CAPE TOWN - Business Network

14/05/2022

We are hosting the best of the best events at

** What Does the Future Look Like in the Metaverse? **

The currency in Ubuntuland is the $UBUNTU token, which is built on the Ethereum blockchain. Once you buy land in this metaverse, you can create, innovate, and interact. Landholders can customise their territory to do anything from hosting shops, producing resources, housing NPCs and developing games or any other applications. Staking, DAO and blockchain play-to-earn gaming is also on its way.

According to JP Morgan, global metaverse revenue opportunities like live events, ads, social commerce and hardware are going to reach over $1 trillion. Google, Meta, and Microsoft are all participating. Gaming and entertainment brands, as well as some fashion labels (like the Gucci Garden in Roblox), are paving the way for brands seeking to navigate the metaverse.

But all of this giddy excitement to join in comes with problems as well. Gillis spoke about the very real issue of how we will go about regulating disputes in the metaverse. “Binding arbitration: It’s the thing that is going to be the most fundamental issue that we will have to deal with. The first war will be in the crypto space; you don’t necessarily own the digital version of your business,” Gillis said.

Where to start? Perhaps where it began: With a serious gaming strategy. You need to lay the groundwork that will set you up in the Metaverse.

We also had a spotlight session with one of our most amazing Innovation City Members Dylan Walls, regarding all things Bitprop

Come and join us!
See you there!

Thank you Sandra Buckingham for capturing these pertinent insights from our event! You Rock!

29/04/2022

HUGE congratulations to Kena Health for winning our Start-up of the Year competition!👏🏽

Innovation City is all about making and nurturing innovative and impactful connections in business. Our annual Start-up of the Year Competition had three main criteria based around seeking out the most innovative, scalable and impactful start-up in South Africa. won this inaugural year’s competition, announced at the gala event Tuesday night at Innovation City💡

We also announced that won Ayoba's R30,000 MVP Development Award for 'Most ayoba Idea'!🙆🏼‍♀️

Thank you again to all that participated and attended🤍
A Big thank you to at for supporting our event!! You guys are amazing!! ✨

Ventureburn Disrupt Africa

08/04/2022

This event was extraordinary!
I learnt so much regarding investing from a VC’s perspective:

Thank you to my superhero friend for your notes: Sandra Buckingham

Start-ups gained incredible insight into what it takes to attract funding from top VCs like Knife Capital's Andrea Böhmert and Hlayisani Capital's Mathew Palin. Here are some soundbites from the event:

What kind of investor should you watch out for?💁🏻‍♂️

“Everyone throws the word ‘investor’ around a lot these days. Be clear about what they mean when they say they’re an investor - have they invested R20 000 in only one company? Have they only boasted about being one on social media? Best thing is to ask their previous portfolio of companies just how the investor fared during good times and bad. Then you will know if you want to walk the journey with them.” Andrea Böhmert

What do investors look for?👊🏽

“I have a people first approach.” Mathew Palin
“Hearts, minds, wallet. In that order. First get me excited, then my mind should be able to see the opportunity, then: Ooh! I can make money out of this! The X-Factor is apparent when I can remember the pitch clearly and I’m still thinking about it the next day.” Andrea Böhmert
Advice for getting funds?💡

“Your reasons for doing this must be strong enough. Play on the heart strings.” Mathew Palin

“Do your homework! If I meet with you, I’ve already looked you up. I’ve done my prep. So, you’d better do your prep before you meet me, too. Also, do your presentation according to who you are pitching to. An engineer? Pitch in a way that an engineer would understand.” Andrea Böhmert

Caution! 🛑

“We believe we need to walk the journey with the entrepreneur. And it’s a long one! So never take money from an investor if you don’t particularly like the company or the person behind it. If you don’t have some semblance of mutual respect or feel you can work together, don’t take their money!” Andrea Böhmert

On rejection: “Rejections are like a cold shower and a Brazilian wax at the same time!” Stephan Eckbergh

Want the FULL STORY? The full editorial recap comes out in our weekly newsletter which is packed with goodies for business brains to ponder on! 🍔💵

A big Thank you to Arno Smit & Gert van Wyk founders of BioCertica for your business presentation! You guys are phenomenal!! Well done!!

04/04/2022

It's the most exciting time in South Africa for START-UPS, especially those in tech🔌 But in order to take off, you need financial backing!

