Cell C and Google fund tech start-ups
Cell C announced today (1 November 2011) that they are joining forces with Google’s technology start-up incubator, Umbono, by paying the fees and providing the connectivity for the five teams chosen for the project.
Four teams have already been selected by Google and its angel investors, Cell C said, and at least one more will be selected.
In March 2011 Google launched Umbono, which means “idea” in Zulu, with the aim of fostering technology start-ups in South Africa.
The project promised to bring together seed capital, Google mentorship, “Angel” investors, local-tech stars, entrepreneurs and business leaders.
Office space was provided by The Hub in Cape Town, while Cell C provided Internet connectivity in the form of 10Mbps of bandwidth.
Cell C Umbono Speedtest.net
Cell C Umbono local test on MyBroadband Speedtest server
Cell C Umbono international tests on MyBroadband Speedtest server
Today’s announcement expands Cell C’s involvement with the project beyond network infrastructure.
Start-ups that receive support from Umbono not only enjoy free office space and bandwidth for six months, Google also previously announced that they get US$25,000 to $50,000 (R185,000 to R400,000, depending on the exchange rate) in funding from Umbono’s panel of angel investors and Google itself.
Google is collaborating with the Silicon Cape Initiative, a networking forum, as well as the Bandwidth Barn, a business incubator launched in 2000, to ensure that Umbono’s teams are well positioned to succeed.
*Google said that Umbono applications are open all year round at www.google.co.za/umbono
The full press release is below:
Cell C has joined forces with Google’s innovation program called Umbono and The Hub in Cape Town to support technology entrepreneurial development in South Africa.
With small and medium businesses being one of the largest drivers of employment and economic development in the country, Government is encouraging larger businesses to look at building up and supporting smaller companies.
Cell C’s collaboration with Google is a step towards engaging potential innovators and building the mobile internet ecosystem, that will in turn contribute to the South African economy.
The Umbono program is a 6-month incubation project for technology entrepreneurs hoping to get their products off the ground. Google, together with its angel investors, have selected three teams of entrepreneurs – and will select at least two more – to benefit from the incubation process.
The application process is open year round and is accessible at: www.google.co.za/umbono.
The chosen teams will receive seed capital, and mentorship from some of the world’s and SA’s hottest business leads to help them develop a solid business plan and prepare to get their products off the ground. It is expected that at the end of the six months, the most successful teams will receive follow-on funding from the local venture capital community or from investors overseas.
“Umbono aims to bring together all the elements necessary for tech start-ups to trial their ideas and ultimately attract additional rounds of investment to grow their businesses,” says Luke Mckend, Google South Africa Country Manager.
“We’ve seen some great applications to the Umbono programme, and we’re delighted to welcome these particularly innovative start-ups onboard. Throughout the programme, teams will not only benefit from local business mentorship, but also from the extensive mentorship network of Google experts”.
The five teams will be housed at The Hub in Cape Town, where they will have access to business facilities, like a boardroom and Internet access, which would otherwise have been difficult for the start-ups to fund themselves.
Cell C will be paying the fees for all five teams to be housed at The Hub and has installed state-of-the-art connectivity to ensure that the teams have everything they need to succeed.
“A project like this has not been undertaken in SA before, which is why Cell C joined forces with Google to make this a reality. Because innovation is a key value within Cell C as an organization, it makes sense that we put our efforts behind a project that encourages new ideas,” says Simon Camerer, Cell C Executive Head of Marketing.
As part of the program, the teams will have access to Cell C product developers as mentors, and Cell C will have access to on the latest tools local developers would like to see brought to market. “The new technologies that come out of the program keep Cell C at the bleeding edge of technology innovation. These technologies will not only benefit people from across the globe, but also Cell C’s customers,” says Camerer.
Cell C hopes that the project will be a blueprint for other projects and encourage the growth of a wider variety of mobile, internet and technology entrepreneurs in the future.
“With government supporting the millennium development goals of job creation and economic development, we are confident that the innovations that come out of the project will contribute towards on social and economic development,” says Mercia Maserumule, Cell C’s CSI manager.
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