2019 National Startup Festival launched

The GirlFund Organization, with its esteemed local and international partners, has on Thursday 31st October 2019 launched another edition of the National Startup Festival.

The National StartUp Festival is an event with a festival feel earmarked to be the largest gathering of start-up entrepreneurs, investors, various industries, incubators/accelerators, and startup ecosystem leaders in an exclusive setting for networking and collaborations, exhibitions, keynotes, workshops, awards and pushing forward the agenda for a thriving entrepreneurship ecosystem.

The event will bring together some 1000 visitors, senior government officials, corporate Ghana, investors and more than 100 startup and SME entrepreneurs.

Nana Adwoa Koranteng, Team Lead at The GirlFund Organization, speaking at a short ceremony to launch the the event, said the annual festival is committed to involving all stakeholders of the Ghanaian startup ecosystem: startups, investors, accelerators, incubators, public and private agencies, co-working spaces, and many others to work towards cultivating a thriving environment for young entrepreneurs in Ghana.

Describing key features of this year’s event, Director at StartUp Grind-Eswatini, Ms. Bertha Sithole said that this year’s event has four main compelling sessions with the first being an all-day exhibition session to give visibility and growth opportunities to more than 100 participating startups and SMEs.

The festival will also feature free workshops to be facilitated by some of Ghana’s notable industry experts. She encouraged young entrepreneurs and the general public to visit the website and register for the festival and all the sessions.

Another key highlight is a plenary session that will host leading government officials, industry leaders, experts and entrepreneurs to dialogue and discuss around Tax Rebates for Startups in Ghana - Opportunities, Challenges, and the Way Forward. Attendees will have the opportunity to share insights, ask questions and draw on knowledge and experiences at the plenary.

To climax this year's eventful Festival will be a keenly contested National Startup Pitch. Ten (10) selected startups and SMEs, which made it to the finals through an online public voting process will be presenting their business plans and ideas to a panel of judges, investors, attendees, and entrepreneurs to win ultimate cash prizes, business support resources and opportunities to court investment interests.

This year’s National Startup Festival which will take place on the 14th of December, 2019 at the University of Ghana, Legon will also feature exciting exhibitions of art, music, mini prize/giveaways and so much more. Stakeholders and festival attendees are encouraged to register for the Festival by visiting http://www.bit.ly/Register-Here-NSF or www.girlfundafrica.org/national-startup-festival/