StartupBus is an annual entrepreneurial road trip, during which the ‘buspreneurs’ conceive, build, and launch their startup. This November, for the first time, it will run in Southern Africa, bringing together 15 African and 15 International entrepreneurs for a truly unforgettable journey…

Participants will be coders (50%), designers (25%) and business developers (25%) all focused on the areas Mobile, Healthcare and Energy. The goal is to support entrepreneurs in Africa, help international entrepreneurs understand the African market and create lasting ties between both – and finally, of course, the founding of new startups in the areas of interest.

WHO WILL BE ON THE BUS?

The 30 participants will have a vast mix of backgrounds and will be selected from hundreds of applications. Half of them will be from Africa and half of them from the rest of the world. We connect and develop experts from three disciplines: engineering, design and business. The interdisciplinary teams will be working on their own ideas. We support women’s entrepreneursship and aim to have 30% women representation on the bus at a minimum, as we see many qualified women are normally overlooked by tech events and organisations.

WHY AFRICA?

We want to use the enormous growth of the African tech industry to launch innovative entrepreneurial ideas. The mobile sector represents 4,4% of the African GDP, that means $32 billion to the Sub-Saharan African economy. There are 500 million mobile connections in 2013 alone, with a projected increase by an additional 50% till 2018. The mobile phone is basically the PC of emerging and developing countries.

What happens on the bus?
On the bus teams are formed, ideas bounced around, products built, costumers aproached and the business outlined. You’ll be surprised how much can be done when innovative minds team up on a bus!

What happens off the bus?
We don’t just stop to stretch our legs! At each destination our teams will meet up with successful african entrepreneurs who will give valuable feedback and share their experiences of how they circumvented the obstacles on the african market that undoubtedly exist.

What is the route like?

This is the schedule for the bus:
November 18: Harare–Border
November 19: Border–Johannesburg
November 20: Johannesburg–Bloemfontein
November 21: Bloemfontein–Cape Town

What happens after the bus?

Previous tours in the US and Europe have shown that valuable contacts established on the StartupBus are maintained by entrepreneurs in the long run and make for continued knowledge transfer and lasting business ties.

The Startup Bus Africa

Although this years StartupBus applications are closed you can look forward for next year and start spreading the word! Use the contacts below to get in touch with us! Follow the Tech Guys on Facebook, Google Plus and Twitter to keep up with StartupBus news! If you are looking to become a possible participant from Namibia, drop us a mail at [email protected] so we can add you to our database!

Startupbus Africa is only possible thanks to our sponsors and supporters. Reach out to us on[email protected] to discuss commercial partnerships or support our Indiegogo campaign to help make this happen. You can also help by tweeting about us or spreading the word on Facebook. via Startupbus Africa.

Published by Tshuutheni Emvula

Tshuutheni Emvula is an entrepreneur, sound engineer and all round tech guy. He is a founding member at The Tech Guys.

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