The Future Cities Hackathon will be held in Cape Town from 1 to 2 March by co-hosts, Startupbootcamp AfriTech (SBC) and RCS. The event underlines the Sustainable Development Goals and challenges citizen innovators to showcase disruptive solutions for water and sanitation, sustainable cities and communities, and smart mobility.

SBC AfriTech is a prestigious programme for Africa-focused tech startups. The programme supports the world’s up-and-coming pioneers including African tech startups, linking them to the fastest-moving corporates on the continent.

It is the only multi-corporate backed accelerator of its kind, powered by Old Mutual, Nedbank, RCS, BNP Paribas Personal Finance and PwC.

Last year, SBC AfriTech was named the Top Accelerator on the African continent by the Global Startup Awards.The accelerator is sponsored by some of the most innovative corporate partners in Africa and has proven to be a successful channel to scout, skill, and scale disruptive startups.

Regan Adams, CEO of RCS explains, “This year we will broaden our focus on the water crisis to include water sanitation and marine pollution. In addition, our focus on South Africa’s growing marine pollution, caused by rapid population growth and increasing industrialisation, is also in line with the global corporate investment strategy of our holding company, BNP Paribas. The second focus will be on finding sustainable and affordable transport solutions which is becoming a major issue in our cities. RCS is excited to once again be part of the Hackathon initiative and we unequivocally support and believe in our local startups in finding the most sustainable solutions for these challenges.”

Now in their third consecutive year, SBC is applying this powerful Corporate Startup Collaboration to solve municipal challenges.

Using Cape Town as a lab, the impact-orientated Future Cities Hackathon will focus on the following three UN Sustainable Development Goals:

SDG 6: Clean Water & Sanitation

SDG 11: Life Below Water

SDG 14: Sustainable Cities & Communities

“Startupbootcamp AfriTech has committed to championing Global Goal 11 (Sustainable Goals and Cities) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) by connecting solution-makers with corporates, innovation ecosystems, thought leaders, investors and mentors,” states Motlhabane Koloi, Legal and Scouting Manager and SDG Initiative Lead for SBC AfriTech.

This Hackathon will bring together innovators and corporates to materialise three of the sustainable development goals and we are excited to be setting the standard for sustainable innovation in corporates and the broader innovation ecosystem.

The hackathon will feature several top-level keynote speakers discussing the daunting challenges brought about by pollution, water access and urbanization.

The event is open to citizen innovators, startups and anyone with ideas to solving the most pressing sustainable development challenges facing our world today.

Over the course of two days, the goal is for attendees to form five to 10 teams tackling different challenges. These teams will focus on practical solutions that could be further developed and implemented with the support of the sponsors and their partners.

The aim of the hackathon is to crowdsource solutions, talent, and business models from the Cape Town innovation and resilience enablement ecosystem.

By holding events in more than 100 cities each year, SBC supports the world’s most talented founders with hands-on mentorship and access to key industry connections. SBC is known for growing and scaling innovative solutions to modern challenges within the African continent. This hackathon in particular strives to solve pertinent issues such as the water crisis by embracing new technology and ideas.

If you or anyone you know has a tech-based idea or solution to solve the challenges as stipulated by the Sustainable Development Goals, attend the hackathon and see your solution come to fruition.

Get your tickets here: http://qkt.io/futurecity 

Details for Startupbootcamp AfriTech’s global FastTrack Tour for 2019 has been confirmed and the search for top-performing disruptive startups seeking solutions for positive change in Africa is on.

Applications for each event close three days ahead of time – apply HERE.

Wednesday 6 February 2019, Cape Town – Startupbootcamp AfriTech is one of the most sought-after programmes for Africa-focused tech startups. In 2010, the Startupbootcamp programme was founded with a simple goal in mind: to support the world’s best innovators through all stages of growth. This led to the first-ever Africa-focused accelerator of its kind, namely Startupbootcamp AfriTech (SBC AfriTech), to launch in Cape Town in 2017.

In SBC AfriTech’s first two years, the twenty companies in the portfolio signed 52 pilots and commercial agreements with large corporations. In 2018, the programme was named the Top Accelerator on the continent by the Global Startup Awards.

Now, in its third consecutive year, SBC AfriTech is calling on high-growth startups in the tech industry to apply to a prestigious 3-month programme aimed at helping companies scale in the global market.

“Through Startupbootcamp’s expansion to numerous countries in Europe, Asia and America, and now Africa, it’s clear that the accelerator movement has caught on quickly, showing a demand for ongoing support in a globally growing entrepreneurial community,” says Startupbootcamp Founder and CEO, Philip Kiracofe.

“The SBC AfriTech FastTrack Tour for 2019 is an open canvas for forward-thinking startups to initiate a shift in traditional thinking while networking with hundreds of other innovative, like-minded people wanting to set new benchmarks in the African tech industry”, adds Nsovo Nkatingi, AfriTech Programme Director.

“Attending a FastTrack is useful for startups wishing to apply to the SBC AfriTech programme,” states Velani Mboweni, CEO of SBC AfriTech 2018 alumnus Lüla, “At the Cape Town FastTrack we engaged with corporate sponsors to the programme Old Mutual and Nedbank and engaged with them right from the get-go, which really gave us a leg-up in our SBC journey.”

Lula is a mobility-as-a-service startup and over the course of the 3 months spent at the SBC AfriTech accelerator, Lula completed 4 pilots in Cape Town with some of the biggest corporations in South Africa and is now raising its first formal investment round.

The SBC AfriTech FastTrack Tour for 2019 will cover 19 events in 14 countries.

Attending a FastTrack will boost your chances to joining SBC AfriTech’s highly-acclaimed and intensive three-month programme, by 20 percent. FastTracks are informal events hosted all over the world and the aim is for the SBC team, mentors and sponsors to have the opportunity to meet the most suitable early-stage companies interested in joining the 2019 programme. For each FastTrack, the top ten startups to apply will receive instant feedback from a panel of industry mentors, be able to network with the SBC investment team and learn more about the SBC AfriTech.

The accelerator is anchored and endorsed by leading corporate sponsors Old Mutual, RCS, BNP Paribas Personal Finance, Nedbank and PwC that will support and grow the program and selected startups. Leaders from these corporates will be present at the FastTrack events to engage and mentor.

Interested startups can click here to find the FastTrack nearest them and submit your application.

Applications to the FastTracks is currently open and applications to join the final accelerator will open on 20 February 2019.