If you're planning to take your idea and make it fly, you need to win over potential sponsors🚀 Listen to what the funders are on the lookout for, so that you get the inside scoop!

Join us at Innovation City on Thursday 7 April from 1pm as we host Knife Capital's Andrea Böhmert and Hlayisani Capital's Mathew Palin - discussing how Innovation is Appealing!💡

Save your seat here: https://lnkd.in/eJT2Wekg

01/04/2022

Wow! What an Incredible evening with ✨

I learnt so much! My personal take home was regarding “the line” a persons behaviours & mindset! Very powerful! This is definitely going to help me shape the way I act and think moving forward in my life. I highly recommend that you buy Daniel’s book “Billionaire mindset” the golden nuggets in there are guaranteed to take you and your business to the next level, if… you apply them! 😉

Thank you for your notes:

We had a remarkable evening with author and venture capitalist Daniel Strauss at Innovation City on Thursday 31st March. He was humble, sincere, witty, grounding and down to earth. He came to talk to us about entrepreneurship. Here are some tantalizing tidbits from the event:

“It’s easy to invest in a private company; you have some money, you get a lawyer, sign, acquire shares - done! The difficult part is running it and selling it for more than you paid for it.”💵

People are currently throwing money at startups like never before. We have to enjoy it while it lasts, because it’s going to calm down soon⌛️

On his luck being married to a beauty queen, former Miss South Africa and Miss World, Rolene Strauss: You know you’ve really made it in life when you make it to the cover of HuisGenoot!

It’s the knowing that eats the unknowing💡

Can you go away for 90 days and in this time, will your business be the same or better than what it was?

Know when to speak above the line and know when to speak below the line🎙

Want to know more? DM us to get onto our mailing list for a full article on Daniel Strauss and more secrets from his book Billionaire Mindset!

30/03/2022

Tomorrow’s Event! We are almost full!! 🏆🎉👍🏻👏🏻

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/innovation-city_innovationcity-upcomingevent-mindset-activity-6914493614937022464-Oj3E?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=ios_app

What sets the rich apart from 'normal people'? A mindset🧠 In his book "The Billionaire Mindset", venture capitalist 💡Daniel S. (of the investment firm...

24/03/2022

Our Amazing Innovation City Members hosting an Investor Event revealing iiiiiincreadible start ups from all around the world!!! Live Streaming from the US, Columbia, Thailand & Egypt. Well done simple.Capital() for an incredible event! Democratising investing into Start Ups!! Congratulations Lior on a successful event with more than 200 potential investors streaming in to watch the event live.
’s

22/03/2022

Find out how simple.Capital() is changing the investment playing field by granting normal people like us access to early stage hyper-growth companies:

Join us this Wednesday evening from 18:00 - 20:30 at Innovation City OR watch it LIVE online to see how the top startups pitch for funding and to gain access to the best early stage opportunities in the world!🌍

Register: https://lnkd.in/e_yRhW7J

Note: Event starts 6pm, LIVE webinar starts at 7pm🎬

21/03/2022

Join us in-person for drinks and light snacks at our first event of the year, as we unveil the the most exciting early stage tech startups of the quarter 💯

Where? Innovation City, Cape Town.
When? Wed, 23 Mar, 18:00 - 20:30 GMT+2

Link to attend 👉 https://lnkd.in/eCzvR9pP

Join us in-person at Innovation City, Cape Town, for drinks and light snacks as we unveil the best of Q1's early stage tech companies. We will be hosting a livestream with founders from around...

18/03/2022

Wow! Thank you to the Innovation City Team for always hosting exceptional events. 🏆

Thank you to Sandra Buckingham for this incredible article.

Frans Hiemstra wore a satisfied smile on his face at the Evolution 101 event at Innovation City, and it wasn’t just because lockdowns have finally eased up and Uber’s wheels are turning once more.

