Meet the startups selected to participate in our Startup Acceleration Workshop

Date - April 28, 2011 - Posted by: Tim

What a tough decision it was to select our final ten startups to participate in our Startup Acceleration Workshop.

The standard was extremely high, and we were impressed with the sheer variety and innovation shown by those who took part in the application process.

Though we’d like to have taken on more, we were limited to only taking on the ten we deemed most suitable (and would benefit most) for this particular workshop. Here they are in no particular order:

iSigned

Sampleboard

QCF Designs

Trust Fabric

Feedbackrocket

MBAConnect

MyOWs

Infoteg

Bookpay

Edge Campus

Congrats to those who made it! – we’ll be in touch soon to let you know the finer details.

A massive thanks to all those who took part in the process. The volume and quality of the applications we received are a good indicator the local tech startup community is alive, well and growing furiously.

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Categories: 2011 Conference

On show at Net Prophet: The Joule

Date - April 12, 2011 - Posted by: Tim

If you needed another great reason not to miss the Net Prophet 2011 conference, this is it.

The Joule is Africa’s first battery electric engineering masterpiece (from Optimal Energy), and will be on show for the duration of the conference. Read more about the Joule here.

Joule Brand Film from Optimal Energy on Vimeo.

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Categories: 2011 Conference

Meet our first ever Net Prophet bursary recipients

Date - April 11, 2011 - Posted by: Tim

If we are to build culture where technology entrepreneurship can thrive, it’s important that we invest in the education of appropriately skilled people. At last year’s conference, we set out to raise money towards a bursary for two local students from financially needy backgrounds, who were studying IT related qualifications. Through the outrageously generous contributions of those who attended the event, we were able to raise R60,000 – not bad for our first attempt.

A final thanks to all those that contributed – you have made tangible difference in the lives of two promising young minds:

Deon Takpuie
Currently Studying: Third year BSC in Business Computing & Computer Science. (UCT)

Career ambitions?
I deeply desire the position of a systems analyst, as it perfectly mixes computers and people together.

Who is your technology/IT hero?
Mark Shuttleworth, for making Africa proud and also releasing excellent open source entities like Ubuntu.

What do you love most about technology?
I love the evolution of technology. Technology makes our lives not just more convenient, but more productive. There are many such examples:

- The time in saved our day by using washing machines.
- Being able to be reached remotely via a cellular phone.

I admire the perseverance and visionary thinking most true technological breakthroughs require.

What role do you think technology has to play in the future of SA?
Technology has a massive role to play in South Africa, one can just look at the increasing number of computing institutions that are being created. Technology will be used to better lives for example: Aurecon Cape Town, is a company that did the disaster management program (IT based) for the recent Cape Argus and it improved emergency response dramatically.

Lyndsay Lawrence

Currently studying: Third year – pure Mathematics & Computer Science. (UCT)

Career ambitions?
My dream is to one day work for Google. Whether it be in research or development. More specifically though, my main interests are artificial intelligence and cryptography. I would like to either do research in the artificial intelligence field or become a cryptographer (research or practical).

Who is your technology/IT hero?
Grace Murray Hopper

What do you love most about technology?
I love how technology is making the world a smaller place. It has become so easy to keep in contact with people all around the world, friends, family and even making new contacts. Information is also freely available and there’s very little we can’t find out with the resources available to us.

What role do you think technology has to play in the future of SA?
Technology in South Africa is growing slower than the rest of the world, but despite this fact, it is still helping us as a nation. It connects us to the rest of the world, which is needed for development and growth. An increase in technology will help us build a stronger, more efficient country. It also makes education more accessible, and education is the most important thing of all.

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Categories: 2011 Conference

Net Prophet Startup Accelerator Workshop

Date - April 7, 2011 - Posted by: Tim

Are you the driving force behind a hot tech startup? Want to know how you can greatly accelerate your business efforts?

We’re offering local tech startups the opportunity to receive three days of FREE, hands-on mentoring and coaching with Permjot Valia, prolific angel investor and one of Europe’s top startup mentors.

While good ideas form the foundation of innovation, it’s critical to know when and how to break into the market. That’s where the knowledge of those who have personal experience in assisting with or investing in startups can make a difference to whether your ideas will reach commercial success. This is an excellent opportunity for local startups to get the edge they need.

The main focus of the workshop will be to help local startups to fast-track their businesses towards commercial success, and compete in the international arena.

How to apply

To ensure that each startup receives the maximum value from the experience, space is limited to just ten startups. Interested parties that would like to attend the workshop must apply via our website.

All applications will be screened to determine which startups are most suitable to attend. The final team startups selected to participate will be chosen by us. Applications close on 22 April. The selected candidates will be announced on April 28.

The Startup Acceleration Workshop will run from 9 – 11 May, and takes place in Cape Town. More detailed information can be on our website.

The Net Prophet Startup Accelerator Workshop is proudly supported by Old Mutual.