Discover South Africa’s burgeoning tech sector

Motlhabane has experience working with high growth multinational technology businesses. He is an investment portfolio Manager for Wesgro, the official trade, investment and tourism promotion agency for the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape. In this he works in promoting the Cape Town and the Western Cape as an investment destination for technology businesses. He works to facilitate FDI investments and supports local to national government in policy assessment for ease of doing business for high growth technology businesses. He has worked in a multi-national startup accelerator supporting venture design and legal structuring for tech businesses readying them for investments and international expansion. To this he helped design and launch an SDG Focused accelerator programme for technology to advance the SDGs. He currently serves on the Board of Silicon Cape, a tech community dedicated to developing the Western Cape as an innovation hub for Africa and the world. Motlhabane is also a Senior Advisor for the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network Youth, a Global network of youth volunteers who are developing solutions and programmes for the Sustainable Development Goals. In this capacity he supports thought leadership formulation for the organisation, developing reporting guidelines and practices as well as programming strategy and execution in alignment with the organisational theory of change. He has been recognised by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for his work in supporting sustainable development and the pan African technology community. He has served as an acceleration partner for the UN Foundation’s Solutions Summit supporting high growth tech businesses for the sustainable development goals. And has served as a mentor to various businesses.

Shiela Yabo is a Business Strategist, Venture Builder & an ecosystem dot-connector with an interest in how human behavioural science impacts the world of business. With over 11 years’ experience in the higher education and the entrepreneurship sector; her passion is to build a nurturing ecosystem for high-impact businesses: Shiela has a Bachelor of Social Science in Social Anthropology & Gender Studies, completed the Associate in Management Programme, and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Management Practice, specialising in Business Administration, both awarded with distinction, from the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town. With experience in entrepreneurship on the continent of Africa, she has a wealth of praxis knowledge in new venture launch & support, business acceleration, systems thinking, and leadership through mentorship. She has designed and executed multiple entrepreneurship and innovation support programmes in South Africa and impacted entrepreneurs across Africa through her previous role at the University of Cape Town. She is currently the Country Director, South Africa at University Impact. University Impact (UI) is a non-profit that invests in companies and non-profits solving social and environmental problems. Investments are focused on funding the most promising social ventures.