The month of September began on a good note for African innovators as Microsoft has announced that it will be partnering with Demo Africa event in Lagos. This partnership which will be done under the 4Afrika Initiative is an avenue for startups to showcase their solutions and engage investors.
Commenting on this partnership, Amrote Abdella, Director of Startup Engagement and Partnerships, 4Africa Initiatives at Microsoft, says, “By supporting the growth of startups with disruptive innovations that solve major challenges in Africa today, we are laying the foundation for the creation of globally competitiveness businesses. It opens up the opportunity to partner with various stakeholders across sectors, and at Microsoft we believe in joining forces to create a bigger and more sustainable impact.”
This is the 4th time that Microsoft will be supporting such Pan-African initiative as a way of showing that they believe in the growing start up technology industry on the continent. Harry Hare, Executive Producer of DEMO Africa, welcomed the support: “It is actions by different players that will see technology entrepreneurship effectively bringing sustainability to entrepreneurship across Africa.”
The DEMO Africa event is a 5 day program scheduled to hold between the 21st to the 25th of September 2015 at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, Nigeria. Top industry players are expected to be in attendance and we are told that Fola Adeola, the Founder and Chairman of FATE Foundation, and the Founder and Chairman of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, have confirmed their participation.
30 disruptive technology products are expected to be launched in 12 categories including Finance and Banking, Education, Transport and Logistics, Retail, Communication and Media, and Entertainment. There will also be discussions on Business Modelling, Scaling Businesses, Creating an Unfair Advantage, and Raising Capital. Top industry players, including Jorn Lyseggen-MEST Founder, Harry Tomi Davies-ABAN President, Folabi Esan-Partner, Adlevo Capital, Jason Njoku-IROKO TV CEO among others will lead the discussion.
Asides from Microsoft, other institutions involved include the Nigerian Ministry of Communication Technology and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Nigeria, in collaboration with LIONS@FRICA and VC4Africa.
