La French Tech launches Johannesburg chapter with 22 On Sloane

Johannesburg based startup campus 22 on Sloane has launched La French Tech Johannesburg. It follows the launch of a Cape Town chapter started in 2016.

The launch was held last week, was attended by among others French Ambassador to South Africa, Aurelien Lechevallier, according to a blog post on Monday (14 October) on 22 on Sloane’s website. The startup campus is funded by the Global Entrepreneurs Network (GEN).

La French Tech is a startup initiative run by the French government. It was launched in 2013.

Kizito Okechukwu, the co-chairperson of GEN Africa, said in the post that La French Tech Johannesburg will see a new community of Johannesburg startups joining a network of more than 50 cities around the world supporting tech entrepreneurship.

22 on Sloane last week launched La French Tech Johannesburg, SA’s second chapter of the French government initiative

Okechukwu said the implementation of La French Tech Johannesburg was due to three very successful years of operation in Cape Town.

“Since the selection of Cape Town as one of the 21 international French tech hubs in 2016, the French tech community, with its dozens of South African start-ups led by French nationals, has been very active in South Africa,” he said in the post.

The development of the French tech community in Johannesburg, Okechukwu said, will provide combined support from the French corporate and investor community and will translate into more investment from French tech companies in the South Africa’s growing digital economy.

He said South Africa is home to more than 370 French businesses employing more than 65 000 people, the majority of which are in the province of Gauteng where Johannesburg is situated.

Read more: French Tech launches first of its kind incubator in Cape Town

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