Demo Africa leads to business funding talks

29 August 2016

 

Several start-up companies have entered into talks with potential sponsors and investors thanks to the 2016 edition of Demo Africa held at the Sandton Convention Centre late last week to pave the way for the small players to ascend the big business stage.

 

The initiative, supported by the City of Johannesburg and the Department of Science and Technology, brought 30 selected innovative and techno savvy start-ups from across the continent – including some from Johannesburg – and potential local and global investors together under one roof for possible partnerships and funding.

The potential sponsors and funders were highly impressed by the presentations, sparking a flurry of talks with the up-and-coming businesses.

Tsholo Mokgotsi, Director in the City of Johannesburg’s Economic Development Department, said the two-day exhibition had been an important initiative for entrepreneurs to launch their products and connect with investors.

“Even though there are many players who are involved in enterprise development, it’s still difficult for many entrepreneurs to know what to do to get their enterprises off the ground. 
“As the City of Johannesburg, we, together with other partners, are trying to offer what we think is a comprehensive and curated portfolio that caters for most of the needs of our entrepreneurs,” he said.

This was the first time the exhibition was held in South Africa since its establishment in 2012. In the first two years of its existence, Demo Africa alumni generated more than $8-billion in investment, business or partnerships from the global community.

Holo Matlala, founder of 4th Element and one of the participants at the exhibition, has been approached by the South African Chamber of Commerce, among many others, for talks about his innovation. The 24-year-old Soweto entrepreneur has innovated a water-leak detecting solution aimed at saving municipalities millions of litres of water.

“We’re using a Global Positioning System (GPS) that enables us to see the exact spots of the leakages in the water pipelines and the exact amount of litres being lost per hour,” he said.

Matlala also said he would like to partner with municipalities such as Johannesburg.

“This system was actually meant for the City of Johannesburg. Our research studies are aligned with the algorithms of this city. The drought that hit South Africa last year made the concept even more urgent and we.re looking forward to start partnering with corporations that have come on board,” Matlala said.

Some of the start-ups approached for comment did not want to reveal the local and global investors or sponsors they were in talks with as they felt it was not appropriate to do so at this stage. They also said they did not want to pre-empt the outcomes of the negotiations. Another Johannesburg start-up that made a presentation at the exhibition was Overscore, which has created an innovative way for modern-day job seekers to be placed with potential employers.

The company was founded by 32-year-old Marko Jakovljevic of Parkhurst. By simply matching specifications, job seekers can find employment in an instant.

Demo Africa, held from August 25-26, was also supported by the African Business Angel Network, Nailab, African Technology Foundation, Grow Innovation and Growth Hub.