To apply to the FastTrack nearest you, please visit http://bit.ly/ftapply19

FastTrack Tour Dates for 2019:

• 19 February 2019 Johannesburg
• 23 February 2019 Nairobi
• 25 February 2019 Dar es Salaam
• 18 March 2019 Kigali
• 20 March 2019 Kampala
• 22 March 2019 Nairobi
• 8 April 2019 Accra
• 10 April 2019 Dakar
• 25 April 2019 Casablanca
• 27 April 2019 Lagos
• 28 April 2019 Lagos
• 30 April 2019 Abidjan
• 30 April 2019 Durban
• 3-4 May 2019 Johannesburg (Hackathon)
• 7 May 2019 Gaborone
• 9 May 2019 Harare
• 14 May 2019 Zurich
• 17 May 2019 Paris (VivaTech)

Beyond the FastTracks

Startupbootcamp AfriTech sees the potential of African startups solving real-world problems with disruptive technology. As part of a global family of industry-focused accelerators, the team believes in the power of Africa. In 2018, 20 percent of the number of applications received across the Startupbootcamp global family of accelerators came from African-based startups. Over the past seven years, the United States has been the leader with the highest number of funding applications submitted, followed by India, United Kingdom, Nigeria, South Africa, Italy and Mexico.

“Another of the aims of SBC is to support gender- and ethnically diverse teams at any stage in their growth”, says Zachariah George, CIO and Co-Founder of SBC AfriTech, “In 2018, 30 percent of the teams who went through the programmes were led by female founders – a 7 percent increase from 2017. Additionally, SBC AfriTech is the only accelerator of its kind to be led by a powerhouse of females, seasoned in startup coaching – Nsovo Nkatingi.”

SBC AfriTech is focused on high-growth startups in Big Data, Dashboard & Predictive Analysis, Process Automation & Simulation, Machine Learning, Content Aggregation & Knowledge Management, Digital Customer Journey, HealthTech, Sensors, Health Data Analytics, IOT & Asset Tracking, Distributed Ledgers, Digital Identity Management & Authentication, FinTech for Financial Management & Financial Inclusion, P2P and Sharing Economy, On-Demand Pricing, Usage-Based Solutions, Smart Mobility & Open Transportation Networks, RetailTech, Augmented Reality, Computer Vision and Sensors.

“The greatest highlight of attending SBC AfriTech in 2018, was just having that cushioning through mentorship and access to an ecosystem that we would normally not get,” states Kamogelo Kekana, co-Founder and COO of Akiba Digital, SBC Alumnus 2018, “For us, SBC has tremendously accelerated our business. We’ve forged partnerships with corporates that wouldn’t previously have taken us seriously – so it’s given us significant credibility.”

Global sponsors include Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, and Cisco, with service partners The Loudhailer, Brevity Law, Cloudworx, the Inner City Ideas Cartel and VC4A.

For more information about SBC AfriTech, visit www.startupbootcamp.org/accelerator/afritech and follow @SBCAfriTech on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

or more information about Startupbootcamp, visit www.startupbootcamp.org and follow @Sbootcamp on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, flickr and Instagram.

-- ENDS --

For more information on Startupbootcamp AfriTech or this release, please contact:

Mika Stanvliet | 081 534 6237 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Airbus and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) have announced the top 10 African tech start-ups that will take part in the latest Airbus Bizlab #Africa4Future accelerator programme. They were selected after an open public pitch event in front of experts, potential investors, the media and other stakeholders in Kenya’s capital city.

#Africa4Future is a joint business accelerator initiative of Airbus and GIZ’s Make-IT in Africa initiative together with the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), a nonprofit seed fund and pan-African organisation that brings together startups, entrepreneurs and the tech community, and Innocircle, the South African-based innovation consultancy.

The top 10 start-ups were selected from 314 entries representing 19 African countries that were received when the challenge was opened last October. These were assessed by a panel of Airbus and other independent experts.

The programme aims to encourage and support entrepreneurship in Africa. The continent’s young and increasingly techno-savvy population is likely to be the driving force behind Africa’s socio-economic development. The competition identifies Africa’s own pool of talented entrepreneurs using innovative aerospace based solutions to tackle the continent’s most pressing challenges such as transportation, agriculture and healthcare.

As a global aerospace accelerator, Airbus BizLab is ideally suited to help African startups transform innovative ideas into viable and valuable businesses. In doing so, it increases the aerospace industry’s engagement with hardware and software innovators and entrepreneurs in Africa while helping to nurture the establishment of competitive entrepreneurial ecosystems on the continent.

The Nairobi event kicks off an intensive 6-month business incubation and accelerator programme involving technical, commercial and mentorship activities in France, Germany and South Africa. This includes workshops and coaching sessions with Airbus experts, GIZ’s Make-IT in Africa, MEST and Innocircle coaches.

The programme will culminate with Demo Day events at the biennial Paris International Airshow and a special event in Germany from 19-26 June, when finalists will launch their products, define their collaboration with Airbus and announce their investment commitments in front of representatives from across the aerospace industry.

Finalists:

1. Astral Aerial (Kenya) – using drones for humanitarian cargo transport, surveillance and emergency response.

2. Cote d’Ivoire drone (Ivory Coast) – locally-manufactured drones for various applications.

3. Elemental Numerics (South Africa) – applies computational fluid dynamics techniques to the design of machines and components, ranging from aircraft to heart valves.

4. Lentera Limited (Kenya) – applying remote sensors to monitor and transmit environmental data to enable more efficient and smarter farming.

5. Maisha ICT Tech PLC (Ethiopia) – deploying locally built drones for delivering medicines, blood and healthcare items to remote and rural areas.

6. MamaBird (Malawi) – provides a platform to help Governments, NGOs and other organisations deliver vital life-saving supplies to remote communities.

7. Map Action (Mali) – a solution offering real-time online urban mapping to identify problems affecting water supplies, hygiene and sanitation.

8. MobiTech Water Solutions (Kenya) – an online real-time water monitoring solution that allows businesses, homes and water-service providers to manage their available water using an app-based dashboard and instant messaging.

9. Track Your Build (Nigeria) – a novel infrastructure management tool for construction and operations.

10. WiPo Wireless Power (South Africa) – offers reliable and convenient wireless power chargers for businesses, conference centres, airports, restaurants and other venues for the charging of mobile devices, laptops and drones.

The Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative and the Royal Academy of Engineering once again work together on the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation 2018. Two South African companies are amongst the final 16 shortlisted candidates.

Monday 3 December 2018, Cape Town – Pelebox Smart Lockers and the Hybrid Five-Axis Machine Tool are the two South African innovations that are on the shortlist for the Royal Academy for Engineering’s Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, accelerated by the Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative (CiTi).

CiTi is Africa’s oldest tech incubator, in its 20th year in 2019, and the Royal Academy of Engineering is the United Kingdom’s prestigious national academy for engineering and technology since 1976. Since 2017, the Royal Academy of Engineering has worked with CiTi to support engineering and tech entrepreneurs from across the continent in developing their unique scalable solutions to local challenges. After a highly successful first cohort together, the Royal Academy of Engineering once again selected CiTi as the primary programme incubation partner to support the 16 businesses from the following 6 African countries in 2018/19: Nigeria, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Burkina Faso and South Africa.

