What’s got four wheels, tons of talent and Richard Branson? It’s the mobile networking and new business incubator StartupBus, of course. Sighted variously on the streets of the USA and Europe since 2009, the volunteer-run magical mystery tour is coming to Southern Africa on 17th November. It begins its journey at HyperCube in Harare, Zimbabwe before driving all the way down to Joburg, Bloemfontein and finishing up in Cape Town on the 21st.
Passengers on the bus will include ten travelling mentors, and entrepreneurs who join them in the final stage will be able to participate in a Google Hangout with Virgin boss Richard Branson, who’ll be beaming in live from his home on Necker. Stops will include Bandwidth Barn and Hubspace in Cape Town, and Seed Engine and the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship in Joburg.
Sadly, you can’t just jump on the bus – and presumably you’d have to find your own way back if you did – as 30 applicants from Africa and the rest of the world have already been pre-selected for training and pitching sessions. You can still pay for it though, if for some reason that appeals, thanks to an Indigogo campaign here. That money will go towards funding future wannabe business folk who can’t afford to get on the bus themselves.
In terms of the entrepreneurs selected, the focus has been on healthcare, mobile and energy. I just hope it has decent air conditioning and a driver who’s used to the peculiarities of African roads, personally.
You can find out more here, and sign up for next year’s event too. Ding ding, tickets please (etc).
