Cape Innovation & Technology Initiative – CiTi

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The Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative (CiTi) believes in the potential of African entrepreneurs, and their ability to contribute to the digital economy, set to reach $100 trillion by 2025 (World Economic Forum). It is also passionate about the power of collaboration – and seeks to harness knowledge and skills in order to create a dynamic environment that stimulates the creation of tech and tech-enabled businesses.

CiTi (the Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative) was established in 1999. Best-known for managing the Bandwidth Barn, a space for start-ups to grow and connect in Cape Town, CiTi also successfully runs several programmes in the skills and enterprise development space. CiTi supports IT-enabled innovation across sectors, including FinTech (and blockchain), EdTech and TravelTech.

The Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative excels through:

  • Great industry reputation for delivery, thought leadership and innovation
  • Physical presence in the vibrant communities of Woodstock and Khayelitsha
  • Complete end-to-end business support from idea stage to R30m-a-year companies
  • Scarce skills development and high-value job placement
  • Strong M&E and administration
  • B-BBEE Level 1 supplier that can address 3/5 elements of the B-BBEE Scorecard
  • Strong corporate, public, academic and SMME partnerships
  • Proven clustering and ecosystem development in fintech, edtech and gaming

PROGRAMS:

CapaCiTi Tech Talent programme
Providing job readiness and tech skills development for unemployed graduates, with a 96% success rate in placement.
VeloCiTi Entrepreneurial Dev Programme
For tech or tech-enabled businesses that want to lay a solid foundation, regardless of whether they are starting out or scaling up.
TenaCiTi People + Potential Programme
Supporting tech business owners and corporates to secure, support and grow top junior staff members for their operations.

SPACES:

Woodstock Bandwidth Barn
A multi-faceted city tech hub for supporting and incubating tech startups and innovation projects.
Khayelitsha Bandwidth Barn
A township hub that supports tech entrepreneurship and innovation within Khayelitsha and surrounding communities.

CLUSTERS OF INNOVATION:

By bringing together like-minded individuals and their start-ups, CiTi encourages a vibrant ecosystem that stimulates innovation in tech and tech-enabled businesses, through interaction and idea-sharing.

Fintech Open Innovation Cluster

Using the internet to transform the financial industry and disrupt its biggest players is no longer a trend; it’s a digital revolution. And, with its Fintech Open Innovation Cluster, CiTi gives entrepreneurs access to the facilities, expert advice and introductions to funding that they need to become a part of this revolution. In 2015, Barclays became CiTi’s first Fintech cluster member, and launched the pioneering start-up community Africa Rise. Since then Thomson Reuters LabsTM – Cape Town and the Blockchain Academy have joined the Cluster and taken up space at the Bandwidth Barn Woodstock.


EdTech Open Innovation Cluster

Technology has the power to transform education. And, with the launch of Africa’s first EdTech Open Innovation Cluster, which has physical space inside the Bandwidth Barn Woodstock, CiTi is positioned to support and encourage start-ups that are looking to impact and change the education system in South Africa and indeed the entire continent. Companies like HyperionDev, a mentor-led online learning platform for tech skills, and Edro Robotics, which offers computer programming for young kids, have set up at the Bandwidth Barn Woodstock and are members of EdTech Open Innovation Cluster.


Open Innovation Cluster
The interest surrounding business analytics, big data and data science in general has transitioned squarely into the mainstream of business decision making worldwide. And, CiTi’s Data Open Innovation Cluster aims to help government, corporates and SMEs take advantage of this exciting trend by providing knowledge, advice, product management expertise, and skills and capability development to ensure that the Western Cape remains at the forefront of innovation in this cutting edge field. The launch of an up to 300 Mbps, uncontended, low latency fibre connection, powered by Telkom, at the Basement at the Bandwidth Barn will give big data analysts the speed and access to cloud computing needed to crunch huge amounts of raw data to create meaningful customer insights with commercial application. Telkom’s Big Data Unit, headed by the company’s chief data scientist, Shaun Dippnall, is based at the Basement at the Bandwidth Barn to tap into this connectivity as well as the agility and intellectual property of the collaborative ecosystem of the new CiTi data cluster.
 
Traveltech Open Innovation Cluster
Tourism is a priority job creation sector for the Western Cape and also a vehicle for sustainable economic growth. Travel technology has enormous transformative potential and the creation of this Cluster aims to stimulate development and investment that will not only benefit Cape Town but the entire country.

Overview

Website Visit website
Location 66 Albert Road, Woodstock, Cape Town, 7925, South Africa
Targets South Africa
Sectors EdTech, Education, Fintech, HealthTech, ICT, Tourism
Partner Organization Cape Innovation & Technology Initiative – CiTi image of DcY EuMS X
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