Microsoft has confirmed its support for this year’s upcoming DEMO Africa event in Lagos, Nigeria.
The partnership is seen as a show of confidence in the growing
startup technology scene across Africa as this is the fourth time the
software giant has pledged support to the pan African event.
DEMO Africa has announced that this year, it plans to
introduce
knowledge streams to delve into topics such as 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 are expected to lead the discussion.
The event which is scheduled to take place from 21 – 25 September 2015
will provide a platform for start-ups to showcase their different
solutions and engage investors through a round table forum and the
LIONS@FRICA Summit. Demo Africa have also revealed that 30 disruptive
technology products will be launched in 12 categories including Banking
and Finance, Education, Transport and Logistics, Retail, Communication
and Media, and Entertainment.
Speaking about Microsoft’s move to support Demo Africa, Director of
Startup Engagement and Partnerships, 4Africa Initiatives at Microsoft,
Amrote Abdella stressed the importance of this 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 competitive
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.”
Executive Producer of DEMO Africa, Harry Hare embraced the support
from Microsoft, and agreed with Abdella’s call for stakeholder support
for technology and entrepreneurship in Africa. According to him, “It is
actions by different players that will see technology entrepreneurship
effectively bringing sustainability to entrepreneurship across Africa.”
Jumoke Akiyode
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