Through its programs and events, the startup campus supports entrepreneurs in the development of products, services, and business models. With over 100 hosted, it is one of Africa's largest innovation hubs.
22 On Sloane is one of the largest startup campuses in Africa. The South Africa-based innovation hub is led by Kizito Okechukwu (Executive Director) with a team of entrepreneurs, mentors, scientists, managers, and investors. It offers high-impact start-ups and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a complete turnkey solution for "scaling up", from initial idea to commercialization, funding opportunities, and access to markets and capital.
To encourage entrepreneurship and the development of new industries as well as contribute to job creation in Africa, it provides entrepreneurs with modern, large-scale coworking spaces equipped to stimulate creativity.
It also offers several programs to help founders progress on their entrepreneurial journey. The most important of these is the 22 On Sloane Incubation Program (designed for already-registered tech companies with less than $135,000 in sales) and the Catalytic Program, an acceleration program designed to help high-impact start-ups in Africa start, launch, market, and grow their businesses.
In addition to these programs, 22 On Sloane organizes events such as the Startup Huddle, during which players meet to discuss challenges, opportunities, and prospects in their respective sectors. The next Startup Huddle will take place on June 15, and discussions will revolve around the online food and grocery delivery industry.
Every six months, the campus publishes a Deal Book of the startups selected for its programs. It has launched over 20 programs and hosts more than 100 start-ups based at its Johannesburg site. To carry out its projects, it has signed partnerships with several institutions including Telkom, Microsoft, the World Bank Group, Venture Capital for Africa, African Business Angel Network, USAID, and the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) Africa.
Melchior Koba
