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Tech4Africa is the largest tech innovation, startup and entrepreneur platform in Africa. 12 tracks, 4 event days including a Hackathon and a Startup Day, with over 55 excellent speakers and just 600 available seats.
entrepreneurs [clear filter]
Wednesday, October 7
 

9:30am SAST

Keynote - From Technology to Socks. What it's like to sell a mobile startup and then build an ecommerce company.
From Technology to Socks. What it's like to sell a mobile startup and then build an ecommerce company.
Startups are intense rides that often end in failure. I'll talk through the intense ups and downs of building and selling Motribe to Mxit and then moving to a men's fashion ecommerce startup selling socks.

Speakers
avatar for Nic Haralambous

Nic Haralambous

Founder, Nic Harry
Nicholas Haralambous is the founder of the online style company, NicHarry.com. Nic was the CEO and co-founder of Motribe, the mobile community platform, before the company was successfully acquired by Mxit in October, 2012. He also founded ForeFront Africa consulting firm before... Read More →


Wednesday October 7, 2015 9:30am - 10:20am SAST
Keynotes/Social/Misc Track

11:30am SAST

Launched a global tech business without external funding - here's how I did it.
Launched a global tech business without external funding - here's how I did it.
The skills, markets and technology African entrepreneurs need to build great global businesses are rapidly converging - Johan Botes talks about how to seize the opportunity and see the gap.

Speakers
avatar for Johan Botes

Johan Botes

Group CEO, Consilia
Johan is qualified to give this speech due to the fact that he has at least 25 years of experience as a chartered accountant, which gives him an excellent base to work from as well as the needed skills and knowledge on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Combined with his skills... Read More →


Wednesday October 7, 2015 11:30am - 12:00pm SAST
Startup Track

2:00pm SAST

Making the makers OR the tale of a serendipitous quest to build a quintessential makerspace
On a bitter cold winter afternoon I strolled through the streets of Maboneng and stumbled upon a most fantastical location: a place where engineering meets the arts, where design sits next to electronic sensors, where the promise of roasted coffee and freshly baked bread contest for air space. Below, a forlorn boxing gym holds the greatest secret. Empty space, gray walls and a colourful mural. The reincarnation of a dream to build a space where engineers flourish and that designers relish. Now the space is mine and the makerspace will be yours. Help me envision what this space can be!

Speakers
avatar for Wiebke Toussaint

Wiebke Toussaint

PhD candidate, TU Delft
I am a thrill-seeker. Risk, responsibility and complexity draw me to problems. Diversity keeps me interested. People are my motivation. After graduating with a Mechanical Engineering degree from UCT I started my career in engineering consulting, moved into e-commerce (fashion!) and... Read More →


Wednesday October 7, 2015 2:00pm - 2:30pm SAST
IoT/Makers/Leadership Track

2:00pm SAST

Idea, to Innovation, to Investment: challenges and insights for international, African growth
Born in a garage in Cape Town, WhereIsMyTransport has just completed a major move abroad and closed an international round of funding. CEO and Co-founder Devin de Vries shares some of the insights, challenges, and lessons learned from taking an honours project dream to an international reality, especially the additional considerations, advantages, and disadvantages faced by entrepreneurs based in Africa. Come learn how we are redefining public transport in Africa and abroad, and use our insights to take your own idea to the next level.

Speakers
avatar for Devin de Vries

Devin de Vries

Co-Founder, WhereIsMyTransport
WhereIsMyTransport builds integrated platform-based solutions to public transport systems in emerging cities. Talk to me about Smart Cities, Big Data, transport and infrastructure, technologies for extensible, sustainable urban development, and entrepreneurship and innovation.


Wednesday October 7, 2015 2:00pm - 2:30pm SAST
Startup Track

2:00pm SAST

Open Source Technology for non-techies: the philosophy, the offerings, the advantages for your business
Open source technology is a powerful concept. Understanding it and applying it to your business can help your business flourish. This talk will help you to get to know the philosophy behind it, as well as a selection of the products and services offered. Get to know the people that constitute the open source community, and the companies successfully using it today. Come and explore whether a world-view based on openness will help us do business in Africa better, and make our products in this unique environment successful.

