Africa's first start-up bus hits the roadImagine a bus, jam-packed with uber-geeks from different countries, taking on a four-day brainstorming marathon across Southern Africa.
The bus covered 1,500 miles across Southern Africa, starting in Zimbabwe and finishing in South AfricaWell, imagine no more because it has just become a reality.
Of the 30 entrepreneurs on the bus, 15 were from Africa and 15 were from the rest of the world.Founded by Elias Bizannes in 2010, StartupBus is a voluntarily run programme by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs who are devoted to problem-solving around the world through technology.
StartupBus has completed several journeys throughout Europe and the US since 2010, and now for the first time it has touched African soil, completing 1,500 miles from Zimbabwe to South Africa.
"I'm very excited about StartupBus Africa because the growth potential of Africa is enormous and we have had a huge interest," says Fabian-Carlos Guhl, co-conductor of StartupBus.
More than 200 people applied and from them only 30 entrepreneurs were chosen - the ones with the most proven track record - along with 10 mentors.
'In Africa, for Africa'
The organisers believe an initiative like StartupBus can really flourish in Africa - a continent that is in the midst of a technological revolution.
While most business opportunities for satisfying basic needs have been exhausted in Europe, Africa is still thirsty for solutions to all kinds of problems, such as access to healthcare, education and electricity.
And, according to StartupBus co-conductor Chris Pruijsen, mobile technology is where most of the answers lie.
"We can do a lot more here with mobile technology than we could in Europe. In Europe people just don't use their mobile phones in the same way as here."
He adds that it is not about the West coming to solve Africa's problems, but about "the innovation that we do together - Africans and people from the West, in Africa and for the African continent".
'Tangible demo'
StartupBus Africa 2013 began its journey in Harare and stopped over in Johannesburg and Bloemfontein, before finishing up in Cape Town.
In each of these cities local industry experts were invited to take part in the activity, creating a tech hub where thoughts and ideas could be exchanged in order to add local flavour to the experience.
On day one, competitors - or "buspreneurs" - had to pitch themselves to the rest of the group by making their individual experience and expertise known.
The bus was comprised of designers, developers and business experts. Once they had mingled and found skill overlaps, they formed teams of four or five members.
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