More than 70 startups from across the continent will compete in 11 open innovation challenges at the AfricArena conference in Cape Town over the next two days.
AfricArena, which is taking place for the second year, is a conference that showcases Africa’s best startups and innovators in front of an audience of local and international investors looking for world-class talent.
The themes for this year’s edition are Smart City, Smart Agri, Smart Commerce, Smart Skills, Smart Media and Smart Travel, with over 70 startups from 30 countries attending and competing in 11 open innovation challenges sponsored by the likes of Vinci Energies, AirFrance, Engie, Sanofi, Leroy Merlin, the City of Cape Town and RCS.
AfricArena will run a hackathon on a mobility challenge for the City of Cape Town, while over 100 investors from the Unite States (US), Europe and Africa will attend or follow on the live streaming of the pitch sessions.
“Hosting prestigious events such as AfricArena is important in endorsing the Cape as the tech capital of Africa. The event is expecting over 100 investors, with Naspers Ventures being amongst those confirmed,” said Wesgro chief executive officer (CEO) Tim Harris.
“Our investment promotion team has helped land over ZAR1 billion (US$70million) in investment in the Cape tech sector over the last five years – as the gateway to the rest of Africa, we hope we can be a conduit to facilitating more investment into the Africa tech startup scene.”
