
Learning Lunch: Blockchain 101
Join Ubu’s Ricki Allardice in this learning lunch meetup which will cover everything you need to know about the theoretical aspects of Bitcoin as well as how you purchase and store your crypto in a safe manner.
Date: 15 May, 12.30pm to 1.30pm
Location: WorkInProgress – An Absa Innovation Lab, 5th Floor, Block B, Woodstock Exchange Building, 66-68 Albert Road, Cape Town
This is the first event of a series that will cover several key topics to unlocking your brand’s digital potential. The event will cover how the Facebook Algorithm works.
Date: 16 May, 6.30pm to 9pm
Location: Work and Co, 11th – 14th Floor, Touchstone House, 7 Bree Street, Cape Town
Paxful Campus Tour (Stellenbosch)
Peer-to-peer bitcoin marketplace Paxful and Startup Grind South Africa are partnering to offer a free workshop on how you can take advantage of the bitcoin economy. Learn how to use bitcoin to start your own bitcoin-powered businesses.
Date: 17 May, 4pm to 7pm
Location: VV Hall, 1st Floor, Neelsie Student Centre,8 de Beer Street, Stellenbosch
Johannesburg
Learn how to use bitcoin to start your own bitcoin-powered business at this Startup Grind and Paxful event.
Date: 13 May, 6pm to 9pm
Location: Wits Clubhouse, West Campus, North Gate Entrance 7, Parktown
Join SW7 co-founder Keith Jones as he talks about investor readiness.
Date: 14 May, 4pm to 6pm
Location: Microsoft South Africa, Conference Room 4, 3012 William Nicol Drive, Bryanston, Johannesburg
Join Raluca Pauna the founder of Global Institute for Accelerating Innovation and CEO of Eriscan Innovation at this Startup Grind event where she will discuss innovation and artificial intelligence.
Date: 14 May, 5.30pm to 8.30pm
Location: African Beer Emporium @ 012CEntral, 367 Helen Joseph (Church) Street, Pretoria
Township Entrepreneurs Alliance will host the Soweto leg of its national tour this week. At the event, thoughtleaders and business speakers will discuss topics that will transform businesses.
Date: 18 May, 8am to 2pm
Location: Dlamini Multipurpose Centre Hall, Koma Street, Johannesburg
Social Media & Business Success Conference
Join this two day event if you want to grow your existing business or start a business in social media.
Date: 18 May, 2.30am to 5.30pm
Location: Monte Casino, Fourways, Johannesburg
Benin
Startups in Cotonou will present their solutions at this Startup Grind event, and then get assistance and advice from other Startup Grind members.
Date: 18 and 19 May, 8.30am to 7.30pm
Location: New Rivoli Hotel, Square 54, Steinmetz Avenue, Cotonou
Kenya
Join Enda CEO Navalayo Osembo as she shares her success story in this seminar.
Date: 15 May, 2pm to 4pm
Location: C4DLab, Riverside Drive, Nairobi
This seminar will help startups understand the legal risks of deals, how to identify these risks and how best to prepare for a deal.
Date: 17 May, 2pm to 4pm
Location: C4DLab, Riverside Drive, Nairobi
Join Balloon Ventures Maureen Njeri at this Startup Grind Women’s Month event.
Date: 17 May, 2pm to 4pm
Location: C4DLab, Riverside Drive, Nairobi
Mozambique
Startup Grind Maputo hosts Págua and Oiren founder Nério Cutana.
Date: 16 May, 6pm to 8pm
Location: Standard Bank Incubator in Maputo, Standard Bank Incubator, near JAT 1, Maputo
Nigeria
Trek Africa Entrepreneurship Conference
Join this gathering of over 800 aspiring and emerging entrepreneurs, policy makers and others, which focuses on creating a better life for Nigerian youth who are either seeking employment or aiming to start or grow their businesses.
Date: 15 May, 9am to 4pm
Location: Presken Hotel,17 Alade Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos
Rwanda
Transform Africa Summit is one of Africa’s leading ICT leadership events. The event will be held under the theme Boosting Africa’s Digital Economy and is expected to attract 4000 participants.
Date: 14 to 17 May
Location: Kigali Convention Centre, Kigali
Uganda
Hive Colab director and co-founder Barbara Birungi Mutabazi will be talking about value proposition.
Date: 17 May
Location: Hive Colab, Plot 90, Kanjokya Street, Kampala
Featured image: Delegates pictured at the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit 2018 held in Cape Town in November last year. (Robert Cable)
