Are you a Tech Startup in South Africa and looking for help to grow? Do you need the right doors opened throughout your journey? Then this is your opportunity to take the first step. Introducing Head Start a Microsoft initiative to provide support for startups in South Africa announced last year.
The Microsoft event for startups is themed “Opening tomorrow’s door for today’s startups“. Microsoft’s Head Start programme will help tech startups by giving them access to a variety of skills development resources, coaches and mentors, Microsoft’s customer network and the platform on which to build their products and services.
Registerand begin the journey to get ahead of the pack and stay there.
Venue : The River Club, Liesbeek Avenue, Observatory, Cape Town
According to Microsoft, the event will see startups exposed to it’s: Technology, Business development and Compliance, regulation and legal doors.
Technology: Microsoft’s experts and architects will help tech startups to build the right solutions. Business development: experts will help the startups grow their customer base by introducing them to Microsoft’s extensive worldwide network of enterprises, governments, and startups from around the world. Compliance, regulation and legal: will see Microsoft’s legal and corporate affairs team on standby to assist startups where needed.
Selected startups will learn topics such as Taking your business to the clouds. Building low cost, scalable applications on Azure, Doing ethical business, Market Acquisition for Startups and more.
If this is the opportunity you’ve been looking for, register to participate.
Microsoft supports two startups in Senegal, SunuBus(Weego) and CoinAfrique using technology to add value to people’s lives.
In the last six months Microsoft says through its 4Afrika arm it has supported over 300 startups across Africa. Giving them access to digital tools, resources and skills. Amongst these are 3 startups from Senegal; ADN Tech, SunuBus and CoinAfrique. ADN Tech being an earlier beneficiary.
Microsoft’s Partner and Startups strategy Lead 4Afrika, Muhammed Nabil says “Microsoft is here to support and help accelerate Senegal’s 2025 digital vision, which promotes ICT-driven development. By partnering with these organisations, we’re bringing digital solutions to more industries and people. Investing in startup growth is also important to us, due to the significant role they play in job creation and using technology to help achieve sustainable development goals.”
SunuBus and CoinAfrique are recent recipients of Microsoft’s technology and business support to scale up and grow. The partnership will see the startups use Microsoft’s cloud service Azure. SunuBus(Weego) is a transit app that helps make public transportation travel easy. It allows users to find buses, monitor arrivals in real-time, and share their position to assist others and earn rewards. CoinAfrique is a free classifieds platform for new and used products. Users make money selling unused items and also find bargains.
CoinAfrique’s founder, Matthias Papet says Microsoft has supported them in getting investment-ready for series B funding.
“Microsoft 4Afrika has supported CoinAfrique in getting investment-ready for series B funding. Developing a data strategy for enhanced business insights and scaling up to reach our goal of becoming the number one francophone classifieds marketplace.” – Matthias Pape
Microsoft 4Afrika’s support helps startups access consumers, financing, information, skills and services and technology.
Microsoft signs MoU with Jordan government to raise 1000 local software developers, Support emerging software startups and support MCIT ministry with AI technology adoption.
Microsoft has signed a memorandum of understanding and partnership with the Jordanian government. The partnership will see Microsoft support the Jordan ICT ministry with their ICT and AI technology adoption. It will help increase and drive digital transformation across sectors of the country.
The agreement was signed during this years World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Meeting on the side of the event, Jean-Philippe Courtois, EVP and President of Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing & Operations, met with His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah of Jordan. The move is in helping Jordan’s ambition to become a tech hub in the Middle East.
The three phase MoU according to Microsoft “will build the capacity of 1,000 young local software developers. Support emerging software startups and create an e-platform to help hundreds of companies and thousands of programmers.”
Jean-Philippe Courtois shared that he “was honoured and delighted to sign an MOU with the Government of Jordan and the Crown Prince Foundation“. He said “together we will work to digitally transform the country, empowering citizens with the AI skills they need to thrive in the digital economy.”
