Often, tech enthusiasts have been likened to rock stars presumably because of their peculiar interests and, well, intent passion for all things unconventional or seeming boredom of innovation that has stayed too long without a replacement. Let the comparisons ring because tech just got funner! Pack your bags geeks! We’re going on a roadtrip!
AMPION Venture Bus is calling for applications for its five road trips this year. It also launches its global fellowship program to be launched with tech partners Afrilabs and VC4Africa to support the most promising ventures for up to 6 months after the Venture Bus programmes.
AMPION Venture Bus brings together young African change-makers and tech experts from all over the world to turn business ideas into real projects. During a 5day competition and road trip, the “Ampioneers” create startups and develop innovative solutions to local challenges.
[pull_quote_center]The goal is to reach even more entrepreneurial talent across the continent and empower young people determined to pursue worldchanging ideas, using the power of digital[/pull_quote_center]After a successful first journey in 2013, through Zimbabwe and South Africa, three startups have launched operations: Sterio.me, a learning system via GSM which was named by Fast Company as one of the “10 Most Innovative Companies in Africa”, Workforce, a platform bringing together job seekers and potential employers, and Bribed, an app to tackle corruption via crowdsourcing. This year, AMPION expands its strategy and runs five new hackathons.
“Our goal is to reach even more entrepreneurial talent across the continent and empower young people determined to pursue worldchanging ideas, using the power of digital” said Fabian Guhl, Managing Director of the Berlin and Harare based notforprofit initiative.
[pull_quote_center]160 participants are expected to get on board during this second edition, as a mix of coders, designers and business minds[/pull_quote_center]In 2014 AMPION Venture Bus will hit the road in fifteen African countries between September and November – along the West African coast, in the East African Community, in the Maghreb, and once again in Southern Africa.
160 participants are expected to get on board during this second edition, as a mix of coders, designers and business minds. Online applications are open to all.
As key actors of economic change in Africa, young women are highly encouraged to apply.
Committed to generating economic growth, AMPION is building a global community to connect all the actors from the social business and tech landscape in Africa with the rest of the world. To further support the Ampioneers and their impactoriented ventures AMPION is developing a global fellowship programme in collaboration with Afrilabs, the panAfrican network of technology hubs, and VC4Africa, a leading venture capital platform. The programme includes global mentorship, incubation and office space for the best projects created during the journey.
[pull_quote_center]The winning venture will have an opportunity to present to over 200 international investors.[/pull_quote_center]The first bus will kick off on 19th September in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire and will continue onwards to Lagos, Nigeria via Ghana, Togo and Benin. The final event of the first-ever Ampion Venture Bus West Africa will be on the 25th September in Lagos, Nigeria at the DEMO Africa conference, where the winning venture will have an opportunity to present to over 200 international investors. Applications are open now at http://ampion.org.