Speakers
avatar for Kristien Wolmarans

Kristien Wolmarans

Co-Founder, Flickswitch


Wednesday October 7, 2015 2:00pm - 2:30pm SAST
Technologist Track

2:50pm SAST

What's Next : An exploration of the past , present and future of Social Media and how it affects a Business's bottom line.
An engaging talk on the Evolution of Social Media and how it has affected the product development lifecycle as well as customer adaption models. The talk will give insight on the future states of Social Media as well as give Business and Start Ups tips on how to leverage Social Media in their go to market strategies. It will also explore Dunbar's Number and why it is important for any business , person or brand to always be aware of it in any of their activities in the market.

Speakers
avatar for Tavonga Musingarabwi

Tavonga Musingarabwi

Digital Strategist, Flint Studio
I am a Behavioural Economist with a sole focus on Digital Strategy. I have worked with both traditional marketing as well as new media marketing. I bring forth a new way of thinking when it comes to this new Digital Age. Having successfully helped South Africa in it's bid for the... Read More →


Wednesday October 7, 2015 2:50pm - 3:20pm SAST
Keynotes/Social/Misc Track
  Social, Digital Domain

3:40pm SAST

#BornToCode: A new way to source and develop coding talent

WeThinkCode_ is a new kind of peer-to-peer tech institution launching in Johannesburg in 2016, dedicated to transforming technology education in order to bridge the gap between undeveloped talent and the desperate IT skills shortage in South Africa. The magic of WeThinkCode_ lies in its selection criteria that enable us to source high potential programmers in the most unexpected pool of young talent. 


Speakers
avatar for Camile Agon

Camile Agon

Co-founder, WeThinkCode_
WeThinkCode_ is an innovative tech institute designed to transform higher education in Africa.
avatar for Yossi Hasson

Yossi Hasson

Co-founder, WeThinkCode_
avatar for Arlene Mulder

Arlene Mulder

Co-Founder, WeThinkCode_
WeThinkCode_ is an innovative tech institute designed to transform higher education.


Wednesday October 7, 2015 3:40pm - 4:10pm SAST
UX/The Next Billion Track

3:40pm SAST

Data, algorithms and insights around Africa's top brands on social media - introducing the Africa Brand Index
The Africa Brand Index combines dozens of real-time social signals into a ranking of the top brands in Africa on social media. This talk goes through the thinking and algorithm design behind it, the operational component of capturing, storing and analyzing millions of data elements and how the index is used to help brands in Africa.

Speakers

Wednesday October 7, 2015 3:40pm - 4:10pm SAST
Keynotes/Social/Misc Track
  Social, Design and Development

3:40pm SAST

International Diversification of a Web Service Business
Business success comes with focus. But there is a multitude of reasons why your company may want to diversify its service offering or client base: Securing your business, providing a more comprehensive service to your clients, providing your team with new challenges, or maybe just for your own ego.

Speakers
avatar for Dania Gerhardt

Dania Gerhardt

CEO Cape Town, Amazee Labs
I'm a founder of the Amazee Group based in Zurich, Switzerland.Amazee was founded in Zurich in 2007 as a social web platform and successfully repositioned itself as Amazee Labs, a web service company in 2010. In 2013 the Amazee Group founded a spin-off, Amazee Metrics. In 2014, after... Read More →


Wednesday October 7, 2015 3:40pm - 4:10pm SAST
Startup Track
 
Thursday, October 8
 

10:40am SAST

Women love tech... you're just not speaking to them.
The biggest barrier for developers and entrepreneurs is getting their technology in to the hands of the consumer. Women make 94% of the purchasing decisions of the households and yet tech companies are yet to explore new and interesting ways to market it to them. The discussion will be facilitated by Samantha Wright, the editor of Tech Girl, a South African tech blogged aimed at local women, and Zoe Hawkins, Content Editor for Lazygamer.net - Africa's biggest gaming website. The talk will highlight how women utilise technology as well as how we go about marketing it to them.

Speakers
avatar for Zoe Hawkins

Zoe Hawkins

Video Game journalist and mommy blogger by day, occasional food pornographer by night, I love gadgets, tech, games and words put together in unique orders. Talk to me about gaming, about tech, about women, and awesomely geeky kid's clothes.
avatar for Sam Wright

Sam Wright

Editor, Tech Girl
Samantha Wright spent 2 and a half years sharpening her teeth in the YFM Newsroom and learning the tricks of the journalism trade. At the age of 23 she moved into the corporate world where she took up a post at an engineering firm. While here she wrote scientific and engineering related... Read More →


Thursday October 8, 2015 10:40am - 11:10am SAST
Keynotes/Social/Misc Track

11:30am SAST

The 2015 Ventureburn Startup Survey: the true shape of SA's startup space revealed
The Ventureburn Startup Survey, in partnership with First National Bank (FNB), investment advisory firm Clifftop Colony and analytics company Qurio, polled just under 200 tech startups which with the aim of uncovering the “true picture of the South African startup landscape”. Each of the startups were asked 38 questions that covered (among other things) funding, the profile of their founders, revenues and everyday challenges.

