Start Up Africa

About Start Up Africa

We are empowering Young African entrepreneurs with the skills, knowledge and financial resources to drive the development of the African continent is central to the mission of Africa 2.0. With Start Up Africa we promote a culture of innovation, freedom and creativity that will create impact and boost up the standard of living in Africa. The Start Up Africa competition gives the opportunity to entrepreneurs across Africa to be coached, mentored and funded so as to accelerate their growth and better met the development challenges of the continent.

The Purpose

Empowering Young African entrepreneurs to take action in their lives is fundamental to the mission of Start Up Africa. Our purpose with this initiative is to encourage and support our brand essence; We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For, in providing entrepreneurs with the opportunity to create their own jobs, provide them with the opportunity to be mentored and give them the platform to showcase their ideas to possible investors or venture capitalists who can facilitate the implementation process.

The event is aimed at both existing ventures in need of re-capitalisation for growth, as well as business ideas requiring start-up capital – common between all selected entrepreneurs, is that there business goals aim to solve Africa’s biggest problems.

The Process

Start Up Africa is a year round initiative, that is kicked off with a high profile pitching event – the three-day  entrepreneurship competition – and providing entrepreneurs with access to capital, the network and media exposure, business incubation and investor – ready toolkits and mentorship needed to make their businesses a success.

Through a rigorous application process, 100 entrepreneurs and business ideas are selected to take part in the three-day competition. The competition, is then held (usually over a weekend) – as an intense and testing experience. Groups of entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to carefully selected judges (from our pool of business leaders and mentors) and attendees, and through the process of review and up-voting, the best five ideas are selected.

The five best ideas are then worked on by groups selected from the attendee pool and strengthened through input and feedback from mentors, judges and attending subject-matter experts (for example legal, technology, HR, strategy). These finalist present again at the end of the three days, and one winner is selected. The whole event has media coverage by strategic media partners ensuring maximum exposure for the aspiring entrepreneurs.

Whilst the finalists all receive access to mentorship and will have had the opportunity to secure funding, the winner also receives business incubation for a year – a priceless opportunity to make their business a reality.

All attendees, even those who do not participate in the competition, leave with new business skills and a new network. Even the five finalists leave with a better thought-out plan and more motivation to start their own business.

Our Impact

• Reached over 8,000 entrepreneurs worldwide, sharing entrepreneurship tools and techniques through targeted communications.
• Reached over 2,000 entrepreneurs at screening stage providing them with business planning guidance.
• Mentorship, incubation and support to over 30 Start up winners .
• Funded – Provided access to funding for 100 start ups, leading to the creation of jobs.