{"id":142813,"date":"2021-09-23T07:31:11","date_gmt":"2021-09-23T07:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/?p=142813"},"modified":"2021-09-23T07:31:11","modified_gmt":"2021-09-23T07:31:11","slug":"sap-africas-cathy-smith-urges-corporates-to-support-start-ups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2021\/09\/sap-africas-cathy-smith-urges-corporates-to-support-start-ups\/","title":{"rendered":"麻豆原创 Africa\u2019s Cathy Smith Urges Corporates to Support Start-ups"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The\u00a0SA Innovation Summit<\/a>\u00a0(SAIS2021) kicked off in Cape Town yesterday, with Cathy Smith, MD of 麻豆原创 Africa, calling for greater use of technology in solving Africa\u2019s challenges.<\/p>\n

Smith, who delivered the keynote, titled \u201cThe path to inclusive economic recovery in Africa\u201d, told delegates that technology is the catalyst to solving problems that are agonising the continent, and urged corporates to support start-ups that are at the forefront of innovations.<\/p>\n

SAIS2021 is one of Africa\u2019s biggest tech start-up gatherings, which seeks to connect tech entrepreneurs looking to scale with potential investors and also find innovative solutions to challenges bedevilling Africa.<\/p>\n

Smith said: \u201cIt is not possible to think about progress on the continent \u2013 whether education, food security, healthcare, trade, infrastructure \u2013 without considering the role that technology plays. There is a saying \u2018necessity is the mother of all invention\u2019, which originally came from Plato, who said: \u2018Our need will be the real creator\u2019\u2026and there is certainly need in Africa.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe solution needs to come from within \u2013 from Africans \u2013 particularly our youth who are passionate, creative, digitally-savvy and can be the continent\u2019s greatest asset.\u201d<\/p>\n

Africa\u2019s population will double over the next 30 years, she noted, which will pose new challenges, and when combined with urbanisation and climate change, as well as the effect of COVID-19, the continent will need to be innovative in tackling the new challenges.<\/p>\n

According to Smith, these challenges \u201care a clear indication that the traditional models for building economies, societies and countries are no longer valid\u201d.<\/p>\n

She told the 1 500 early-stage entrepreneurs, serial entrepreneurs and industry thought leaders attending the three-day hybrid event that start-ups hold the key to solving many of Africa\u2019s and the world\u2019s most pressing issues.<\/p>\n

Shared vision<\/h2>\n

Smith urged corporates to support new ventures on the continent, saying \u201cto be successful, start-ups need the building blocks for success\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cA great idea is only an idea until someone believes in it, until it has a business plan, until it has a proof of concept, until it has funding, until there is demand, and until it is sustainable. Those building blocks move an idea from a concept to a thriving business. Those building blocks are what we refer to as \u2018the ecosystem\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith lauded corporates on the continent, saying that in Africa \u201cwe have made huge strides in building a vibrant ecosystem. Funding from venture capital firms has increased significantly, with Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa benefiting the most. Fintech still dominates in the funding space but other sectors like agritech, healthtech and clean energy tech are growing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, she cautioned African corporates that they need to think differently, adding there is more the sector can contribute to develop start-ups and innovation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile there are many stakeholders who play a critical role in the ecosystem \u2013 from government to investors to innovation hubs and networks, I think there is more to be done by corporate Africa. Enabling start-ups is critical to our own success; there are pockets of excellence across the continent, but they are still siloed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to think differently about partnership and about building a network of support for African start-ups \u2013 one that results in a massive increase in digital skills, small business growth and employment on the continent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Featured guests<\/h2>\n

Over 150 local and global venture capital and angel investors who are seeking investment opportunities are participating in SAIS2021.<\/p>\n

The opening day of SAIS2021 also included an address by alderman Jean-Pierre Smith of the City of Cape Town.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s mayoral committee member for safety and security\u2019s address, titled \u201cA digital view of a city in a pandemic\u201d, focused on how to integrate innovation through working with start-ups in cities on the continent. He noted the pandemic had pushed the City of Cape Town to be innovative.<\/p>\n

SAIS2021 also witnessed 30 female entrepreneurs with tech and tech-enabled start-ups pitching their business cases to potential investors during the Female Founder Takeover Demo Day, hosted by the Small Enterprise Development Agency and Department of Small Business Development.<\/p>\n

This article first appeared in ITWeb<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0SA Innovation Summit\u00a0(SAIS2021) kicked off in Cape Town yesterday, with Cathy Smith, MD of 麻豆原创 Africa, calling for greater use of technology in solving Africa\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3950,"featured_media":142814,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"related_posts":[],"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[19013],"tags":[5587836,5597876,5597877,5597826],"series":[],"sapn-display":[45149,279685],"sapn-type":[45018],"class_list":["post-142813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-corporate","tag-cathy-smith","tag-sa-innovation-summit","tag-sais2021","tag-start-ups","sapn-display-homepage-hero","sapn-display-hero","sapn-type-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n麻豆原创 Africa\u2019s Cathy Smith Urges Corporates to Support Start-ups - 麻豆原创 Africa News Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The\u00a0SA Innovation Summit\u00a0(SAIS2021) kicked off in Cape Town yesterday, with Cathy Smith, MD of 麻豆原创 Africa, calling for greater use of technology in solving Africa\u2019s challenges.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2021\/09\/sap-africas-cathy-smith-urges-corporates-to-support-start-ups\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"麻豆原创 Africa\u2019s Cathy Smith Urges Corporates to Support Start-ups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The\u00a0SA Innovation Summit\u00a0(SAIS2021) kicked off in Cape Town yesterday, with Cathy Smith, MD of 麻豆原创 Africa, calling for greater use of technology in solving Africa\u2019s challenges.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2021\/09\/sap-africas-cathy-smith-urges-corporates-to-support-start-ups\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"麻豆原创 Africa News Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-09-23T07:31:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/files\/2021\/09\/23\/277331_277331_l_srgb_s_gl.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1874\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Samuel Mungadze for ITWeb\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Samuel Mungadze for ITWeb\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2021\/09\/sap-africas-cathy-smith-urges-corporates-to-support-start-ups\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2021\/09\/sap-africas-cathy-smith-urges-corporates-to-support-start-ups\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Samuel Mungadze for ITWeb\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/#\/schema\/person\/c13286f905abaace5bdde80bc364c557\"},\"headline\":\"麻豆原创 Africa\u2019s Cathy Smith Urges Corporates to Support Start-ups\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-23T07:31:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2021\/09\/sap-africas-cathy-smith-urges-corporates-to-support-start-ups\/\"},\"wordCount\":683,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2021\/09\/sap-africas-cathy-smith-urges-corporates-to-support-start-ups\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/files\/2021\/09\/23\/277331_277331_l_srgb_s_gl.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Cathy Smith\",\"SA Innovation Summit\",\"SAIS2021\",\"start-ups\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Corporate\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2021\/09\/sap-africas-cathy-smith-urges-corporates-to-support-start-ups\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2021\/09\/sap-africas-cathy-smith-urges-corporates-to-support-start-ups\/\",\"name\":\"麻豆原创 Africa\u2019s Cathy Smith Urges Corporates to Support Start-ups - 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