Techstars Startup Weekend Bulawayo

The TechVillage leverages on its innovative community of entrepreneurs, matching it with resources to address real-world challenges and build solutions that are locally relevant and globally scalable. In building upon the vision of rebranding and rebuilding Bulawayo as the technology capital of Zimbabwe, the TechVillage is bringing Startup Weekend, a globally recognised event to the city of Bulawayo, powered by Google for entrepreneurs.

This event is aimed at accelerating the ideation and validation of ideas for people who want to turn those ideas into businesses. The TechVillage is leveraging on the framework refined by Techstars, resources from Google for Entrepreneurs and all the companies and organisations that are partnering to bring about Startup Weekend. Techstars Startup Weekend Bulawayo brings together designers, developers, marketers and startup enthusiasts from across the city and beyond to share ideas, form teams and launch business ventures. Participants select ideas with the most promise and make as much progress on the product as possible over the course of three days.

Teams will work guided by mentors and coaches who are business leaders and experts in their fields. About Techstars Startup WeekendTechstars Startup Weekend is a 54-hour event where attendees learn how to build a company in a weekend. Since 2007, Techstars Startup Weekend has taken place in over 150 countries with more than 200,000 alumni. Participants take their product or business idea to the next level and join in a huge worldwide network of entrepreneurs. To learn more click here. 

As the organisers, our goal is to make this the best 54 hours of product development and team building ever, and so in line with that, we shall be hosting a workshop prior to the main Startup Weekend to help participants to fully understand the Startup Weekend and to be best prepared for it. 

The workshop will cover two main topics “What is Startup Weekend” so as to tell people and explain what Startup Weekend is all about, and the second topic will focus on “ Pitching” to help those who want to pitch their ideas on Friday (at Startup Weekend) how to pitch and more effectively build a team around their ideas.

Due to the Techstars Startup Weekend Bulawayo being hosted in the first half of the year, it is important to also note that TechFest which was previously scheduled for February, will be moved to its original dates in November. TechFest is about celebrating the ideas and the work that young people are doing in Zimbabwe and this will be done during the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW).

Here are the registration details for the Techstars Startup Weekend: Early-bird registration costs $10 and closes on 18 May 2018 at 12 pm. Normal registration costs $15, while Demo Day tickets for the final day cost $5.

To learn more or register, click here.