“In line with Microsoft’s mission to empower every person on the planet, and to support the evolving youthful tech scene in Jordan. Microsoft established a new partnership and signed an MoU with the MCIT and the Crown Prince Foundation of Jordan to digitally transform the country by empowering citizens with the AI skills they need to thrive in the digital economy.”
Microsoft
The MoU was signed by Jean-Philippe Courtois and the Jordanian MCIT minister with His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II witnessing the signing.
Microsoft last year changed its business approach to dealing with Partners. Introducung a new win win strategy. A startegy where Microsoft see’s its partners as its growth engine. Ibrahim Youssry Microsoft Regional General Manager MEA MCC put’s it this way. “Our success comes with success to our partner ecosystem. To make you successful driving Microsoft business or your business on our technologies“.
“We believe that it takes an ecosystem to build a successful startup”
Muhammad Nabil
An Ecosystem for Startups to Thrive
It’s with this same kind of win win drive that Microsoft wants to engage Startups. Microsoft put’s it this way “you’re here to do great things. we’re here to help“. Microsoft announced Microsoft for Startups a platform for startups to grow, build and connect. The program gives startups access to technology, market and a community. The idea with this offering as shared during the Head Start Program in South Africa is to help startups grow their customer and revenue bases. It is also to ease the pressure and headaches associated with starting up. Director Commercial Partners Ecosystem, Lionel Moyal, explains it this way. “We will support you to find your first customers and get your products to market as quickly as possible“.
At RiseUp Summit in Cairo, Egypt last year Microsoft’s Partner and Startup’s Strategy Lead, Muhammad Nabil shared some more details in relation to the region.
“Microsoft has shaken up how it works with startups! Microsoft aims to help startups at every stage of their journey. Whether it’s taking an idea from inspiration to working code. Gaining access to Microsoft tools, building a business, making connections with customers through Microsoft Accelerators or getting the funds needed to really take off through Microsoft Ventures, Microsoft wants startups to know: it is here to help.”
Muhammad Nabil, Partners and Startup’s Strategy Lead, Microsoft 4Afrika
For Muhammad, Microsoft believes it takes an Ecosystem to build a successful startup. He shares that “the reality is that the contribution to economies by SMEs in Africa and Middle East could be so much more if ecosystems worked together to enable true growth. If the focus is moved from only access to funds to true access to markets. [That’s] Helping the entrepreneurs to grow their businesses by helping them get more business.”
For Muhammad it has to be a delibrate decision and a long term approach of collaboration for mutual benefits. He said Microsoft 4Afrika’s strategy is not only to bring cutting edge technology to startups. But also to unlock markets to both business to business and buisness to consumer startups through Microosft’s scalable go to market programs.
Muhammad says Microsoft is committing $500M over the next two years through the Microsoft for Startups program. To offer joint sales engagements with startups, along with access to technology and new community spaces that promote collaboration across local and global ecosystems.
“We believe that a focus on giving the startups and partners tools to grow their market access will greatly add to the overall growth of economies“.
Muhammad Nabil
This approach has turned trust into cash for Microsoft with its partners. Recording quater on quater sales growth especially in the cloud. Microsoft has been making the right calls lately, Is this the break startups in Africa and the Middle East need or are looking for?
One of Satya Nadella’s vision as Microsoft CEO is to empower every organization and individual to achieve more. One of such’s is empowering startups with microsoft technologies to realise their visions.
In a recent post by Sayed Hashish, Regional Manager, Microsoft Gulf region, he shared how Microsoft has “so far helped over 4000 startups across the region”. Sharing on how Microsoft lights up the Gulf startup scene, he said “we have entered into partnerships that will prove crucial to our commitment to boosting innovation through the MENA region”.
“By working with BECO Capital as exclusive technology partner and Bahrain FinTech bay as founding partner, Microsoft is trying to support early stage startups in the Gulf region”.
At Microsoft, we believe that cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) enable digital transformation, bringing the benefits to entire societies. That’s why we aim to help innovators launch and grow products using these advancements. Examples of startups empowered by access to our tools and services include TeachMeNow, an online platform for teachers who sell classes online, and KinTrans, a Dubai-based venture which took advantage of Microsoft Kinect to develop software that translated physical sign language.
