The first ever African version of the global StartupWeek event today got underway in Lagos, Nigeria, with politician Abike Dabiri-Erewa giving the keynote address.
The five-day event has taken place in 75 other cities around the world so far, with the Lagos version to see entrepreneurs and small business owners take part in various sessions, including keynotes, panels and meetups.
Organisers are expecting a crowd of over 1,000 entrepreneurs and small business owners, with visitors expected from all over Africa as well as from countries such as the United Kingdom (UK), United States (UK), Spain and Switzerland.
“The world’s focus is on Africa at the moment with Nigeria being a pivotal point for investment activities on the continent. Africa is certainly rising and Nigeria appears to be leading this rebirth. If you are interested in checking out or getting plugged into the Lagos startup scene, there isn’t a better time to come to Lagos than during Lagos StartupWeek,” said Olumide Olayinka, a member of the organising committee.
A number of other events have been organised to coincide with the week-long event. The African Business Angels Network (ABAN), a pan-African initiative to promote angel investing and boost early stage startups, has announced a partnership with the Lagos Angels Network (LAN) to hold the first of a series of Angel Investor Bootcamps on July 31.
Meanwhile, UberPITCH, which debuted in Nairobi last week, is coming to Lagos tomorrow (July 28). Between 11am and 3pm, participating entrepreneurs will have 15 minutes to pitch their startup from the back of an Uber. One startup will be given the chance to pitch at the Nigerian leg of the global Seedstars World competition, which takes place on July 31.
