CONNECTED HUBS in Southern Africa - Namibia News

CONNECTED HUBS WORKSHOP
GEN Namibia staff participated in a workshop with the Connected Hubs in Southern Africa to establish how to move forward with the CH. It has been supported by SAIS (Southern Africa Innovation Support) program and now it needs a new future; SAIS programme will end in 2021. The workshop will happen over three days and we are looking forward to the outcome.
Johanna
Cloete

SAIS 2 facilitates improved networks between innovation actors within Southern Africa through Connected Hubs. The purpose of Connected Hubs is to build a community and facilitate knowledge exchange by connecting innovation ecosystem actors for a joint cause: enhanced entrepreneurship support and regional connectivity. The Connected Hubs network aims to share best practices in innovation support and further build a networked community of innovation actors in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). After a successful pilot in 2018, the network grew from 10 organisations to 20 member organisations across six countries.
By the end of 2019, Connected Hubs has built bridges between 20 business support organisations across seven countries, supported over 500 early-stage entrepreneurs, and strengthened 24 early-stage, impact-driven startups. Overall, participating hubs have strengthened their skills in startup coaching and regional collaboration.
The Connected Hubs has facilitated regional networking amongst the member organisations and the creation of international linkages since 2017. In 2019, the network has grown to include 20 innovation organisations from the SADC Region. Connected Hubs is a network of peers working together to achieve common goals. The hands-on approach ensures practical collaboration and the building of trust amongst the members. All members reported that being part of the Connected Hubs has been valuable for their work in their local ecosystem. According to one of the member organisations, “Through the membership, we’ve been able to know other hubs’ activities in detail, and the sessions have helped us spot opportunities for collaboration and helped us form and strengthen the bond with the member hubs.” Connected Hubs has also partnered with various external knowledge partners, both for peer-learning and startup support activities. Such partnerships as well as participation in the startup conference Slush in Finland have increased members’ international connections.