Since Brad Neuberg invented the term ‘coworking’ in 2005, the activities associated with that term has gained significant relevance across the globe; independent contractors, work-at-home professionals and frequent travellers (who work in isolation) engage in it.
A partnership between Global Enterprise and Cape Town office will result in the hosting of this year’s Coworking Africa Conference 2015 in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa by July 24 and 25.
A statement on their website reads, “Coworking empowers freelancers, remote employees and entrepreneurs all over Africa in multiple ways. Infrastructure wise, coworking spaces are local hotspot where users can now benefit from efficient connectivity solutions as well as access to an affordable qualitative working environment to operate their activity in African cities often experiencing high real estate costs. From a business perspective, the community dynamic of a coworking space brings freelancers and small businesses with more visibility and networking opportunities to boost their activity. More broadly, Coworking spaces physically support the development of local entrepreneurial ecosystem, connected with other communities in Africa and in the rest of the world.”
The initiators aim to use the event to support the development of African Coworking awareness as well as linking coworking communities on the continent. Delegates from Africa and beyond are expected in Cape Town to attend the Coworking Africa 2015 conference.
“More than 5.800 spaces are operating in the world. The number almost doubles every year. Although Africa still is a small player in the Coworking landscape, the booming tech scene and major demographic shifts are creating the ideal conditions to unleash the development of many more Coworking spaces all across the continent. Within the last 18 months, the number of Coworking spaces in Africa more than tripled. Nowadays, more than 100 units are in operation on the whole continent, to extend that one can now say: Coworking in Africa is now on the same growth trend as Europe and the US were five years ago,” another statement on the website says.
Coworking is built around the idea of community-building, sustainability and values such as collaboration, openness, accessibility, community and sustainability. Book tickets for the event or contact organisers on their twitter/Facebook accounts.
Featured Image: Coworking
