Net Prophet, South Africa’s biggest technology start-up event, is offering local technology start-up ventures the opportunity to receive three free days of mentoring and coaching at the Start-up Acceleration Workshop.

 

The mentoring and coaching will take place prior (from 9 – 11 May) to the conference being held on 12 May, in Cape Town. It will be facilitated by world-renowned senior Seedcamp Mentor and Angel investor, Permjot Valia, and backed by Old Mutual. This mentoring workshop aims to assist South African start-ups to fast-track their businesses towards commercial success and compete in the international arena.

 

Permjot, is the founder and CEO of Help with Sales Ltd. and has been an active business angel for several years, having made over 25 investments in start-ups. He holds the Investment Management Certificate and is approved by the Financial Services Authority in the UK to carry out investment business. To date, he has been one of the most successful Seedcamp mentors in Europe, and has a passion for seeing start-ups take their ideas “from mind to market”.

 

“While good ideas form the foundation of innovation, it’s critical to know when and how to break into the market. That’s where the knowledge of those who have personal experience in assisting with or investing in start-ups can make a difference to whether their ideas will reach commercial success. This is an excellent opportunity for local start-ups to get the edge they need.” says Rob Gilmour, director at the RAMP Foundation, the non-profit entity behind Net Prophet.

 

Topics that will be covered during the workshop include marketing readiness assessments, business plan writing, growth and long term strategies, as well resourcing and commercialisation.

 

“Following on from the successful and popular Net Prophet conference, we are pleased to support an extended start-up workshop programme, which affords a more pragmatic format for expert skill sharing. It’s a fantastic opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to gain the start-up wisdom to do great things,” stated Jack Kruger, head of digital, Old Mutual.

 

Space will be limited to ten start-up teams and interested parties can apply for the workshop by filling out the application form available on the Net Prophet Website. All entries for applications close on 22 April, and the selected candidates will be announced on 28 April.