GIST Startup Boot Camp West Africa in partnership with CTIC Dakar, LIONS@FRICA, and the African Development Bank is on July 10-11, 2012.

 

The GIST Startup Boot Camp is an intense two day interactive training and mentoring event designed to spark innovative thinking and trigger the creation of new startup ideas among promising entrepreneurs in the ICT, energy, healthcare and agriculture sectors. In Africa, GIST is proud to be a platform partner for the LIONS@FRICA partnership which shares a common vision of mobilizing knowledge, expertise, and resources to encourage and enhance innovation ecosystems and to spur entrepreneurship. LIONS@FRICA is coordinated by Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Entrepreneurs with ventures in the idea stage to having up to 5 years in operation are invited to apply. The 100 most promising ventures will be invited to attend for trainings and networking on July 10.  From those 100, the top 40 ventures will be invited to attend on July 11 for one-on-one mentoring and a competitive pitching session with a trip to the US as prize for the entrepreneur with the strongest pitch.

Download the Boot Camp promotional flier

Download the Boot Camp Brochure

Get Involved with the Boot Camp:

Entrepreneurs: Apply Now 

Application in French

Do you know an entrepreneur who would benefit from the GIST Startup Bootcamp? Nominate them here.

Are you interested in mentoring at this event? Sign up here

Confirmed Speakers:

Scott Hartley, Venture Capitalist at Mohr Davidow Ventures
Scott Hartley is an early stage technology investor at Mohr Davidow Ventures, a Sand Hill Road venture capital firm in Menlo Park, California. MDV was founded in 1983, and has $2 billion invested across companies in the web/mobile, clean-tech, and healthcare sectors.

Hartley is passionate about innovation as a driver of economic growth, and is a strong proponent of global entrepreneurship. He is a frequent panelist and speaker on entrepreneurship, and writes a column for Forbes on international technology and venture capital trends. Prior to venture capital Hartley worked for Google, Facebook, and Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society. At Google he spent a year in India launching two operations teams, and lectured on entrepreneurship for Google.org in Africa. Hartley has experience at the U.S. State Department, where he worked for the Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, at the U.N. Development Program, and at the White House, where he worked with the National Economic Council on issues of U.S. economic policy.

Hartley holds his B.A. from Stanford University, his M.A. in International Affairs and his M.B.A. in Economics and Finance from Columbia University. Hartley is a traveler and athlete, having been to 60 countries and competed in an Ironman 70.3 triathlon. He is a Young Leader at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and has been a contributor to publications such as Foreign Policy, Boston Review, Forbes, and Policy Innovations.

Valentin Livada - Senior Lecturer, Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship
Livada founded Weybridge Partners in 1996 as a network of formal and informal associations of practitioners and organizations focused on the creation of innovation ecosystems. The network includes business and technology consultants, venture capitalists and angel investors, academics, entrepreneurs, and lawyers in the United States and abroad. Livada brings 30 years of consulting experience to his clients. He was director at Braxton Associates, an international strategy planning consulting firm, and vice president at Pugh-Roberts Associates (PRA), a technology management firm established by Prof. Ed Roberts from MIT.

Prior to establishing Weybridge Partners, he was the leading practitioner in the area of innovation management for the PA Consulting Group. During his career, Livada has combined expertise in the areas of strategic planning and organizational dynamics with a detailed knowledge in the areas of innovation, product development, and research, development, and extension (RD&E) management. While at Braxton, PRA, and PA Consulting Group, he focused primarily on Global 200-type companies, addressing issues such as research and development (R&D) effectiveness and corporate entrepreneurship.

Livada is a judge for the Innovation Competition organized by the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center, which coordinates the activities of all universities, teaching hospitals, and research centers in Massachusetts. He is a “catalyst” at MIT’s Deshpande Center, working with different innovation teams. Livada is also active in efforts to stimulate activities among U.S., European, and Asian organizations. He has been instrumental in establishing U.S. operations for several European companies, including Nokia Research, Pro2Kem, and ETeCH. Recently, he has been one of the founders of I-Cube, a nonprofit group organizing innovation competitions in Eastern Europe. In 2006, Livada helped found Nanonexis, an organization dedicated to the convergence of nanotechnology and the built environment, and Boston Instruments, a group consolidating emerging companies in the molecular spectroscopy sector. Livada holds an SB from MIT and an MA and a PhD from Tufts University.


Gibs Song, Principal, Main-Aquila Consulting
Gibs has over 25 years of experience from universities, startups and global companies in three different countries. He has been focusing on startup activities during the past 3 years, gaining insights into the failures and successes of a variety of companies. With diverse experience ranging from technology development, strategic planning and executive management to venture investing, Gibs is a founder, investor and advisor for 8 startups. Gibs has held positions including Project Manager (Electric Vehicle Research Program) at the Electrochemical Science and Technology Center at the University of Ottawa, Director of US Operations for Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, and remains Senior Consultant to Cheil Industries (Samsung company) since 2009 and Executive Advisor to Palo Alto Research Center (Xerox company) since 2010.  Gibs is an avid golfer, and enjoys motorcycling and travelling.

Agenda for GIST Startup Boot Camp West Africa

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

8:30-9:00am	Registration and bagel breakfast available
9:00-9:30am	Welcoming Antoine NGOM, President, Foundation of ICT Incubators of Senegal Omar CISSE, Director, CTIC Dakar Natalia Pipia, Senior Program Manager, CRDF GlobalOvidiu Bujorean, Innovation Program Manager, GIST Initiative
9:30-10:15am	Keynote Address
10:15-10:45am	Q&A/Press Conference
10:45-11:00am	Coffee Break
11:00-11:45am	Strategic Professional Networking: Practical seminar introducing 7 key principles of how to build a professional network of top contacts using events, online tools and peer to peer groups. Session open to entrepreneurs and journalists.Ovidiu Bujorean, CRDF Global, Innovation Program Manager and ovibees.com International Speaker
11:45am-12:30pm	Executive summary & business pitch – The workshop covers elements of a sharp executive summary and of a successful pitch.
12:30-2:00pm	Networking Lunch
2:00-2:45pm	Raising funds for your ideas and ventures
2:45 – 3:30pm	Room A:Boot Camp Session: Business models, financial projections, and modeling for startup		Room B:Angel Investor workshop
3:30-3:45pm	Coffee Break
3:45-4:30pm	Room A:Boot Camp Session:Strategies for taking your venture to market and gaining customers	Room B: Mentorship workshop for local and global mentors
4:30-5:00pm	Closing session
5:00-6:30pm	Networking Reception

WEDNESDAY, July 11, 2012  

9:00-9:30am	Welcoming  keynote
9:30am-1:00pm	One on One mentorship sessions: Technology entrepreneurs meet with their mentors.
1:00-2:00pm	Networking Lunch
2:00-6:15pm	Venture pitching session: Entrepreneurs pitch in front of a panel of experienced angel investors, serial entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.  Entrepreneurs will present for five minutes, with five minutes of Q&A from panelists to follow each pitch.
6:15-6:30pm	Coffee break and judges meet to decide the awardees*
6:30-7:00pm	Award announcements
7:00-7:30pm	Networking

 * The entrepreneur with highest-ranking pitch wins a trip to the US in Fall 2012.