Cape Town to host inaugural BigFive Summit

Pioneers in the provision of digital media and marketing technology solutions to the region’s SMEs will meet for three days of knowledge-sharing, networking and dynamic debate from 13–15 May 2019 in Cape Town.

According to the 2018 Endeavor Insight Report, released in conjunction with the Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative (CiTi), Wesgro and the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation, Cape Town employs over 40,000 people within the sector - twice as many as Johannesburg. Other major tech hubs in Africa such as Lagos and Nairobi employ 9,000 and 7,000 people respectively, according to CiTi. Cape Town’s unique blend of unrivalled scenic beauty, urban style and global culture have made it a melting pot of creativity and innovation for digital and tech professionals.

“The choice of Cape Town as location for the inaugural BigFive Summit, where digital solutions for African companies are showcased, is testament to the fact that Cape Town is not only emerging as Africa’s tech hub but also a hub for thought leadership in tech-enabled approaches to doing business,” says Tim Harris, CEO of Wesgro.

“This event also shows increasing global recognition for Cape Town as an internationally competitive tech and innovation hub. The Cape region's strength lies in a combination of factors including access to sound infrastructure and a skilled and energetic workforce, proximity to four top universities and two globally recognized business schools, a favourable lifestyle, and a local and provincial government supportive of entrepreneurship and innovation.”

Hosted by BigFive Digital, a thought-leadership enterprise connecting AME media and tech companies to SMEs, BigFive Summit will assemble a compelling mix of media, tech and digital stakeholders, influential thought-leaders, and disruptive start-ups in Cape Town to address the five key elements fuelling the rise and growth of the AME digital ecosystem – Search, Social, Mobile, Location, and Payments.

“As Africa’s leading technology hub, it is indeed our honour to host the BigFive Summit in Cape Town”, says Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management. “As a forward-thinking city, we look forward to continuing to enable the Tech sector and partnering with endeavours arising from this Summit”.

The summit is set to feature headline talks and workshops that will challenge thinking, stimulate ideas and offer practical advice for those with the common goal of bringing to market digital solutions for SMEs throughout Africa and the Middle East.

Speakers include Katlego Maphai, co-Founder and CEO of Yoco; Louw Barnardt, co-Founder and MD of Outsourced CFO; Gustav Praekelt, founder and CEO of South African Praekelt Group; Sarah Utermark, country director, Mobile Marketing Association South Africa; and Nick Grubb, chief executive: Radio at Kagiso Media.

For more, go to www.bigfivedigital.org/summit.