The Oxford Africa Conference Innovation Fair took place on the 28th and 29th of May 2021 with a cohort of 11 highly innovative companies, based across five African countries. Participants were selected from over 150 applications.

The companies went through a two-day program which kicked off with a ‘fireside chat’ with Maya Horgan Famodu, founder and Managing Director at Ingressive Capital, an African focused venture capitalist firm.

Founders attended four workshops: ‘Finance and Fundraising’ hosted by Oxford Saïd business school professor Thomas Hellmann; ‘Leadership and team management’ led by Yo Percale, Leadership Coach and Founder of MyKagami; ‘Marketing and Branding’ led jointly by Shani Kay and Shane Killeen co-founders of Regency Global and ‘Equity and Intellectual Property’ led by Davidson Oturu, an experienced lawyer and Partner at AELEX. In addition, each company received one-on-one mentorship from an industry leader in their field, which was enabled by the support of the TechCabal team. 

The Fair ended with a highly competitive pitch competition judged by: Dr. Watu Wamae (PhD) – Research Engagement Manager at the Africa Oxford Initiative; Dr. Amy Kao (PhD) – Oxford Sciences Innovation Associate and Dr. Tinashe Chandauka – Oxford Sciences Innovation Associate. Emerging from the 11 finalists, the overall cash prize winners were: Maxi Mobility winning 5,000 GBP for first place, Hustlenomics winning 2,500 GBP for second place and Sanaa space winning third prize of 1,000 GBP.

The 11 finalist companies in the Oxford Africa Conference Innovation Fair were:

  • Ecobora 
  • Ecovon
  • Hustlenomics
  • Mazi Mobility
  • Natal Cares
  • Nuna Premium Resources
  • Akoo Audiobooks
  • Pledre
  • Recon Health Media 
  • Sanaa Space
  • The icreate Project

Follow the Oxford Africa Conference social media pages or look at our website to learn more about the companies and conference: 

Or contact:

Shaan Pattni, Daniel Kandie
Co-Managers of the Oxford Africa Conference Innovation Fair 

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