DEMO Africa is the launchpad for emerging technology and trends in Africa and is scheduled to take place in Nairobi, Kenya from 24-26 October 2012. DEMO Africa will be the latest addition to the DEMO family of conferences and is expected be an iconic event for the continent’s most innovative entrepreneurs.
At DEMO Africa, a hand-selected group of new products will make their public debut to global press, investors, corporate acquirers, strategic partners and buyers. Adobe, Cisco, Google, Microsoft, Motorola, Symantec, Yahoo! and many others have acquired promising DEMO companies that have become household names today. DEMO Africa is a premier platform for the best and brightest companies throughout the continent seeking to launch their products in front of a global audience.
We are pleased to announce that Demo Africa has joined forces with the VC4Africa community. Together we are working to identify the most innovative emerging and established companies from around Africa. Any venture registered on the VC4Africa platform can apply for this competition and potentially secure a spot on the Demo Africa stage. At the same time, we are looking at ways to support each venture with improved access to tools and resources they need to realize their potential.
Mr. Harry Hare, Executive Director of DEMO Africa said “We are very excited about holding the inaugural DEMO event on the African continent. This collaboration with VC4Africa will serve to increase the outreach and ultimate participation at the event by Africa’s most innovative entrepreneurs as well as investors who are looking for the next big thing in Africa.”
Hand-picked and specially selected companies will deliver their six-minute pitches to potential investors and buyers to garner their buy-in and interest. There will also be presentations and panel discussions from leading industry players and experts on consumer electronics, web-based applications, mobile technology, social media, life sciences, as well as sustainable and renewable energy made during the conference.
Mr. Ben White, founder of VC4Africa said “The number of ventures coming online across Africa is rapidly increasing. There are so many promising entrepreneurs and outstanding companies. Joining forces allows us to welcome a new wave of innovators and put them in the spotlight for investors. Together we can do even more to mobilize the space and realize its potential.”
Registration for DEMO Africa is now open for companies interested in applying for a chance to launch their products and participate in the conference. For more information, they can visit the DEMO Africa website at http://www.demo-africa.com.
About DEMO
Produced by IDG Enterprise in conjunction with VentureBeat, the DEMO conferences in the United States, China, Singapore, Brazil and Africa focus on emerging technologies and new product innovations, which are hand selected from across the spectrum of the technology marketplace. The DEMO conferences have earned their reputation for consistently identifying tomorrow’s cutting-edge technologies, and have served as launchpad events for companies such as Palm, E*Trade, Salesforce, Webex, Tivo and VMware, helping them to secure venture funding, establish critical business relationships, and influence early adopters. The DEMO Scholarship Partner Program, subsidised by corporate sponsorships, offers multiple scholarship opportunities to ensure that deserving entrepreneurs receive the opportunity to introduce cutting edge technology products at DEMO that might have otherwise gone undiscovered.
About VC4Africa
VC4Africa.biz is the largest online community of venture capitalists, angels and entrepreneurs dedicated to building businesses in Africa. More than 250 entrepreneurs have published their business online from over 30 African countries. The ventures on VC4Africa are early stage and require investments between USD $10K and USD $1 million. The primary sectors include mobile, web, energy and health care, amongst others. Each venture is disruptive in their use of technology or in their application of a disruptive business model. Thirty percent of the registered ventures have some form of social mission and could be qualified as a social enterprise. Listed entrepreneurs have access to free online tools, mentorship opportunities and private deal rooms. Qualified investors are able to see which screened ventures are fundraising, track their progress and review private documents. The community has members in 159 countries and informal networking meetings that have been hosted in more than 35 cities around the world.