The programme, designed by CiTi specifically for the Royal Academy of Engineering, uses a remote incubation model, delivering entrepreneurial training, coaching and mentorship over the 7-month programme period; coupled with three residency weeks which include workshops, networking events and local entrepreneurial engagement sessions. The first residency week took place in Cape Town at the Bandwidth Barn in early November, and the following two will take place in London and Kampala. The entrepreneurs also stand a chance to receive £25,000 (R450,000) at the end of the programme, and all will have direct access to both the Academy and CiTi’s vast network of engineers, tech professionals, businesses and industry leaders.

“We have found a dynamic synergy with the Royal Academy of Engineering, especially around our shared impact values,” states Ian Merrington, CEO of the Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative (CiTi), “Making a difference and improving lives through technology by accelerating African innovation and African entrepreneurs is an objective shared by both organisations. CiTi has relished the opportunity to design a pan-African incubation programme. We now find ourselves strongly positioned as an African partner to international organisations who want to deliver high-impact support for entrepreneurship on the continent through hybrid models of training and mentorship.”

On why the Royal Academy of Engineering selected Cape Town-based CiTi as its incubation partner, Meredith Ettridge, Senior Manager for International Development at RAE, states: “Earlier this year we undertook a competitive tender process with a number of strong applications, following careful review we were very pleased to appoint CiTi as the training provider for the 2019 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, building on the success of the previous year. We were particularly pleased to award the contract to a training provider based in sub-Saharan Africa, and with such a strong history of support for entrepreneurs nationally and regionally.”

With Cape Town recently being named the leading Tech Hub of Africa, it should come as no surprise that two of the companies hail from SA.

“CiTi has a strong network of trainers and mentors in Cape Town so it was an easy decision to hold the first training session here. Cape Town also has a thriving technology ecosystem which was evident during the myriad of events happening as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week which allowed our shortlist to make excellent new connections,” adds Meredith Ettridge.

The Hybrid Five-Axis Machine Tool is the first of the South African innovations on the shortlist, developed by Dr Lukas du Plessis. Du Plessis’s hybrid machine tool works on five axes to allow users to shape, cut, grind, shear and otherwise form metals and hard materials with more precision.

“There’s so much manufacturing in South Africa that could be greatly improved if small and medium-sized businesses could afford machining tools like this – and my hope is to change that,” states Dr Lukas du Plessis, founder of the Hybrid Five-Axis Machine Tool.

He continues: “What I hope to gain from this experience is twofold: (i) A fundamental understanding of entrepreneurial business so that I can support entrepreneurs in South Africa to establish compact manufacturing firms that are competitive internationally. (ii) I also hope to find a partner who shares my manufacturing vision and passion for machine tools.”

The second South African innovation is the Pelebox Smart Locker system developed by Neo Hutiri.

Pelebox is a smart locker system designed for public healthcare facilities to dispense chronic medicine to regular patients, cutting down on long queues and easing pressure on clinic resources.

Developed by Hutiri and his team for the South African healthcare system, the Pelebox is a simple wall of lockers, controlled by a digital system in the centre. Healthcare workers stock the lockers with chronic prescription refills, log the medicine on the system, and secure each locker. Pelebox then sends patients a one-time PIN, which they simply enter into the system to unlock their medicine.

“The public healthcare system is so often under strain, and Pelebox can take a lot of pressure off clinics who fill repeat prescriptions for regular patients,” comments Neo Hutiri, founder of Pelebox Smart Lockers.

He adds: “To be considered amongst thousands of innovators and entrepreneurs that would have applied for this prize is a testament to the work that we are doing on the ground in leveraging technology to serve people. Our vision is to create and promote inclusive technologies solving challenging issues in health. We feel that we are well positioned to solve the issue of long queues in clinics through technology that is patient-centric and easy to use.”

Startupbootcamp AfriTech (SBC AfriTech) was named the Winner of the Top Accelerator Award by the first annual Southern Africa Startup Awards, in partnership with the Global Startup Awards.

Following a rigorous process of nominations, public voting and adjudication, on Thursday 22 November 2018 at the regional Grand Finale of Southern Africa Startup Awards, 15 winners in 15 categories, from 14 participating SADC countries were announced, and SBC AfriTech walked away with the title of Top Accelerator. The award was received by Nsovo Nkatingi, Programme Manager for SBC AfriTech and the only female to lead an accelerator of this scope. 

“Startupbootcamp AfriTech is truly honoured to have received this award,” states Nsovo Nkatingi, Programme Manager for SBC AfriTech, “And we are even more privileged to be backed by Nedbank, Old Mutual, PwC, RCS and BNP Paribas Personal Finance, these are the partnerships that help us validate the impact we have in Africa’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.”

The Southern Africa Startup Awards is a circuit of the world renowned Global Startup Awards, which provides an annual spotlight on web/tech startups in regions across the globe with focus on startups around 5 years old, highlighting up-and-coming and established technology talent globally.Prior to the Grand Finale, more than 3000 nominees went through public voting and adjudication in their home countries to win the national round. The winners were then further judged and ranked by an esteemed panel of international judges, whose decision was eventually combined with individual public votes from across the globe for the finalists to win at the regional Grand Finale of the 2018 Southern Africa Startup Awards.

“The tech ecosystem in Africa is expanding rapidly and there are many new entrants - both local and international - that are providing amazing support to local startups. This means that all the accelerator programmes must keep raising their game,” states Philip Kiracofe, co-founder and CEO of SBC AfriTech, “We are humbled to have received this award and are honoured to proudly represent the African continent at the Global Startup Awards competition. The recognition for SBC AfriTech gives us yet another platform through which to showcase the disruptive startups in our cohort, and the innovative corporate sponsors who are powering them.”

SBC AfriTech is now officially the leading tech accelerator on the African continent and is the Africa-leg of a global family of industry-focused accelerators. The AfriTech accelerator is focused on high-growth startups in blockchain, connected devices, payment solutions, capital markets and asset management, integrated supply chain, e-commerce, FinTech, RetailTech, InsurTech, alternative financing, identity management, digital connectivity, data and behavioural analytics and enabling technologies.

Selected winners of the National Awards in each Region, such as Africa, will then participate in the Global Startup Awards the following year. Six of the categories announced at the Southern Africa Startup Awards, including Best Startup Accelerator/Incubator, which SBC AfriTech won, will now be represented at the Global Startup Awards next year. This means they will compete with the winners of 6 other regions for the global accolade to be announced in 2019. This ceremony will be held in China with the venue and date still to be confirmed.

