Event organiser Startup Grind has partnered the Standard Bank Incubator to takes its entrepreneurship-focused events nationwide.
Founded in Silicon Valley in 2010, Startup Grind hosts monthly events in 200 cities and 85 countries, featuring successful local founders, innovators, educators and investors sharing personal stories and lessons.
The partnership with Standard Bank in South Africa will see monthly events hosted in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. African events are also held in Nairobi, Lusaka, Khartoum and Eldoret.
“As a company that believes in supporting entrepreneurs with their business growth and development needs through our various incubation programmes, Standard Bank is proud to partner with Startup Grind to help the startup community in South Africa, as they continue to take their rightful place in the South African economy,” said Jayshree Naidoo, head of the Standard Bank Incubator.
The events start with an hour-long networking, followed by a 45-minute fireside chat where a successful entrepreneur is interviewed to tell their business journey and any success or failure stories. The audience can then themselves question the guest, after which there is another networking opportunity.
Guillaume de Smedt, global community director of Startup Grind, said the partnership with Standard Bank would take Startup Grind to new levels in South Africa.
“The Standard Bank Incubator has already achieved much in the startup space in a short amount of time, and has built value in the startup ecosystem in South Africa. We look forward to working with our new partner in order to impact more entrepreneurs locally and to help them to think more globally,” he said.
Startup Grind Johannesburg will be relaunched in June 2016 by co-directors de Smedt and Mohamed Chohan, with events taking place at the Standard Bank Incubator space in Rosebank.
The first Johannesburg event is on June 21, while events will follow in Cape Town (June 27 and July 25) and Durban (July 12).
