African startup pitching event DEMO Africa will take place in South Africa for the first time this year after Johannesburg was confirmed as the location of the latest edition.
DEMO Africa has taken place in Lagos, Nigeria for the last two years, while it began life in Nairobi, Kenya. The 2016 edition will take place in Johannesburg in September, with the venue yet to be announced.
Last year’s edition of the event – organised by LIONS@FRICA – saw 30 startups pitch their businesses in front of an audience of investors, with five selected to pitch at the prestigious DEMO Fall event in Silicon Valley.
Only three South African startups pitched at the 2015 event, with Nigeria and Kenya the best represented countries in terms of selected businesses. However, as with when the event relocated from Kenya to Nigeria, the move to Johannesburg is likely to see an increase in South African startups taking part.
The event was secured for Johannesburg by the city’s international events unit the Johannesburg Convention Bureau, and will see startups apply to take part in 12 categories, namely Agriculture, Health, Education, Manufacturing, Retail, Media and Entertainment, Communication, Transport and Logistics, Energy, Finance and Banking, Water and Sanitation, and Waste Management and Recycling.
Interested parties are required to have a working product, and are now able to submit applications on the DEMO Africa website.