“Innovation 'For Africans, By Africans' is baked into the DNA of SBC AfriTech and we are passionately devoted to accelerating every aspect of the ecosystem - startups, corporates, young digital talent, our partner network, and of course the SBC AfriTech team. We are able to leverage a global support network that includes 680 startup alumni, hundreds of corporate sponsors, and thousands of mentors to fulfil our core mission to scout, skill, and scale the best innovators on the continent. We work tirelessly every day to embrace this ethos and we are ecstatic to be recognized with this award. Naturally, we are excited to look forward to the Global Startup Awards competition, but regardless of what happens there, our most important focus will continue to be the local and regional ecosystem,” concludes Kiracofe.  

For more information on Startupbootcamp AfriTech or this press release, please contact:

Mika Stanvliet | 081 534 6237 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

About Startupbootcamp AfriTech:

In 2017 the global Startupbootcamp network launched the first-ever Africa-based SBC programme in Cape Town.SBC AfriTech is a leading accelerator focused on high-growth startups in blockchain, connected devices, payment solutions, capital markets and asset management, integrated supply chain, e-commerce, FinTech, RetailTech, InsurTech, alternative financing, identity management, digital connectivity, data and behavioural analytics and enabling technologies.

The accelerator is anchored by leading corporate sponsors Old Mutual, RCS, BNP Paribas Personal Finance, Nedbank, and PwC that will support and grow the program and selected startups. Global sponsors include Amazon Web Services, and Cisco.

The programme is also supported by several service partners including: Cloudworx, VC4A, Inner City Ideas Cartel, Brevity Law and The Loudhailer.

For more information visit: https://www.startupbootcamp.org/accelerator/afritech/ 

About SASAwards:

Southern Africa Startup Awards is a circuit of the world renowned Global Startup Awards, which provides an annual spotlight on web/tech startups in regions across the globe with focus on startups around 5 years old, highlighting up-and-coming and established technology talent globally. Entries are judged by an esteemed panel of judges, all leaders in the respective fields, as well as by public vote. Global Startup Awards is the largest independent startup-ecosystem competition started in the Nordics in 2012, covering more than 45 countries in 7 regions.Since 2012, Global Startup Awards has grown to include South East Asia, Central Europe, SAARC Region (South Asia), and now East Asia, Baltics and Southern Africa which launched in 2018.

For more information about the awards please visit: www.southernafricastartupawards.com

Eleven startups from across the African continent, identified as “entrepreneurs for humanity”, were awarded the opportunity to partner with the AfricArena challenge corporate sponsors at the end of the second AfricArena technology conference in Cape Town today.

Saturday 17 November, Cape Town – Amongst others, Air France KLM selected DiscoverIkasi and Sea Monster, both from South Africa, to assist with improving the travel experience and sustainability of its subsidiary Joon. Vinci Energie, will work with Senegal’s Oniriq and South Africa’s DataProphet on innovative energy solutions in Africa.

See the full list of winners, sponsors and challenges below.

During 2018, in the run up to AfricArena2018, 60 startups pitched their businesses in regional events in eight cities across Africa. Many of which were invited to take part in a series of challenges set by the AfricArena sponsors, all looking to solve uniquely African business problems.  

SOLUTIONS FOR THE AFRICAN MARKET

The AfricArena 2018 conference was anchored and endorsed by major international sponsors La French Tech, Silicon Cape, Vinci Energies, AirFrance KLM, Engie, Saint-Gobain, Methys, Rogerwilco, City of Cape Town, Proparco, RCS, and Leroy Merlin.

The following sponsors specifically came to South Africa and AfricArena to explore innovation opportunities within Africa and abroad: RCS, Saint-Gobain, AirFrance KLM, Vinci Energies, VivaTech, Leroy Merlin, Engie, Sanofi and FSAT Labs.

“We expect to have a different approach from these startups, a bright idea that could be easily implemented, and also to benefit from what is very high potential in terms of innovation and entrepreneurial initiatives. And to find solutions that are very well adapted to the African market,” said Jean-Michel Mathieu, CEO of Joon, a subsidiary of Air France.

“African entrepreneurs are very willing to find solutions, to take risks, they address vital expectations and needs, and they are looking at the challenges with a very frugal mindset. I think this is a lesson for us as well, we learn a lot working with them and collaborating with them to find the right solutions and we take this inspiration back to Europe with us,” said Lydia Babaci-Victor, Chief Innovation and Development Officer at Vinci Energies.

Vincent Viollain, co-Founder and Head of Partnerships and Startups at VivaTech, the biggest tech conference in Europe said: “The leapfrog ability of African technology has become a bit of a cliché. But when you get a chance to see it, you’ll see that it’s actually true. African technology is frugal, its smart and it can have an impact locally as well as globally. In our winner, Aerobotics’ case we believe the solution can move beyond physical borders, and also have application in different industry sectors.” 

AFRICARENA WINNERS:

The startups who won the challenges, were grateful of the experience and excited to be moving forward with some of the largest corporations across the globe.

“Oniriq provides access to African rural populations through energy and the internet. It’s great to be here at AfricArena, it has been a journey. For two months we’ve been participating in this challenge since the selection two months ago in Dakar with Vinci Energies team and we’ve been in discussions since. For us the win is a great achievement and we’re looking forward to starting our collaboration in Senegal,” said Rodolphe Rosier, Founder of Oniriq. 

“We’d like to thank AfricArena and VivaTech for the opportunity to present and we’re really happy to have won and we cannot wait to be in Paris in May. We’re already expanding around the world and this presence at VivaTech 2019 will give us a great opportunity to meet the European market,” said Nasreen Patel, Head of Product at Aerobotics. 

“This is not just a win for DiscoverIkasi, it’s a win for the communities we work with across South Africa. It’s going to give them a lot more exposure. This is what we’ve been working towards since starting the business, to get to a platform where I can market DiscoverIkasi, our market, our experiences and the townships on an international stage. Now we need to go back home and form a strategy to scale the business across South Africa,” said Ntsebenziswano (Benzi) November, Founder of DiscoverIkasi.

The startups attending the conference will also each be receiving credit from AWS as part of their prizes. Each startup in attendance, winner or not, will receive $2000 in AWS credit.  

A WORD FROM THE ECO-SYSTEM

Kerry Petrie, General Manager of Silicon Cape, host ecosystem of AfricArena, states: “It’s such an amazing opportunity for entrepreneurs from all across the continent to connect and share, building bridges that may hold future partnership, export and market opportunities. It builds the visibility of the pan-African community for a local, regional and global stakeholder audience. We have to work together to increase investment in African ventures from 1%. And AfricArena is playing a pivotal role in making that a reality.”

