Cape Town - The South African Innovation Summit (SAIS) on Wednesday announced its partnership with African News Agency (ANA) as a media partner for its "SA Innovation Summit 2020: Taking Africa to the World".
ANA is Africa’s first syndicated multimedia news and content distribution service.
The announcement was made through an IOL tech webinar hosted by Faheem Khota, IOL's tech editor, with two speakers, SAIS chairperson Audrey Verhaeghe and ANA CEO Vasantha Angamuthu.
Verhaeghe said the partnership was going to give the summit wings.
“We are looking forward to discovering new opportunities when media, showcasing, thought leadership and the African tech start-up ecosystem start to merge,” said Verhaeghe.
Angamuthu said ANA was honoured and excited to confirm its strategic partnership with the SAIS.
“Covid-19 has presented many challenges for businesses, but new opportunities also arise as we see events such as this summit move into the virtual space, opening it up to even greater participation.
“Both through our journalism and our marketing programmes – and with our extensive reach on the African continent and here in South Africa – we at ANA believe we have a critical role to play in supporting the ecosystem of start-ups, innovators and technology players,” said Angamuthu.
Angamuthu said ANA’s just cause is to use media to power growth and development in Africa, and technology is one of the most significant drivers in terms of making that possible.
With the restrictions presented by the coronavirus pandemic, Verhaeghe said they had had to pivot and think innovatively to make the summit more accessible.
For the first time in its 13-year history, the SAIS, the largest start-up event in Africa, will be taking place virtually on September 30 and October 1, connecting the start-up ecosystem across countries and continents.
Verhaeghe said that through the event, start-ups can profile themselves, find investors and supporters for entrepreneurs in multiple countries, whereas before they were used to seeing just 33 countries participating in the physical event.
She said this will lead to many trade deals between countries and open up more investments into Africa.
The SAIS is a highlight of the African calendar, highlighting, connecting, capacitating and originating the best start-up talent from the continent.
It has been created to support and promote innovation and foster collaboration. The event brings together entrepreneurs, investors, corporates, academia and policymakers from over 30 countries to accelerate innovation and inspire sustained economic growth across Africa.
The South African Innovations Summit is taking place from 30 September - October 1st this year and promises to be a spectecular event that should not be missed.
Get your tickets below and use the promo code ANA10 in order to receive a 10% discount on your tickets!
African News Agency