Speakers
avatar for Stuart Thomas

Stuart Thomas

Senior Reporter, Memeburn
I've spent the last four years writing about the South African technology and startup space.


Thursday October 8, 2015 11:30am - 12:00pm SAST
Startup Track

2:00pm SAST

How to make it and not to make it in Africa
Personal learnings, failures and some success stories from almost a decade in tech on the big African continent presented by a Germany boy who shaped the African eCommerce landscape (a little).

Speakers
avatar for Nils Körber

Nils Körber

CIO, One Africa Media


Thursday October 8, 2015 2:00pm - 2:30pm SAST
eCommerce/Marketing/Mobile Track

2:00pm SAST

How not to build an internship program

As ClickMaven, we don’t do jobs. We do mastery and purpose.

We've created an internship program that equips digitally savvy graduates with the skills they need in order to make their mark in the industry.Using a highly structured 6-month internship we equip them with technical and business acumen skills. 

We aim to inspire and assist other agencies to develop programs/opportunities where they can bridge the skills gap.

Speakers
avatar for Tshepiso Theletsane

Tshepiso Theletsane

Talent & Operations Manager, Clickmaven
Tshepiso is an exceptional professional Talent & Operations Manager at ClickMaven. She has run the internship program at ClickMaven for the past two and a half years and taken it to new heights. She began her journey at ClickMaven as an intern herself and has learned tonnes of new... Read More →


Thursday October 8, 2015 2:00pm - 2:30pm SAST
IoT/Makers/Leadership Track

2:50pm SAST

A digital trail of disruption with happily disrupted customers

The online landscape is experiencing a digital trail of disruption and consumers are happily being disrupted. Felix will talk about what the future holds for the classifieds industry in the digital space and will touch on disruptive technologies that are fuelling the on-demand economy. Customers are after convenience and Felix will talk about the changes in the digital landscape that are already impacting our world and affecting our lives.


Speakers
avatar for Felix Erken

Felix Erken

Co-Owner and Managing Director, Junk Mail Publishing Group
Felix Erken gave a talk at Tech4Africa 2014. He has also spoken at the International Classified Media Association (ICMA) conference in 2015. He is the MD and co-owner of Junk Mail, the largest local classifieds exchange in South Africa. The Junk Mail stable includes the flagship sites... Read More →


Thursday October 8, 2015 2:50pm - 3:20pm SAST
Keynotes/Social/Misc Track

2:50pm SAST

Tech in education - Problems, solutions, lessons learned
Technology has opened up an entire new wave of education initiatives - but used incorrectly, tech in education can have little effect - or even harm the learning process. We share some lessons from 7 years of delivering online education - things to do, things to avoid, and ways to super-charge your life-long learning by using technology.

Speakers
avatar for Anna Malczyk

Anna Malczyk

HOD: Instructional Design, Red & Yellow
I'm a Polish-South African learning addict, polyglot and serial problem solver. I specialise in helping individuals and companies design effective learning programmes that really solve their business challenges. Come chat to me about the power of education!


Thursday October 8, 2015 2:50pm - 3:20pm SAST
Technologist Track
  Tech, Work and Career

3:40pm SAST

Life Stamina: Is it born or bred?
We often place limits on what we can do and what we have the potential of achieving. We often underestimate how far one can go and the ultimatum of terminating or continuing. In every aspect of life, there is something called Stamina, not just sport. The aim of this inspiring, enthused and motivated talk will be geared towards what and how you can see through your desired goals, accomplishments and targets.

Speakers
avatar for Habib Noorbhai

Habib Noorbhai

Lecturer and Researcher, Cape Peninsula University of Technology
- Biokinetics and Sports Science- Leadership- Humanitarian and community work- Cricket Innovation and Technology


Thursday October 8, 2015 3:40pm - 4:10pm SAST
IoT/Makers/Leadership Track
 


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