North Africa This Week: Startup Events Glimpses [1st-7th October, 2018]
This past week saw the North African startup ecosystem play host to some events that can be thought to be aimed at furthering the growth of entrepreneurship and business in the region. The African tech startup ecosystem seems to be witnessing something of a renaissance as the number of tech-driven enterprises on the continent has grown considerably in the past few years.
The North African region remains unrelenting in its contributions to the ecosystem as it has seen a remarkable proliferation of tech startups in several sectors, as well as numerous programs and initiatives aimed at supporting the development and growth of these platforms. This week’s installment of Startup Events Glimpses for North Africa is packed with excerpts and highlights from some of the notable entrepreneurship-focused events which took place in various parts of the region in the last seven days.
Flat6Labs Cairo ‘Pitch-A-Thon’ Held In Egypt
This Flat6Labs open community event took place at the Flat6Labs facility in Giza, Egypt, on Monday, 1st October 2018. The event was a pitching competition organized as part of events leading up to its next cycle.
The Flat6Labs Cairo Pitch-A-Thon brought together a total of 28 startups with a technology component, as well as entrepreneurs who are gearing up to get one up and running. The pitch marathon was aimed at unearthing the best of the bunch and affording the top four selected startups a fast-track to the selection of the accelerator’s upcoming boot camp in what will be its 12th cycle.
The participating startups and entrepreneurs were each afforded four minutes to pitch their ideas before the jury and convince the in-house selection panel to include them in the next cycle by virtue of their offerings. The top four startups who by selection are now invited to participate in the upcoming Hackathon for a spot in the next boot camp of the program are P.One, Baseeto, Devineers, and Eventy.
Afric’Up Summit Held In Tunisia
This event took place on 2nd and 3rd October 2018 at the Laico Hotel in MED V Tunis. Afric’Up is an initiative of the Tunisian government put together by the Ministry of Communication Technologies and Digital Economy, and it is targeted at African startups.
The event brought together startups, entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders, African and international decision-makers of the private sector, as well as other members of the public, who brainstormed intending to exchanging ideas, sharing visions, and experiences, and building partnerships.
Afric’Up can be considered to offer multiple opportunities for actors in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and African startups to expand their professional networks, identify new partners, and foster new business relationships.
Nearly 80 African and international speakers (CEOs, investors, mentors, experts, institutions, and confirmed startups) were featured in what is the inaugural edition of the event, including WeeTracker’s Co-Founder and CEO, Rishabh Lawania, who delivered a keynote address.
The maiden edition of the Afric’Up Summit is believed to have also afforded up to 112 African and international startups the opportunity to present their solutions and innovations before an audience of up to 1,000 participants.
Techstars Startup Weekend Carthage Held In Tunisia
This three-day event kicked off on Friday, 5th October 2018, at Cogite Coworking Space in Tunis, the Tunisian capital. The event was put together by Techstars; a global ecosystem that empowers entrepreneurs to bring new technologies to markets regardless of their location. The Startup Weekend event is believed to be focused on fostering local entrepreneurship with a view to building and strengthening communities.
Techstars Startup Weekend Carthage was essentially an interactive program where participants were furnished with first-hand knowledge on how to apply Lean Startup methodology to gain the complete entrepreneurial experience.
The program involved such aspects as allowing participants pitch ideas and build teams, experience hands-on mentorship, as well as gain knowledge from investor-style presentations. The event drew participation from designers, developers, marketers, and startup enthusiasts who came together to share ideas and form teams that can potentially become startups.
