DEMO Africa has released the dates for the annual ICT conference to be held between 22nd and 26th August 2016 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The series of events will be hosted in collaboration with the City of Johannesburg, the South African Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the LIONS@FRICA partners.
The five-day affair will be kick started by the DEMO Africa boot camp on the 22nd and 23rd of August. The Lions Summit and the ABAN Investor Summit will be held on the 24th August while the main forum will take place on the 25th and 26th of August.
DEMO Africa is inviting start-ups who are ready to launch to submit their applications before 15th June 2016. The applications will be subjected to a panel of judges comprising of key players in the ICT sector in July 2016, who are expected to settle on the best thirty startups to launch at the main DEMO Africa forum in August 2016.
While making the announcement in Johannesburg, Member of the Mayoral Committee Department of Economic Development Cllr Ruby Mathang said. “We are excited to host DEMO Africa 2016 in South Africa. This presents a great opportunity to cross-fertilize ideas across African startups, as well as showcase our talents and skills in the innovation ecosystem.”
Staying in line with Cllr Mathang’s sentiments, The DEMO Africa Executive Producer, Harry Hare, stressed the importance of supporting technology startups and promised to equip the winning teams all the necessary tools to promote their businesses. “The teams will receive coaching and mentorship to fine-tune their products and business models before we present them to the world,” said Hare.
“They also stand to benefit from PR support and the promotion of the launch video after the convention.” Mr. Hare maintained.
The entry categories will include; Health, Education, Agriculture, Commerce, Leisure and Hospitality, Logistics, Renewable Energy, Manufacturing, Banking and Financial Services.
The DEMO Africa 2016 outreach program will include the DEMO innovation Tours which will take place between April and May 2016.