Seven South African startups have been selected to take part in the #cocreate2ACCELERATE programme, which will see the building of relationships between high-potential young companies in the Netherlands and South Africa.
The programme is an initiative of #cocreateSA, which was launched in 2015 by the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as a platform for South African and Dutch counterparts to exchange ideas and innovations for a sustainable future.
The first #cocreate2ACCELERATE programme took place last year, bringing together five South African companies and five Dutch innovators to tackle five different challenges. This year, the initiative will include a long programme based on a rigorous process aimed at matching companies from both countries within specific vertical sectors to actively collaborate in the solving of identified challenges.
South African startups Aerobotics, TradeCircle, Pargo, Yoco, Zoona, RecoMed and Snapplify have been selected to take part in this programe, alongside Dutch participants RanMarine, Trefi, MEDx and LearnBeat.
A short programme will accompany this process and is aimed at introducing Dutch companies to the Cape Town startup ecosystem. The Dutch startups that will participate in this programme are SolarPipo, TAHMO, Talk 360 and NewSpring.
“The focus is to support Dutch businesses in South Africa by establishing relevant connections between South African and Dutch partners. We encourage Dutch businesses to adopt the #cocreateSA approach and build and invest in long-term relationships and establish mutually beneficial partnerships,” said Consul General Bonnie Horbach.
The successful participants will be given the opportunity to obtain international and local media exposure through the Dutch Consulate’s media network across multiple platforms in addition to participating at the Innovation Summit next week.