Startup Weekend is a 54 hour event that brings together Lusaka designers, developers, entrepreneurs, and experts from all domains to do amazing things.

All Startup Weekend events follow the same basic model: anyone is welcome to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from their peers. Teams organically form around the top ideas (as determined by popular vote) and then it’s a 54 hour frenzy of business model creation, coding, designing, and market validation. The weekends culminate with presentations in front of local entrepreneurial leaders with another opportunity for critical feedback. This year’s event will be held at BongoHive on Friday 28th – Sunday 30th November 2014. View the full schedule here and read about last years’ event here.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Erik Hersman
CEO – BRCK, General Partner – Savannah Fund, Co-founder –Ushahidi, Founder – iHub Nairobi. Erik harnesses Africa’s boundless spirit of innovation by creating platforms to improve daily lives both inside and outside the continent.

COACHES
Kachepa Mtumbi
Principal Consultant, KPR Consulting
Kachepa has more than ten years combined experience in advertising, journalism and public relations and has worked in the Asian market representing clients in the oil, real estate and aviation industry.

Mawano Kambeu
Founder of Dot Com Zambia LLC
Mawano is the founder of Dot Com Zambia LLC, a technology company specializing in e-commerce platforms for the Zambian market. The platforms include an online shopping mall, personal shopping service and technology services for businesses.

Simon Binder
Technology Entrepreneur
Simon is a New York City based technology entrepreneur with experience founding, growing, selling and acquiring firms. In 2005, he co-founded Greenhouse IT, a technology firm that designed, built and managed complex corporate computer networks.

Duniya Mpeso
Director, TDM Integra Limited 
Duniya is a sales strategist with over ten years’ experience in the fields of ICT and Banking.

Clare Nkweto Simmonds
Associate Director – Deloitte 
Clare Nkweto Simmonds is an Associate Director at Deloitte and has over 11 years experience in IT effectiveness.

Mike Murray 
Founder & Dean of the Awesome Foundation Lusaka ✜ Business Incubation Manager at BongoHive
Mike is a Canadian business management and development expert with experience working in start-ups to large corporates in Canada, Vietnam and Australia.

Monica Musonda
Founder & CEO – Java Foods Ltd
Lawyer turned entrepreneur, Monica Musonda is Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Java Foods, a food processing company based in Zambia that she established to provide affordable nutrition to the southern African market.

Matthew Grollnek
Founder – Startup Junction ✜ Chief Operating Officer – NetOne
Matt focuses on pulling together and incubating a community of entrepreneurs in Lusaka to promote Zambian-owned businesses and to encourage investment through his company Startup Junction.