Inaugural DEMO Africa event set for October

Leading consortium firm DEMO Africa will launch an innovation event meant to spur the growth of start ups in the continent, organizers said.

The innovation, which is the first in Africa seeks to exploit local investors and will be keen to nurture and develop startup business ventures by giving support in form of free software applications and capital to make them hit the ground.

Speaking during a press briefing at Serena Hotel, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communications, Dr Bitange Ndemo, lauded the venture saying that it will trigger growth in the country as local investors will be heavily involved.

“Kenya is very proud to be the first country in Africa to have this kind of innovation. We have many innovations but not many involve local investors. This is why the Ministry is pushing and supporting this initiative,” said Ndemo.

Microsoft Director for Development Platforms for West, East and Central Africa, Mr Dele Akinsade, indicated that they have developed a program called BizSpark, which will help in the development and success of new ideas.

“BizSpark is a program that will offer softwares to fast track startup ventures. It will also connect them with key industry players including investors and provide marketing visibility to help entrepreneurs start their businesses,” said Dele.

“BizSpark will also help students with solid business ideas but lacking capital to actualize them. It will be like an incubation machine,” added Dele.

The program, which has been going on for the past 21 years in the United States, will involve university students. They will be engaged in activities such as competitions, which will offer them platforms to present their ideas.

With sponsorships from Nokia, Microsoft and the Ministry of Information and Communication, DEMO Africa invites other relevant and interested parties in the private sector to join and support them in their quest of creating jobs and appreciating local investors.

The DEMO Africa launch event will be held on the 24th to 26th of October this year, at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi.

It will also provide an avenue for forty innovative start-ups across the continent to showcase their products.

The writer is a Mass Communication student, Multimedia University