Western Cape startup support initiative Silicon Cape is looking for three “warriors” to join the sub-committee of its Women Portfolio, with those selected charged with furthering female involvement in the local tech scene.
Disrupt Africa reported last month Silicon Cape, which was founded in 2009 by investor Justin Stanford and entrepreneur Vinny Lingham and in October raised more than ZAR3 million (US$270,000) in funding from South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB), had elected a new executive committee, with Zimkhita Buwa heading up the Women Portfolio.
Buwa is now calling for expressions of interest to join a sub-committee to help support and empower women in the local tech startup ecosystem, saying more could be accomplished by the collective.
“One of the focus areas as an exco is to ensure diversity and inclusion in the tech ecosystem. One of the ways we can achieve this is by focusing on improving female participation in tech by supporting women-led startups and female developers,” she said.
With this in mind, Buwa said the Women Portfolio was looking for three “warriors” passionate about supporting women and ensuring diversity in the industry.
“Please note that I am not saying that these need to be women, there are some amazing men that are extremely supportive in elevating women in our ecosystem,” she said.
The three sub-committee members would be required to attend monthly meetings and run initiatives in line with Silicon Cape’s aims of understanding the challenges faced by women-led startups, driving greater female participation in the industry, developing strategic partnerships with other organisations working in this space, creating awareness of female-led startups, and encouraging girls and young women to take up technical careers and start their own businesses.
Interested parties can email women@siliconcape.com.
