​Join the Techstars Startup Weekend Africa Botswana to kickstart your entrepreneurial journey! 

​​Startup Weekend is a 54h-long program during which the best would-be entrepreneurs in South Africa and Botswana will have the chance to meet a team, ideate, receive mentorship and pitch their idea to a panel of judges. The objective is to offer would-be entrepreneurs the opportunity to test whether the startup life is indeed for them. 

​​More than 400,000 people have participated in Startup Weekends in more than 150 countries, and the Startup Weekend methodology has successfully yielded thousands of companies, some of which became unicorns.

​​​This Startup Weekend will focus on supporting teams based in Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. 

​​Please note this event is designed for all aspiring entrepreneurs. This includes aspiring entrepreneurs currently studying, aspiring entrepreneurs currently working or anyone who wants a taste of the startup life, whether you have an idea or not.

​​What will happen: 

• ​​28 March (half-day): meet your fellow participants, network and form your team! You’ll be working together on your startup throughout the weekend.

• ​​29 March (full-day): ideate, validate your idea with potential customers, receive world class mentorship from the Techstars network and start building your solution.

• ​​30 March (full-day): continue working on your startup, and pitch your idea to a panel of judges (investors,South Africa and Botswana-based ecosystem actors and seasoned entrepreneurs) in a Demo Day format. We will end the day with an informal networking get together!

• ​​Location: Plot 69184, Block 8, Botswana Digital & Innovation Hub, Gaborone, Botswana

​​What you will get out of the experience:

• ​​Meet inspirational like-minded entrepreneurs, investors and ecosystem stakeholders of the regional ecosystem.

• ​​Form a team, test and iterate on a startup idea, receive mentorship and advice from seasoned mentors, and pitch in front of a panel of experts to receive feedback. Get the full startup experience in only 54 hours!

​​What you need to attend:

• ​​Your good humor, open-mindedness, creativity and ideas. You do not need a startup idea to attend the event – you can either join forces with someone who has an idea, or simply ideate a new one with your team!

• ​​Your laptop, or any technological device you may need to work effectively throughout the weekend.

• ​​Your motivation! This will be an incredible experience.

​​The event partners: 

​​This event is brought to you by Techstars in partnership with Merce Anders Equity Group. 

​​Terms of Participation Agreement

​​By participating in the event, you grant Techstars permission to capture photos/videos of the event and use them for marketing purposes, so we can continue to offer amazing Techstars programs around the world.

​​By registering for this Techstars event, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and Media Release Policy. If you have questions please reach out to privacy@techstars.com.

​​By registering, you accept to receive communications from Techstars Central, LLC including future invitations to Techstars Demo Days, network events, resources, and more. You can unsubscribe from communications at any time by emailing privacy@techstars.com.

​​Get more information about the event on the event landing page or contact Shamail Malik, Operations Associate at Techstars (shamail.malik@techstars.com).