And when you meet Uber’s General Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, you realize that Hiemstra is incredibly down-to-earth. From running with his pram and two rescue dogs underneath Table Mountain to engaging in round tables with local Uber drivers, Hiemstra’s finger is on the pulse of Africa’s diverse terrain. “It’s the diversity of thought I’m after. My ethos is to be around people different to me, not the same as me - I like to be challenged. These are the learning opportunities that we should all be after, and great minds don’t think alike,” Hiemstra said💁🏻‍♂️

According to Hiemstra, Uber’s focus is on putting money into driver’s pockets. And during the pandemic, they kept the wheels turning by assisting with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation initiative. Uber helped by couriering medical supplies back and forth from distribution centers to patients in dire need of chronic medication🙌🏽

They then also donated R5.5million worth of rides to 100,000 people in need of getting to vaccination stations and home again. Uber also worked closely with the Department of Education to get teachers vaccinated on time✔️

In Hiemstra’s world, the environment must be super-efficient, as decisions need to be made quickly, and so Uber’s working framework consists of one decision-maker who needs to ensure that all their clients; the drivers, riders, couriers, restaurants, etc are all treated fairly and that no-one is favored more👏🏽

Gaining respect and trust means that they are privy to important information that not even the analytics can show: “At our latest round table with drivers, we subsequently found out two errors in the app, which we were able to easily fix, so these levels of communication with them is worth more to us than any data we collect,” Hiemstra said🧠

The most interesting thing about Uber is their people; there are full-time earners, part-time earners and some who just drive on a Friday. Hiemstra says that each and every Uber person has a wonderful backstory, and it’s worth our while, should we be in a chatty mood as we are driven to our destinations, to ask them about their personal journeys - there may be some stories that may truly amaze us ✨

Make sure you don't miss our next event! Save your seat here: https://lnkd.in/emQZhQu6

18/03/2022

We had a super informative session at our Evolution 101 event Thursday 17th March with Velma Corcoran💡She is a woman of substance grace elegance and power! Such a privilege to spend time with this exceptional woman! Thank you Velma! ✨

Here's our round-up written by Sandra Buckingham 🏆

Despite lockdowns, Airbnb helped pump R8 billion into the SA economy in 2020, providing 25,000 jobs. “The last two years have been such a blur. In March of 2020, we suddenly lost 80% of our business but by the end of it, it turned out to be one of our most successful IPOs ever,” said Velma Corocoran, Airbnb Regional Lead for Middle East and Africa💁🏻‍♀️

While Airbnb battened down the hatches and made some hard decisions in the extenuating circumstances by allowing guests to cancel across the board, and also having to go through some layoffs and reduce spending, it was probably the best learning curve. The biggest realization came from marketing; when they cut their $1 billion spend on performance marketing, they realized it incredibly made no difference to their analytics! 💸

So what had happened in those 10 months to change the bleak outlook around? Domestic tourism! Domestics spent R8 billion in 2020, staying for longer periods of time at local destinations due to the flexibility of remote work, less specific vacation dates, and the desire to just go somewhere, ANYWHERE that wasn’t being stuck at home during lockdown. The most searched-for variable? Pet-friendliness! Clearly South Africans needed to take their woofies along for the extended working getaway🐶

The domestic tourist trend was apparent even before Covid; with an increase of 600% from 2016 to 2019, according to Corcoran. And nurturing local tourism is at the heart of what the company is focused on; they’ve started the Airbnb Entrepreneurship Academy which entails programs and workshops focused on breaking down systemic barriers to tourism success🛫

Corcoran’s success at the helm of this global company is to focus on culture and the three core values that Airbnb embodies: Be a host, embrace the adventure and be a serial entrepreneur. Her super power? “Chutzpah. I don’t believe in ‘NO.’ I guess I’m stubborn because I always think there’s a way through and past something. And believe me, I’ve made mistakes, but I call them ‘learnings,’ and they’ve been some of my greatest teachers,” said Corcoran✔️

Make sure you don't miss our next event! Save your seat here: https://lnkd.in/emQZhQu6

15/03/2022

Want to know the ins and outs of Airbnb and Uber?!

Join us at Innovation City Cape Town on 17 March from 13h00 as we chat face-to-face with Velma Corcoran, Regional Lead, Middle East Africa at Airbnb, and to Frans Hiemstra, General Manager for Uber in Sub-Saharan Africa, and discuss the trials and tribulations of what it takes to constantly adapt to market needs even before the markets realise it, and staying a few steps ahead of competitors.

Click here to register: https://lnkd.in/eBv9JEdQ

Adapting to needs before th...

09/03/2022

Hi all, come join us at Innovation City Cape Town for our weekly event. These events have become Thursday's 'must do' with Innovation City becoming the place to be. These 3 heavy hitters will not hold back and you don't want to miss out. RSVP on the link or let me know if you can make it. The bar will be flowing as will the innovation, transformation and inspiration!

