Speakers from the likes of 500 Startups, Ghana’s Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) and the African Business Angel Network (ABAN) will be participating in the Seedstars Africa conference, which takes place in Casablanca, Morocco on January 30.
Disrupt Africa reported last month global seed-stage startup competition Seedstars World had joined forces with Moroccan NGO StartupYourLife to host the first edition of Seedstars Africa, connecting African entrepreneurs with ecosystem players, investors and corporates.
Last year, the Seedstars World global contest hosted African heats in Mozambique, South Africa, Nigeria,Ghana, Ivory Coast, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Angola, Tanzania, Senegal and Botswana, with the company now following up on this expansion by hosting Seedstars Africa.
The event will bring together 300 startups, investors, speakers and mentors from over 20 different countries across Africa and Europe for a day of networking, talks and hands-on knowledge exchange about the potential of startups and innovation on the continent, and how African startups can be competitive on a global scale.
“The event will offer a tour across the innovation landscape in Africa from the comfort of one place. It’s a great opportunity to make connections, meet potential business partners and learn best practices in building and scaling a company and a startup ecosystem from across the world,” said Marcello Schermer, regional manager for Africa at Seedstars World.
Speakers will include Emmanuel Quartey, head of product of MEST in Ghana, Alexandra Fraser, founding member of ABAN in South Africa, startup coach Uri Gonda, 500 Startups venture partner Hasan Heider and Nailab co-founder Sam Gichuru.
The agenda includes a panel on investment opportunities in Africa, a discussion about challenges and opportunities of digitalising customer habits in emerging markets, and an overview of the different startup ecosystems and what they can learn from each other.
“We have gathered some of the most experienced, influential and active ecosystem leaders, investors and entrepreneurs from Africa, the Middle East and Europe for a promising three-day event full of learning, inspirational speeches, and key insights about the state and potential of entrepreneurship on the continent. We are really excited to start a meaningful discussion about how Africa can unleash its innovation potential and build solutions for the entire world,” said Kenza Lahlou, founder and managing director of StartupYourLife.
