Global seed-stage startup competition Seedstars World is scaling its Seedstars Academy to Cape Town, following the success of the inaugural Lagos-based academy.
Disrupt Africa reported earlier this year Seedstars launched its first academy in Lagos, providing a six-month programme of education to turn motivated young people into digital changemakers.
Seedstars said the success of the Lagos programme has prompted the decision to open a Cape Town-based academy, where it is hoped the programme will contribute to addressing unemployment in South Africa by encouraging digital entrepreneurship.
The academy starts with a 12-week fully-immersive programme; followed by 12 weeks of hands-on experience to gain a practical and concrete vision of a tech startup by experimenting, launching or building minimum viable products (MVPs).
A key feature of the initiative is that participating entrepreneurs are paid to attend the six-month programme, ensuring those who cannot afford to pay for education, or to not be paid for six months, can still attend.
The programme teaches a blend of transferable skills, such as entrepreneurship and soft skills like effective communication, teamwork, project management, business modelling, and innovation; as well as vocational skills including UI/UX, rapid prototyping, online marketing, and analytics.
The course also seeks to instil an “entrepreneurial mindset” which Seedstars says is needed for students to bring meaningful change through digital entrepreneurship.
Applications to the Cape Town Seedstars Academy can be made here.
Seedstars says it plans to expand the initiative and launch a further 10 academies globally over the course of the year.
