On Wednesday, 10 February 2021, Stockholm – the birthplace of fast-growing tech companies like Skype, Spotify and Klarna – will be joining forces with Cape Town, Africa’s Tech Capital and home to startups such as Aerobotics, SweepSouth and Sea Monster, to launch Cape Town / Stockholm Connect (CSC).
This is a platform that will bring together companies, developers, customers, investors, entrepreneurs, and institutions from across Cape Town and Stockholm via a series of activities. It will also serve as a meeting point and provide participants with well-organised matchmaking opportunities and company visits while also supporting individual requests.
The launch event will feature a diverse group of speakers sharing their insights about the startup landscape in both South Africa and Sweden. Two panel discussions will be taking place, each exploring the opportunities offered by these two cities.
The South African panellists will include Dr Sumarie Roodt, Chairperson of the Silicon Cape Initiative; Zachariah George, Principal at Nedbank Venture Capital & Alternative Investments, and Lebogang Lekoma, Director of Client Services at local startup Sea Monster.
The Swedish contingent will comprise Per Jansson and Marie-Claire Maxwell, Program Managers at Business Sweden; Johanna Blendow, Global Partnership Manager at Norrsken Impact Accelerator and Cecilia Repinski, CEO and Founder of Green Assets Wallet AB.
“It’s time to accelerate and intensify business exchange between Stockholm and Cape Town. Geographical boundaries don’t exist in the digital world, but we have identified gaps when it comes to knowledge and understanding about the respective markets. By connecting these two nodes of digital excellence, we want to close those gaps and create new business opportunities,” says Håkan Juholt, the Swedish Ambassador to South Africa.
City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, Alderman James Vos, adds: “Connecting Cape Town’s startup businesses with other markets across the globe is an important aspect of growing our local economy and creating opportunities for growth and job creation. Cape Town is one of the fastest growing startup centres on the continent and we have so much to offer. Sharing the knowledge and opportunities in our city with other startup centres can only lead to more benefits for our startup ecosystem. I am happy to participate in this virtual launch.”
To register for the launch event, click here; and for more information on Cape Town / Stockholm Connect click here.
