International investment advisory firm U-Start is running a conference for early-stage ventures featuring business pitches from top African enterprises, discussions with national and international investors, elite speakers and panellists.
The U-Start Conference will select and partner a selection of the regions’ most prominent ventures with a body of active global investors.
With Platinum sponsors Barclays Africa, MyVigo and The Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism, the U-Start Conference will provide a global platform for early stage innovative companies who wish to leverage and scale their business within and beyond their home markets.
Hosted at the Radisson Blu, Cape Town, today (6 March 2014), the conference serves as an integral arm of the international series of global U-Start conferences. The series supports the organization’s principal commitment to exposing emerging market and global start-up prowess to high net-worth funding.
With just over 132 international investors, contributing to an estimated fund of €3,8-billion under management, the event serves as a significant window of opportunity for the lucky ventures.
Each live conference sees a series of ventures pitch their business models in successive three to four minute slots to an audience of global venture capital firms, accelerators, family offices, and local/foreign investors.
The successful candidates from each event will be flown to U-Start’s flagship conference held in Milan on 13th -14th May 2014. Here, they will compete for final stage funding and priority access to a pre – engaged network of European investors.
The winning four ventures flown to Milan will also receive:
* Mentorship, incubation and a training week in Italy;
* One-on-one introductions to a wide network of pan-European Investors;
* One- year free access to the U-Start platform;
* International media exposure;
* Networking opportunities; and
* Free private desk at the U-Start winners’ conference in Milan.
Stefano Guidotti, CEO of U-Start, comments: “We have long appreciated the entrepreneurial spirit that exists within Africa. The continent’s profile as a tech’ hot-bed is steadily rising, hosting multiple innovation hubs and co-creation labs across the continent. What is lacking is exposure, awareness and globally led support. Three factors we intend to champion through the Cape Town conference and global iterations of the initiative in 2014.”
Zachariah George, chief operating officer of U-Start Africa, adds: “Entrepreneurial talent in South Africa is fast growing to be competitive with the likes of Silicon Valley.
“This has been pioneered by the rise of several initiatives to boost early stage entrepreneurial activity especially in the technology sector through government programs supporting innovation, the rise of accelerators and incubators, and international investors keen on co-investing with local investment funds. We hope the U-Start conference in Cape Town cements this very shift further.”