Reflecting on the event, Christophe Viarnaud, CEO of AfricArena, expanded on the philosophy behind the conference. “AfricArena’s open collaborative Pan-African model, highly inclusive and embarking all categories of investors, ecosystem contributors, and corporates focused on innovation in Africa, has demonstrated very high impact throughout 2018 with 16 events on 3 continents. The grand finale at AfricArena2018 has shown the energy and excitement from 15 corporates, over 150 investors and 70 startups, with over $2m deals being done, startup-corporate partnerships being struck and a wave of energy and innovation from African entrepreneurs. We could not be more excited about the future, comments Viarnaud.  

THE WINNERS:

Air France KLM Challenge 1                     DiscoverIkasi

Air France KLM Challenge 2                    Sea Monster

Engie Challenge                                           Arnegy

Leroy Merlin Challenge                             BizAR Reality

Saint-Gobain Challenge 1                         Swift GeoSpatial

Saint-Gobain Challenge 2                         The Student Hub

Sanofi South Africa Challenge                Iyeza Health

The RCS Group Challenge                        ThisIsMe

Vinci Energies Challenge 1                       Oniriq

Vinci Energies Challenge 2                       DataProphet

Vivatech 2019 Challenge                          Aerobotics 

SPONSORS AND THEIR CHALLENGES:

Air France KLM Challenge 1 – optimising the airline’s travel experience while reducing its environmental footprint

Air France KLM Challenge 2 – using technology to enrich subsidiary Joon’s travel experience for its passengers

Engie Challenge – ensuing a reliable energy supply in urban areas

Leroy Merlin Challenge – immersive showroom experience that shows off a large variety of products

Saint-Gobain Challenge 1 – using satellite trend analysis to predict urban and climate challenges

Saint-Gobain Challenge 2 -- a solution to upgrade professionals’ skills across Africa, especially in remote areas.

Sanofi South Africa Challenge – optimising patient treatment adherence and completion rates

The RCS Group Challenge – storing and securing customer identity and authentication credentials

Vinci Energies Challenge 1 – using digitalisation to optimise industry and energy performance

Vinci Energies Challenge 2 – How to make energy more accessible in Africa using technology such as energy efficiency flow solutions, energy flow optimisation, blockchain and artificial intelligence

Vivatech 2019 Challenge – using artificial intelligence (AI) to generate growth and sustainability in the agriculture sector 

-- ENDS --

For more information on AfricArena or this press release, please contact:

Mika Stanvliet | 081 534 6237 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

About AfricArena:

AfricArena is a conference that showcases Africa’s best startups and innovators in front of an audience of local and international investors looking for world-class talent.Celebrated as the largest tech ecosystem accelerator on the African continent, last year’s edition of AfricArena saw more than 80 startups presenting to over 100 investors with 25 countries being represented and over $2M worth of deals done. This year's edition saw 70 startups from 32 countries pitching to over 600 attendees. This year they are predicting that funding for African startups will crack US$1 billion. Earlier this year AfricArena launched a global tour to source the world's best tech innovators solving uniquely African problems, and the tour covered 66 000 kilometers in total. AfricArena is the ultimate deal-flow platform, bringing investors and startups together in one central location.

For more information visit: https://africarena2018.com

AfricArena, Silicon Cape and Wesgro host expert discussion and release research indicating funding raised by African startups to increase by 100%+, exceeding $1 billion for the first time.

Tuesday, 30 October, Cape Town – In the wake of the SA Investment Conference that took place last week, AfricArena, Wesgro and Silicon Cape hosted a press conference at the InvestSA One Stop Shop in Cape Town, making public new partnerships for the conference and discussing the role conferences and accelerators like AfricArena play in attracting investment to the continent.

Partech Ventures’ latest annual funding report shows that venture capital funding in 2017 reached $560 million, recording 53% year on year growth. South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria dominate with 6% of total funding. Francophone Africa is accelerating with 14% of the deal transactions and financial inclusion (off-grid tech, fintech and insuretech) representing 45% of deals.

The track record shows the trend is that African tech entrepreneurs are raising more and more funding. Yet, the amount of investment going to African tech startups represents less than $50c per capita whilst in Europe the investment is $50 per capita in the USA $150. Currently, less than 1% of global tech investment is into Africa whereas on the global scene, in 2017 the USA attracted $74 billion, Asia $71 billion and Europe nearly $18 billion.

“If we are to create the next generation of successful entrepreneurs competing at a global scale – clearly the challenge remains as an input and output measure to increase the level of capita that African startups attract,” states Christophe Viarnaud, CEO of AfricArena and Methys. ““It is predicted that in 2050 and 2100, there will be more than 50 cities with more than one million people on the African continent, and the majority of the most highly populated cities in the world will be in Africa. This is a very important factor in terms of being a fundamental underlying trend which is going to drive increasing investment in Africa, therefore we foresee the investment in African tech startups to exceed the $10 billion annual mark in the next decade.”

Based on internal research conducted in 2018, AfricArena, Silicon Cape and Wesgro expect the funding raised by African startups to increase by 100%+, exceeding $1 billion for the first time and achieve $1 dollar per capita, positioning Africa as the fastest growing area in the world.

“Another interesting thing is the emphasis we put on taking our startups to the bigger stages outside of the continent,” adds Danai Musandu, Investment Associate, Goodwell Investments BV, “You always find more people rushing to go to Silicon Valley to go see where the big stage and the content is. But we need to have a change of perspective and a change of attitude, where people will say ‘We’re going to Africa, where the big stage of the future is’. The biggest barrier is our perspective and we need to change that perspective.”

AfricArena is a pan-African ecosystem accelerator whose mission is to help African startups access market and capital. The primary outcome measure is investment deals done around the event.

AfricArena 2018 Announcements

Over 70 start ups from over 30 countries will attend, competing in 11 open innovation challenges

In partnership with We Think Code, AfricArena will run a hackathon on a mobility challenge for the City of Cape Town

EM Lyon, a world-ranked business school, joins as academic partner and will stream AfricArena live on its Casablanca, Lyon and Singapore campuses

Over 100 investors from US, Europe, Africa will attend or follow on the live streaming of the pitch sessionsAfricArena announced partnership with Deep Tech platform ‘Hello Tomorrow’ and a Deep Tech Africa challenge that will take place on Day 2 of AfricArena.

Silicon Cape members to receive early bird special of 50% off AfricArena tickets 

EM Lyon is an international business school priding themselves in “making entrepreneurs for Africa”. They capitalize on the worldwide-recognized experience and quality of their programs and offer both students and corporations content that is tailored to their context and to their problems. EM Lyon is fully in line with their signature "early maker": a school that tries, investigates and innovates far ahead of others.

Hello Tomorrow organises mentorship programs and a series of events around the world, as well as educating and consulting relevant stakeholders on emergence of deep technologies with the platform fast becoming a key reference in deeptech innovation and entrepreneurship.

