Microsoft, under the 4Afrika Initiative, has confirmed its support for the upcoming DEMO Africa event in Lagos, Nigeria. This is the fourth time that the software giant has pledged support to the pan-African event, which provides a platform for start-ups to showcase their solutions and engage investors.
The move by Microsoft has been seen as a show of confidence in the growing startup technology scene across Africa.
Commenting on this partnership, Amrote Abdella, Director of Startup Engagement and Partnerships, 4Africa Initiatives at Microsoft, has stressed the importance of partnership to build an innovative ecosystem in Africa: “By supporting the growth of startups with disruptive innovations that solve major challenges in Africa today, we are laying the foundation for the creation of globally competitiveness businesses. It opens up the opportunity to partner with various stakeholders across sectors, and at Microsoft we believe in joining forces to create a bigger and more sustainable impact.”
Harry Hare, Executive Producer of DEMO Africa, welcomed the support, echoing Mrs Abdella’s call for stakeholder support for technology and entrepreneurship in Africa: “It is actions by different players that will see technology entrepreneurship effectively bringing sustainability to entrepreneurship across Africa.”
The DEMO Africa event is scheduled to take place in the week of 21 –25 September 2015. Already, top industry players including Fola Adeola, the Founder and Chairman of FATE Foundation, and the Founder and Chairman of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, have confirmed their participation.
30 disruptive technology products are expected to be launched in 12 categories including Finance and Banking, Education, Transport and Logistics, Retail, Communication and Media, and Entertainment.
More people continue to book their slots to witness the unveiling of the selected 30 start-ups. The week-long event to be hosted at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos Nigeria, is expected to attract over 500 guests including investors, IT buyers, IT consumers and media.
This year, DEMO Africa introduces knowledge streams to delve into critical topics including Business Modelling, Scaling Businesses, Creating an Unfair Advantage, and Raising Capital. Top industry players, including Jorn Lyseggen-MEST Founder, Harry Tomi Davies-ABAN President, Folabi Esan-Partner, Adlevo Capital, Jason Njoku-IROKO TV CEO among others will lead the discussion.
Other notable activities at the 2015 DEMO Africa event include an investor roundtable forum and the LIONS@FRICA Summit, with the uptake of Africa-generated technology being expected to dominate the conversations.
The event will be co-hosted by DEMO Africa, the Nigerian Ministry of Communication Technology and the National Information Technology Agency-Nigeria, in collaboration with LIONS@FRICA and VC4Africa.