The recent State Capture report has just been made public and it laid bare the level of corruption which has plagued our government departments at the expense of the country’s economy🕵🏻‍♀️

South Africans are resilient and there are many good people who want this country to rise from the ashes!🇿🇦
But how do we go about this mammoth task?🦣

Join us at Innovation City on THURSDAY 10TH MARCH from 4-6pm, as we host entrepreneur and private investor Rob Hersov, as well as business and macroeconomics analyst Phumlani Majozi, and get their thoughts on how we can do it✔️

Save a seat here: https://innovation-city-10th-march-rob-hersov-and.confetti.events/

02/03/2022

Join us for en epic panel at Innovation City Cape Town
How do we go about fixing the South African economy?

We are honoured to host entrepreneur and private investor Hersov, as well as business and macroeconomics analyst Phumlani M. Majozi, and get their thoughts on how we can fix this broken economy of ours.

Rob Hersov
South African / UK entrepreneur and private investor Rob Hersov is the grandson of Bob Hersov, the founder of one of Southern Africa’s largest mining and industrial companies, AngloVaal, which his father, Basil Hersov, ran from 1973 to 2001.
Hersov has been a member of many public and private boards and founded and owns companies in the aviation, resource, media/marketing, member network and finance sectors.

Over the last decade his focus has been on investing in Africa, a continent close to his heart given his upbringing and family ties. In May 2013, Rob founded Invest Africa with the specific purpose of delivering on the demand for high quality relationships within growing African markets amongst investors and the business community. The private club has amassed over 400 high- level members.
He currently serves as chairman/founder of Invest Africa, chairman/founder of African Capital Investments, chairman/founder of Alternative Capital, chairman/founder of the S-Group, chairman/founder of Lion Cage, non-Executive Director of both Emerge Gaming (ASX-listed) and the Cape Town Stock Exchange, and he is senior advisor to the founder of VistaJet.
Phumlani M. Majozi
Phumlani is a business and macroeconomics analyst, writer and commentator on economic, political and global issues. His writings have been published in the City Press, News24, BizNews, African Liberty and Politicsweb.

He has been quoted by TIME Magazine, Financial Mail Magazine and AlJazeera. The Financial Mail Magazine also profiled him in its Backstory section in July 2020.

In June 2018, he became a Senior Fellow at African Liberty. His appointment involves research and writing on African politics and economics.
He sits on the boards of two organizations: the South African Institute of Business Accountants (SAIBA) and the Organization Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA).
He has been interviewed on these television channels: eNews Channel Africa (eNCA), BBC World News, SABC 1, SABC 2, CNBC Africa, Kyk Net. He has given talks in South Africa and Kenya. Sometimes he also moderates conference panel discussions.

In 2016 and 2017, two years in a row, he was selected by Avance Media as 1 of 100 Most Influential Young South Africans, under the Social Enterprise and Philanthropy category, and Law and Governance category.

powered by Epicenter Stockholm

https://lnkd.in/epUMF-94

24/02/2022

CASHLESS is king!💳

Join us this Thursday at Innovation City Cape Town from 13:00-14:30 as Thomas PAYS, CEO & Co-founder of Ozow, shares his story so far and how he continues to come up with bold new ventures💡

Use this link to save a seat: https://innovation-city-24feb-founder-story-thomas-pays.confetti.events/

17/02/2022

We had such a vibe at our Re-imagine Marketing event today!!
I loved every moment of it! So thankful to host such insane amazing speakers 🎉💯🏆📸💪🏻
Thank you guys!!

17/02/2022

Are you a VC looking to INNOVATE & COLLABORATE?

Innovation City is a village of local and international investors & innovators! We have incredible unicorn founders & investors through our doors collaborating with us.

We would love to meet with you and discuss possible synergies & opportunities together!

Contact me for more information
[email protected]

Photo credits to the amazing Greg Lumley 📸
Thank you Greg!

16/02/2022

Absolutely Exciting News! 🎉

We have an incredible new business in Cape Town called Innovation City! We are powered by Epicentre Stockholm.

A village of local and international investors & innovators! We have already had incredible unicorn start ups & investors through our doors collaborating with us.

We are calling all local VC’s & Fintech start ups!

Please contact me for more information. I would love to meet with you and discuss possible synergies & opportunities together!

Please contact me 🎉💯🙏🏾🌈🏆
Please like and share to spread the good news!


Please contact me [email protected] 🏆

Photo credits to the amazing Greg Lumley - award winning wedding and commercial photographer 📸
Thank you Greg!