Today (5 May 2016), Cape Town entrepreneurs will participate in an awareness raising event for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2016 which is set to be hosted by President Barack Obama in Silicon Valley later this year.

As part of his First Thursday programme, Alan Winde, Minister of Economic Opportunities, will attend tonight's session.

The event takes place at 5pm at the American Corner at the Central Library in the Cape Town CBD this evening.

In addition to tonight’s event, a special Road to GES2016 summit will take place at the V&A Waterfront’s Workshop 17 on May 16.
It is one of only two summits in Africa being held ahead of the GES2016.

Speakers for tonight:

Tamburai Chirume from One of Each, a luxury fashion business that uses leather and traditional African fabrics, selected from across the continent, to create accessories that are actually works of art.

Brittany Hawkins from Explore Sideways, a leader in immersive travel experiences in the Cape, specializing in highly curated private tours and off-the-beaten track experiences of Winelands.

Katlego Maphai from Yoco, a point of sales payments startup that aims to empower the growth of entrepreneurs in Africa. Yoco provides easy-to-use Blue-tooth enabled card-readers that dramatically simplify card transactions in South Africa’s large, untapped SME market. Over 200 new merchants are signing up to Yoco every month, making it one of the fastest growing companies in South Africa.

Josh Cox from Fix Forward, a social enterprise dedicated to connecting homeowners and businesses wanting to renovate, with hand-picked quality tradesmen from low-income communities. In 2014 Josh was sent by the State Department to attend the GES in Nigeria.

The Ministry of Economic Opportunities is also participating in the First Thursday initiative and welcomes all residents to visit our offices at 142 Long Street. Minister Winde will be at the Ministry from 7pm onwards.

Issued by Western Cape Government