City of Cape Town hosted Africa Tech Festival 2024 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from Nov 12 to 14, 2024. Member of the Mayoral Committee for Economic Growth and Tourism – Alderman James Vos highlighted the major opportunities at the event.
In his statement, he expressed his pleasure of addressing delegates at the Africa Tech Festival 2024 as the continent’s biggest gathering of the industry role-players. More than 15,000 delegates and over 1,000 start-ups attended the conference, which was sponsored by the City of Cape Town.
Cape Town is considered as a key tech hub on the African continent. It is an ideal destination for the major event that connects entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and key stakeholders for networking opportunities and discussions around the emerging trends.
Alderman Vos further stated that technology plays a central role in helping the government of the City of Cape Town to identify and resolve the challenges that are standing in the way of better serving communities.
He presented a prime example of ‘Ease of Doing Business programme’. He said that by tracking the efficiency, costs and processes of the city services, they are identifying the ways to streamline operations and boost productivity.
James Vos stressed upon the review received and considered that it inspired them to develop a resident-oriented mobile app. It is a tool that enables residents to engage with the City of Cape Town on service requests, notifications and more. The review keeps them informed in real time about any updates, incidents and alerts.
He mentioned that beyond the borders, they have also begun a collaboration with the leading municipalities across the African continent to share insights and strategies in making government services more efficient.
It is an initiative that reflects their commitment to learn from one another and to build a tech-powered foundation for sustainable urban growth across Africa.
James Vos further noted that they recognized the tech industry as a vehicle for investment in Cape Town, as reflected by the fact that 51% of the start-ups are based here only.
He mentioned that the vibrant eco-system is supported by up to 30 active incubators, as well as accelerators and support organisations that are nurturing start-ups across every stage of growth.
“One such organisation is UVU Africa, which has helped thousands of emerging entrepreneurs in gaining the skills and connections that they need to succeed,” said Alderman Vos.
Notably, the City of Cape Town has partnered with UVU Africa to provide funds to the mission. Vos recently met with a young entrepreneur who joined their Women in Business programme in the year 2020.
The lady is running a thriving biotech company, a testament to the power of Cape Town’s entrepreneurial spirit and to the support that they are providing to help individuals, for turning their ideas into impact.
Alderman James Vos stated that when it comes to economic development, he believed deeply in the transformative power of technology. According to him, technology is more than a tool and it is a bridge to the future.
He expressed that the city is excited to make Cape Town a focal point for African innovation by setting an example of how tech can power economic and social change.