venture leaders South Africa triumphant at regional Get in the Ring Finals
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The South African startup and venture leaders Newtech Rail beat down the competition from the rest of central and southern Africa at the Get In The Ring entrepreneurship challenge in Johannesburg, to secure their place in the international Get In The Ring finals in Colombia later this year.
In an adrenalin-fuelled African final, nine of Africa’s most innovative new business ideas went face to face in the boxing ring to eliminate their competitors and pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges and an audience of fans and investors.The venture leaders Newtech Rail, formed last year by Industrial engineer and VUT Director of Innovation Jan Jooste, has developed three significant power line breakthroughs set to take a chunk of a global, multi-billion dollar power industry pie. He got trainings and coachings from the venture leaders program to drive his projects and business ideas forward to successful companies.
Get In The Ring pits contestants against each other in a boxing ring, where they have 30 ‘nerve wracking’ seconds to outline components of their business plans, while an interactive audience cheers them on. The competition is brought to Africa by The REAL Entrepreneur Institute (trading as The REAL Success Network), in partnership with the Dutch Embassy in Pretoria, Bhive, North West University, Heineken, Sage One Accounting, City of Jo’burg, Business Engage, Ingweno, Flexible Workspace, TomTom, Innovation Hub, Silicon Cape and Uncovering Greatness. Additional supporting sponsors include Mammoet, TU Delft, NRF, KLM and Royal Haskoning DHV.
The winners will go through to the final showdown in Medellin, Colombia, in March this year.
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Pitching their business cases to a panel of seasoned business executives, the contestants had only seconds to make compelling arguments in favour of their business ideas and potential returns. Judges said they were looking for staying power, passion, a clear overview of the problem the businesses were trying to solve, and crucially – an ROI for investors. Brian Walsh, founder and CEO of The REAL Success Network, noted: “This event is not just about pitching for funding, it is also about pitching for attention. In the process running up to the finals, they will be exposed to thousands of potential partners and funders.” With the event showcasing some of the most innovative new business ideas emerging from South Africa and the rest of Africa, Tsholo Mogotsi, the Director of Economic Development facilitation for the City Of Joburg, was enthusiastic about the format, expressing the hope that the international finals of Get In the Ring could be brought to Johannesburg in future.
About Swiss South African venture leaders
Swiss South African venture leaders is a framework providing motivation, entrepreneurial know-how and support to South African and Swiss scientists while contributing to strengthen the cooperation between industries of South Africa and Switzerland.
