Did you know the African continent is home to 7 of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world and the middle class will grow exponentially the coming decades? Did you know South Africa offers great opportunities for innovative businesses? And that Cape Town is known as the digital gateway to Africa? The Dutch Consulate General in Cape Town is organizing a unique bootcamp named #cocreate2ACCELERATE to introduce you to this incredible city and the opportunities it offers.

#cocreate2ACCELERATE is a bootcamp where Dutch start/scale-ups meet their South African counterparts in Cape Town. It is developed by the Dutch Consulate General in Cape Town to enhance economic co-operation between The Netherlands and South Africa. The goal of the program is to build relationships between high potential young companies from both countries. Selected participants will get a chance to (net)work with their peers and meet key players in the Cape Town startup ecosystem like investors, government officials and seasoned entrepreneurs.

The program includes presence at the Innovation Summit, Africa’s premier startup event taking place from 06-08 September. The bootcamp will leave you with a solid understanding of what it takes for your company to scale to (South)Africa. The program is fully funded by RvO, participants only pay their flights and accommodation.

Specifically, we focus on five sectors which hold great potential on the African continent:

• FinTech
• AgriTech
• BlueTech
• EduTech
• Smart Cities

Companies in other sectors can also be admitted to the program if their product is potentially valuable for the (South)African market. We are looking for dedicated and serious Dutch start and scale-ups that are considering expanding to Africa. They either:

• Want to test if Cape Town is the right hub for their international expansion
• Or are considering scaling to (South)Africa and want to discover the Cape Town and Joburg startup ecosystems

Interested? Join us at our information evening

We are very excited to meet you at our information evening! We will gather at our friends from JIM, a beautiful new innovation hub and co-working space in the heart of Utrecht.

You will get a chance to speak to experts on South Africa, and we will discuss the content of #cocreate2ACCELERATE program.

The program entails:

- Introduction to South Africa and Cape Town by Consul General Bonnie Horbach (via Skype)

- Insights from experienced entrepreneurs what it takes to scale to South Africa

- Information about the #cocreate2ACCELERATE program

- Possible ways of financing your venture to South Africa by RvO

Where: JIM Utrecht, Beatrixgebouw next to Central Sation

About #cocreateSA

Understanding the local environment and local challenges is key in finding sustainable solutions through innovation and turning problems into opportunities. Working together with South African start-ups, will enable Dutch entrepreneurs to both grasp the local context and integrate Dutch innovations to co-create sustainable business models.

This has been the key to success and the essence of the campaign #cocreateSA, an initiative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which focuses on cocreating sustainable solutions to local challenges! #cocreate2ACCELERATE is an activation of this successful program.