Sarah Pedroza, Managing Director of Hello Tomorrow, states: “Deeptech innovation happening today knows no borders. But the opportunities and resources to catalyze these solutions are unevenly distributed. We need to give better tools to deeptech entrepreneurs in ecosystems that are booming, connecting them to a global network of industry leaders, investors and policy makers in order to bring their concepts to market. We’re excited to partner with AfricArena, joining their flagship event in one of the biggest tech hubs in Africa, which is a great opportunity to bring key stakeholders together.”

Finalists for the internationally sponsored challenges were also announced:

VINCE ENERGIES CHALLENGE – How to make energy more accessible in Africa thanks to energy efficiency solutions, energy flows optimization blockchain and/or AI - Rensource (Nigeria), BIG POT – Nigeria, Oniriq – Senegal

SAINT-GOBAIN CHALLENGE – A solution to upgrade professionals’ skills across Africa - Syafunda (South Africa), The Student Hub (South Africa), Ceed Learning (South Africa)

VIVATECH CHALLENGE – How AI can help generate a self-sustaining growth in the AgriTech industry - Agrocenta (Kenya), Homefarm (South Africa), Aerobotics (South Africa)AfricArena will take place on 15 & 16 November.

More information available at www.africarena2018.com

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For more information on AfricArena or this press release, please contact:

Mika Stanvliet | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | 081 534 6237 

About AfricArena:

Celebrated as the largest tech ecosystem accelerator on the African continent, last year’s edition of AfricArena saw more than 80 startups presenting to over 100 investors with 25 countries being represented and over $2M worth of deals done. The conference serves as a platform for the continent’s best startups and innovators to showcase their world-class talent in front of an audience of both local and international investors. AfricArena is the ultimate deal-flow platform, bringing investors and startups together in one central location.

The challenges run by AfricArena are sponsored by Vinci Energies, AirFrance, Engie, Sanofi, Leroy Merlin, the City of Cape Town and RCS.

The conference is anchored and endorsed by corporate sponsors and partners La French Tech, Silicon Cape, Wesgro, SEDA, and will be covered by several media such as Techcrunch, Les Echos, Maddyness, Fast Company and many others. 

A new, highly-efficient mobile blockchain developed in Africa is set to acquire large-scale consumer adoption by 2021

Monday, 23 October 2018: DéMars (DMC), a mobile money platform and new blockchain protocol for the young emerging market is lite, fast, scalable, private, secure and virtually free. It’s also the first of its kind developed in Africa.Until now, various technological issues have held back large-scale consumer adoption of blockchain technology. Many early adopters have abandoned Bitcoin, Ripple, and Ethereum due to poor user experience.

DéMars provides a new infrastructure, the beta version of which will be revealed by the end of Q2 2019.The new technology aims to deliver financial services for the 1.7bn primarily young, unbanked adults in developing markets like Sub-Saharan Africa, of whom two thirds own a mobile phone. The “Banking as a Service Platform” will reduce the high cost of remittances to and within developing markets and enable access to simple lending, insurance and savings products. This is made possible via a smart contract escrow feature, where you can place a classified advert on the network and trade goods, services and cash with others. The solution responds to the resultant demand after global products failed to provide any real utility for the African consumer since they aren’t designed for a data constrained environment. In addition, global products don’t support micro transactions and rely on credit card payments.

The Founder of DMC, a South African now residing in Mauritius, Shaun Burrow, a banker by profession, states: “I started researching the entry-level market, and I was simply blown away to learn that 1.7 billion adults don’t have access to basic financial services and to learn that in the remittance space, families are paying about 45 billion US dollars a year in fees on the funds they are sending home. This is money being diverted from the poorest of the poor. The cost of payments to Sub-Saharan Africa and within Sub-Saharan Africa are the highest in the world, they range from 10 - 20 % of the money being sent home. It’s simply an unjust tax on ordinary, hardworking people.”

A mobile first for Africa

DéMars has worked out a more efficient way (versus other protocols like Bitcoin and Ethereum) to transfer data and validate transactions. The key innovation is a novel blockchain protocol which leverages a hypercube distributed hash table (similar technology to that used in file sharing speeds up the network and allows it to scale efficiently.All transactions are completely private as they are only stored on your mobile phone as unlike in the case of bitcoin or Ethereum it is not necessary to download the entire blockchain, which is a complete waste of data. There is also no centralized or decentralized servers as the network is stored and “lives” on the users’ phones. This means it’s completely distributed and free of censorship.

Best of all, the network and application are free and it is owned by its users. All transactions are virtually free too. All you need to access it is the native currency, DMC.

Only 10 Billion DMC, the cryptocurrency, will ever be issued, so there is a limited supply. The project is currently pre-selling 8 Billion coins to raise funds for further development with an initial selling price of €10 (R170) for 1000 coins. The price will increase by 10% for each round of 500m coins sold.Once deployed, entrepreneurs and developers will be able to build apps and offer services on the network too.

Trade local, pay global

The new digital currency falls under all three categories of digital currency. It has transactional uses, like Bitcoin. It’s the native currency of a platform, like Ethereum, and it’s has utility as it is designed to fulfil a specific task, like Ripple

A new global currency is under construction

The new currency has features that cross multiple traditional forms. In evaluating this new currency, we should rethink everything. Technology is fundamentally changing financial interaction and the new peer to peer decentralised currencies, including DMC, are taking the lead in this transformation. This is a currency you own and you control. No bank or government can take it away from you and you can choose to exchange it with whomever you please.

“The current financial infrastructure is like an old road, full of potholes, tolls and dilapidated petrol stations. DéMars is digging the tunnels and laying the sleepers to build a new railway line - in fact, it’s more like a hyper loop. And DMC is the electricity which will power the new system. It’s a new high-speed train with better and more convenient stations,” concludes Shaun Burrow, Founder of DMC.  

ENDS 

Editor’s Note

About DéMars

DéMars is a next generation blockchain protocol. The infrastructure is designed to reduce data trans-fers and energy consumption. The network's design enables it to run on decentralised mobile phone nodes, whilst maintaining a high level of cryptographic security and protection from double-spending. The protocol is designed for micro-currency exchanges and payments in a distributed and decentralised marketplace. As the network grows, through use of our Application, the technology can be extended to informal trades in goods and services, micro-lending and to insurance con-tracts.

For all press enquiries please contact:

Mika Stanvliet | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | 081 534 6237 

Nedbank announces the Top 10 Innovators sourced from around the globe that they will connect to major corporates and business leaders in partnership with Silicon’s Valley’s Plug and Play, the world’s largest innovation platform, at this first of its kind event.

South Africa, 5 September 2018 – Nedbank recently announced the expansion of their US partnership with Plug and Play, the world’s largest innovation platform, to include South Africa for the first time. Together, the entities will connect 10 visionary entrepreneurs from around the world to business leaders at The Disruption Agenda to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa in September.

