The Startup Ecosystem of Cape Town

Cape Town is a city with a flourishing startup ecosystem that has been in the making for many years. Most startups in Cape Town are tech-enabled and solving problems unique to the African continent. Take for example Nomanini, a startup that helped businesses capitalize on prepaid coupons in an economy where cash is still a preferred mode of payment. While this local innovation is great, it does prove to be a hindrance for Cape Town startups to gain traction globally. Another great example is Cape Town’s Pantheon member, Naspers, which is a global platform operator with principal operations in: internet services, especially ecommerce; pay television; and print media.

With the availability of capital, talent and supporting organizations, Cape Town startups have much to rejoice about. Some advantages of starting up in Cape Town are: access to Venture Capital; Strong political will for education; IT infrastructure. A number of local universities in the region also receive research funding from technology companies such as Samsung that funded a mobile development lab at the University of Cape Town.

There are a lot of key players of the Cape Town startup ecosystem. Impact Amplifier is an incubator for high-impact startups bringing about environmental and socio-economic change in Africa. It also acts as a consultant for big businesses. Silicon Cape is a community of startups, entrepreneurs, investors and tech professionals that share resources and information about the Western Cape of South Africa. The purpose of the organization is to promote and foster entrepreneurship. It has been a significant driver of networking and startup events in the region, as well as investments.

Cape Town has all the makings of a successful startup ecosystem, with the easy access to capital, startup support, accelerators, events, education, and talent. However, startups in this bustling city need to develop a more global approach and there is also a need for the government to better facilitate this.