The Startup Visa Canada initiative was facilitated by Vancouver-based startup accelerator organisation, GrowLab.
For the South African leg of the trip, GrowLab’s executive team of Mr Mike Edwards and Mr Jonathan Bixby
accompanied by South African tech entrepreneur Mr Gary Boddington
interviewed entrepreneurs in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.
Edwards, the Executive Director of GrowLab, said it was important for
accelerator organisations to build a relationship with universities as
that was where future entrepreneurs were moulded.
‘We need universities such as this one to host us because we get
exposed to talent and great ideas. As a retired entrepreneur I am
interested in building ecosystems involving university Professors and
entrepreneurs who will be exposed to our community and build a bridge
between countries,’ he said.
Boddington of Durban is Chief Executive Officer of Fodio, a company
that provides financial, transactional and technology services. He
shared his story of how as an entrepreneur he struggled to penetrate the
international market when he relocated to Canada and why initiatives
such as the Startup Visa Canada programme were crucial for a thriving
startup culture.
‘When I started my business in Durban things such as a startup visa
did not exist and it was a long process to get into Canada. That is why
these sort of programmes are important as they give entrepreneurs who
want to get their foot into the European market a starting point.
‘Through relationships with universities such as UKZN we are able to
give entrepreneurs the support they need for their startups. We
interviewed 10 people during the event and we were very impressed by the
high calibre of ideas and we cannot wait to develop them further,’ said
Boddington.
At the networking session, aspiring entrepreneurs got the opportunity
to pose their questions to the experts about venture creation, capital
needed to start a business and technology entrepreneurship.