“We’re incredibly excited for the ten startups that are going to be part of The Disruption Agenda. The most important thing for Nedbank is to get pilots and experiments underway and push straight through to commercialization where possible,” states Stuart van der Veen, Head of Disruption and Innovation at Nedbank CIB. “We’ve engaged with our most forward-thinking clients and they will be participating in both the deal-flow sessions and be present at the actual pitches of the startups.”

Nedbank initiated their relationship with Plug and Play, described as the ultimate matchmaking machine between startups and corporates, two years ago as a sponsor of the global FinTech programme. Startups selected to engage at The Disruption Agenda represent both African and global startups from across industry sectors.

Startups selected for The Disruption Agenda

1.Koniku: Starts with the premise that biology is the most advanced technology on earth. Their belief is that Bio is Tech™. Koniku builds living machines with synthetic biology. Machines which can detect fake food, design taste, detect explosives, infectious diseases, cancers and more. Nature is our open source library. Currently, the company grafts custom proteins which act sensors on living cells – neurons - and encapsulate them within a silicon chip. The chips – Koniku Kore’s - will one day power the next generation of cognitive robots – synthetic cognition. 

2.Airware: Airware is the leading enterprise drone analytics company helping enterprises leverage today’s rapidly advancing technologies (such as drones, cloud computing, machine learning and more) to safely see and sense their sites and structures to improve productivity, mitigate risks, and take workers out of harm’s way. Airware enables enterprises to harness aerial data and turn it into valuable business insights that can be shared and acted on across sites, teams, and geographies. Their solutions enable enterprises to reinvent their organizations for the digital era by translating aerial data into business impact.

3.Sentiance: Sentiance analyses sensor data to understand human behavior and context so clients can develop new products and services that turn the Internet of Things (IoT) into the Internet of You. Sentiance context intelligence enables solutions for lifestyle-based insurance, contextual marketing and commerce, smart mobility, connected health, smart home, smart city and connected car. 

4.LifeQ: LifeQ implements a unique multidisciplinary approach underpinned by in-depth knowledge and understanding of human physiology and systems biology to extract and deliver relevant and meaningful person-specific digital biomarkers from various curated data sources. They are a world-leading science and technology company that want people from all walks of life to enjoy optimal health. LifeQ generates, and makes available, high-value personalized health information and solutions, which would traditionally be inaccessible or only obtainable through costly, invasive and inaccessible means, at a reliability level suitable for use by individuals, businesses, and clinical providers.

5.Wasteless: Wasteless is the world’s first machine-learning solution with real-time tracking for grocery stores looking to offer customers dynamic pricing based on a product’s expiration date. Wasteless takes machine learning capabilities used online and brings them to Brick and Mortar outlets. Tracking products at the item level, automating manual processes, and applying dynamic pricing have been the foundation of successful e-commerce platforms enabling them to substantially increase their profits. Wasteless allows supermarkets to close the gap and compete in the digital era.

6.Trueface AI: Trueface computer vision solutions augment any existing camera feed into intelligent, actionable data capable of identifying persons-of-interest, objects and more. Trueface AI provides facial recognition and spoof detection solutions for clients of all sizes. It provides an API, on-premise solution and a no-code solution for identity management. The Trueface mission is to educate on the benefits of computer vision and make it accessible for businesses looking for more unique and secure solutions.

7.Aerobotics: Aerobatics provides farmers around the world with world-leading pest and disease management systems for tree crop protection using drone and satellite data. Aerobotics’ software, Aeroview, empowers Tree Crop Farmers to identify early stage problems in their orchards. Used in conjunction with the Aerobotics’ Aeroview Scout App on their smartphone, farmers are able to locate problem areas on a tree-by-tree basis. Achieving success for over 6 million trees to-date, Aerobotics is setting the standard for tree crop analytics globally and innovating the agricultural processes as we know them.

8.What3Words: What3Words is a universal addressing system provides a precise and incredibly simple way to talk about location. They have divided the world into a grid of 3m x 3m squares and assigned each one a unique 3-word address. Better addressing can enhance customer experience, deliver business efficiency, drive growth and support social and economic development. It was the first system designed for voice and human interaction with machines.

9.Dispel: Dispel makes cloaking technology, rendering networked infrastructure and endpoints invisible and segmented, stopping attackers from gaining actionable knowledge usable in a cyberattack. Dispel cloaking is a secure overlay network in which applications can be deployed, or around which infrastructure can be concealed. They accomplish this cloaking through network-level Moving Target Defense: an orchestrated mass-virtualization and encryption technology designed to disrupt attacker's operations. An offensive, moving target defence stops attacks well ahead of older technologies. Dispel has established an industry-leading security program, ensuring customers have a high degree of confidence and trust in their stewardship of customer data and operations.

10.IoT.nxt: IoT.nxt has developed a world-leading framework that makes efficiencies, cost savings and increased revenue from IoT (Internet of Things) a reality for businesses. The IoT.nxt platform allows rapid deployment and businesses to action an Internet of Things strategy with little disruption to current operations.The major strength of the IoT.nxt framework is that the solution is technology-agnostic. They can help digitise any industry, any system and any process. IoT.nxt lays the foundation for rapid digitisation, creating agile, efficient, future-proofed businesses. They’ll help you create an interconnected, interoperable ecosystem without disrupting your business. 

“Some of the best startups in the world, when it comes to disruption, exist right here in South Africa. LifeQ, IoT.nxt and Aerobotics are proudly South African startups that will be participants in the event,” adds van der Veen, “one of the founders of Koniku is Nigerian who is now based in Berkeley in the United States. They’re the world’s first neurocomputation company, so essentially looking at neurons and genetically editing them to be able to detect small traces of substances, for example, explosives, illicit materials and even disease, anything a dog’s nose can sense.”

“Aerobotics is a Cape Town-based but global startup, now focusing on drone analytics, looking at agriculture and tree crops. So, from the startups attending The Disruption Agenda, we see massive value for clients as well as for the ecosystem at large.”

The 10 startups attending The Disruption Agenda are from across the globe, with half based in Silicon Valley, but their solutions are all applicable to the African continent. 

A Word From the Startups

"Africa deserves access to cutting-edge technology like everywhere else. Imagine being able to screen for any illness by breath alone. Personal and population health data at your fingertips using volatile organic compounds produced by the body,” comments Oshiorenoya Agabi, founder and CEO of Koniku. “At Koniku we believe any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Nature. Using synthetic biology, we can build from the same building blocks as nature.”

