Buffalo City, South Africa – The Global Entrepreneurship Network is excited to announce the opening of a new Startup Huddle chapter in Buffalo City, South Africa to support the growth of the local startup community while crowdsourcing advice and support for its entrepreneurs. Startup Huddle Buffalo City joins a global network of more than 60 Startup Huddle chapters world-wide and will host its first event in October.
In addition to providing direct support to entrepreneurs, the Startup Huddle program addresses a critical element of success for all entrepreneur ecosystems – connectivity. According to GEN Research, startup communities with higher levels of local connectedness translate to an increased number of startups – and that founders with high levels of connectivity grow their revenue twice as fast as those with lower levels.
“What inspired me to bring Start-up Huddle to Buffalo City is the untapped entrepreneurial potential I see every day in my community. We have talented, resilient individuals with innovative ideas, but they often lack access to the right support networks, mentorship, and exposure to scale their ventures."
Start-up Huddle is more than just a platform, it's a movement that fosters connection, learning, and collaboration. I believe that by bringing this global initiative to our local context, we can bridge the urban-rural/township divide, uplift grassroots entrepreneurs, and ignite a culture of possibility in areas that are often overlooked.
We would like our local founders to know they are not alone, and that they are part of a global entrepreneurial family. Through Start-up Huddle, we can create a supportive, inclusive ecosystem where ideas grow, networks expand, and businesses thrive, right here in Buffalo City,” says local organizer Lucy Deliwe-Bhele.
At each Startup Huddle event, local founders give six-minute presentations outlining challenges facing their companies. Each presentation is followed by a 20-minute conversation with an audience of peers, mentors, educators and advisers who provide constructive criticism focused on finding solutions and increasing founder know-how. With new founders cycling through each gathering, and previous presenters joining the audience to give back, the community continues to expand while connections deepen.
“I envision Start-up Huddle becoming a catalyst for connection, confidence, and collaboration in our local community. In Buffalo City, many entrepreneurs operate in isolation. Start-up Huddle will create a consistent, supportive space where they can share their journeys, get real-time feedback, and learn from each other’s experiences, something that’s often missing in rural and underserved areas. Beyond the monthly sessions, the real value lies in the long lasting relationships that are created. Entrepreneurs will begin to see that they’re not alone, and that their ideas matter. Start-up Huddle Buffalo City will build a culture of peer support and local pride, where success is celebrated and failure is seen as a step forward.
It will also serve as a bridge to bigger opportunities, connecting local start-ups to mentors, investors, and networks through the Global Entrepreneurship Network. Over time, I see it sparking partnerships, inspiring youth, and shifting the mind-set from survival to innovation.
Startup Huddle will help unlock the potential that already exists in our community and give it the visibility, structure, and encouragement it needs to grow,” Lucy adds.
Startup Huddle Buffalo City is supported by Loveday TVET College. To learn more about Startup Huddle Buffalo City or to join a local event, visit www.startuphuddle.co.
About Startup Huddle
Run by the Global Entrepreneurship Network in partnership with local organizers, Startup Huddle is a program designed to help one entrepreneur at a time while strengthening the local ecosystem. Entrepreneurs discover challenges to the solutions they face through purposeful engagement with a broad array of voices from their local community. Currently, there are local Startup Huddle chapters in more than 50 cities around the world. For more information, visit www.startuphuddle.co.
About the Global Entrepreneurship Network
The Global Entrepreneurship Network operates projects and programs in 200 countries to make it easier for anyone, anywhere to start and scale a business. By fostering deeper cross border collaboration and initiatives between entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, policymakers and entrepreneurial support organizations, GEN works to fuel healthier start and scale ecosystems that create more jobs, educate individuals, accelerate innovation and strengthen economic growth. For more information, visit www.genglobal.org.