Microsoft, under its 4Afrika Initiative, has been confirmed as a sponsor of the DEMO Africa event in Lagos, Nigeria, which will take place later this month, the fourth time the software giant has supported the pan-African event.
Disrupt Africa reported in July 30 technology startups from Africa had been chosen to pitch at the event, which will also feature a keynote speech by Aliko Dangote and involvement from AMPION, with the winner of the AMPION West African Venture Bus to also pitch at the event.
DEMO Africa organisers said the support offered once again by Microsoft was a show of confidence in the growing startup technology scene across Africa.
“It is actions by different players that will see technology entrepreneurship effectively bringing sustainability to entrepreneurship across Africa,” said Harry Hare, executive producer of DEMO Africa.
Amrote Abdella, director of startup engagement and partnerships at 4Africa Initiatives at Microsoft, stressed the importance of partnerships in building an innovative ecosystem in Africa.
“By supporting the growth of startups with disruptive innovations that solve major challenges in Africa today, we are laying the foundation for the creation of globally competitiveness businesses. It opens up the opportunity to partner with various stakeholders across sectors, and at Microsoft we believe in joining forces to create a bigger and more sustainable impact,” Abdella said.
The DEMO Africa event is scheduled to take place in the week of September 21-25, with 30 disruptive technology products expected to be launched in 12 categories.
This year, knowledge streams have been introduced to delve into critical topics such as business modelling, scaling businesses, creating an unfair advantage, and raising capital. Top industry players, including Jorn Lyseggen, founder of Ghana’s Meltwater Entrrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), Tomi Davies, president of the African Business Angels Network (ABAN), Folabi Esan, a partner at Adlevo Capital, and iROKO TV chief executive officer (CEO) Jason Njoku, will lead the discussions.