“At LifeQ we saw the opportunity to leverage physiological data by bridging the gap between insights generated from limited access to expensive medical grade outputs and the easily accessible inexpensive consumable devices with their low efficacy outputs,” adds Dylan Garnett, COO of LifeQ, “I am very excited that LifeQ has been selected for Plug and Play as it will undoubtedly serve as a great platform to help identify and, along with others, address real needs that exist in South Africa and the broader African continent, thereby furthering LifeQ's vision of improving human health and wellbeing at scale.”The solutions built by these young innovators each demonstrate the importance of using tech to future-proof not only businesses but human lives, and how critical disruption across every industry is.

“Sentiance carries the company goal "Improving people’s lives using AI”. The technology is used today to help people live a healthier life and, amongst others, to reduce accidents. Our insights can be used by our customers to engage with their users and to improve their daily lives. Healthcare and insurance providers can, for example, provide lifestyle coaching and also detect and predict heart arrhythmia. Mobility and automotive companies can provide driver coaching and increase road safety and more. The Sentiance platform allows companies to engage with their end-users in a privacy-aware manner, at right time in the right moment, thereby improving the user’s quality of life and assisting in day to day tasks,” states Oliver Bath, Head of Client Services at Sentiance.

The Disruption Agenda is aimed at select clients and ecosystem collaborators.

To find out more you can follow Nedbank CIB social channels or get in contact by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  

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For more information about this press release please contact:

Mika Stanvliet | The This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | 081 534 6237 

About Nedbank Group
Nedbank Group is a bank holding company listed on JSE Limited (JSE) with a market capitalisation of R125 billion as at 30 June 2018. Nedbank Group is one of Africa’s largest banking groups.Its principal banking subsidiary is Nedbank Limited, and the group is 54% majority owned by Old Mutual Limited (OML), which has a primary listing on the JSE with secondary listings in London, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Namibia. Nedbank Group owns subsidiaries and banks in Namibia, Swaziland, Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, and offshore in the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey. It also has representative offices in other Southern Africa countries, including Angola and Kenya, and has key global financial centres to provide international banking services for SA-based multinational and high-net-worth clients in London, Toronto and Dubai (UAE).We are a diversified financial services provider, offering a wide range of wholesale and retail banking services, as well as insurance, asset management and wealth management solutions.

For more information, visit https://www.nedbank.co.za/ 

About Plug and Play:
Plug and Play is a global innovation platform. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we have built accelerator programs, corporate innovation services, and an in-house VC to make technological advancement progress faster than ever before. Since inception in 2006, our programs have expanded worldwide to include a presence in over 20 locations globally giving startups the necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley and beyond. With over 6,000 startups and 220 official corporate partners, we have created the ultimate startup ecosystem in many industries.We provide active investments with 200 leading Silicon Valley VCs, and host more than 700 networking events per year. Companies in our community have raised over $7 billion in funding, with successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club, PayPal, SoundHound, and Zoosk.

For more information, visit www.plugandplaytechcenter.com

Nedbank launches The Disruption Agenda to connect the best technology startups to major corporations and business leaders

South Africa, 13 August 2018 – Nedbank announced today the expansion of their US partnership with Plug and Play, the world’s largest innovation platform, to include South Africa for the first time.Together, the entities will connect 10 visionary entrepreneurs from around the world to business leaders at The Disruption Agenda to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa in September.These startups are at the leading edge of digital transformation. They have been accelerated via the Plug and Play platform and identified as relevant disruptors to solving cross-sector business challenges at a corporate level within the local market.

“Nedbank recognises that building an innovation strategy at a corporate level can present a number of significant challenges. To help corporate leaders, we have structured The Disruption Agenda, a first of its kind event on the continent, to simplify how corporates connect to world-class startups,” shares Stuart van der Veen, Head of Disruption and Innovation at Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB). “The problem is that innovative thinking is too often limited to finding new ways of doing old things, when what businesses really need to set themselves apart is to find completely new things to do. And that’s where the successful integration of disruptive technology can be an unparalleled source of comprehensive transformation for any business.”

Nedbank’s participation in Plug and Play's FinTech accelerator program abroad supports its commitment to source innovative digital enhancements to meet the changing needs of its clients. Nedbank has sponsored Play and Play’s Fintech initiative for close on two years and for each of the four batches that Nedbank has been involved in, the bank’s teams actively engaged with the startups to source new ideas and partnerships with the aim of delivering delightful client experiences and disruptive client value propositions.

“Our partnership with Nedbank has given our startups a successful route to expand their business to South Africa,” said Max Koenig, Director of Plug and Play FinTech, Silicon Valley. “The CIB group, responsible for innovation within Nedbank, has been instrumental in sourcing startups to digitally transform their company.” 

The Disruption Agenda is a closed event structured for Nedbank’s clients, while a public event for broader access to Plug and Play is envisioned to take place later in the year. The success of these engagements will form the basis of Plug and Play’s decision to accelerate plans to establish a permanent presence in Africa.

“The opportunity in Africa as a whole is endless and we view this event in September as an integral first step for opening and developing an Innovation Hub in South Africa in 2019” noted Saeed Amidi, Founder & CEO of Plug and Play.

“We believe that successful disruptors are those organisations that are able to see through their traditional functions and create new realities for their clients and businesses. In the process of transforming innovation thinkers to disruption leaders, these organisations have real potential to transform the economic reality of entire communities,” shares Van der Veen. 

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For more information about this press release please contact:

Mika Stanvliet - The This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | 081 534 6237 

About Nedbank Group

Nedbank Group is a bank holding company listed on JSE Limited (JSE) with a market capitalisation of R125 billion as at 30 June 2018. Nedbank Group is one of Africa’s largest banking groups.Its principal banking subsidiary is Nedbank Limited, and the group is 54% majority owned by Old Mutual Limited (OML), which has a primary listing on the JSE with secondary listings in London, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Namibia. Nedbank Group owns subsidiaries and banks in Namibia, Swaziland, Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, and offshore in the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey. It also has representative offices in other Southern Africa countries, including Angola and Kenya, and has key global financial centres to provide international banking services for SA-based multinational and high-net-worth clients in London, Toronto and Dubai (UAE).We are a diversified financial services provider, offering a wide range of wholesale and retail banking services, as well as insurance, asset management and wealth management solutions.

For more information, visit https://www.nedbank.co.za/ 

About Plug and Play:

Plug and Play is a global innovation platform. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we have built accelerator programs, corporate innovation services, and an in-house VC to make technological advancement progress faster than ever before. Since inception in 2006, our programs have expanded worldwide to include a presence in over 20 locations globally giving startups the necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley and beyond. With over 6,000 startups and 220 official corporate partners, we have created the ultimate startup ecosystem in many industries.We provide active investments with 200 leading Silicon Valley VCs, and host more than 700 networking events per year. Companies in our community have raised over $7 billion in funding, with successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club, PayPal, SoundHound, and Zoosk.

For more information, visit www.plugandplaytechcenter.com