From BBuzz

Young men and women who dare to dream in order to change the world in a positive way have found expression at the launch pad for emerging technology and trends, which is called Demo Africa. These young people – all technology-savvy – have been given the opportunity to learn, earn and return to those who have invested in their dreams.

Demo Africa, the event has lived up to its name as over 16 of the 40 start-ups who demonstrated their nascent companies in 2014 have received an investment of some kind. Six startups shared $4 million. Many of these startups have managed to “acquire customers whom they are servicing and creating value for,” Executive Producer of DEMO Africa and CEO of African eDevelopment Resource Centre, Harry Hare told me.

These funds are used for different purposes depending on the maturity of the start-ups and its products. For instance some start-ups would use the funds to expand their businesses while others would apply the funds to execute their marketing strategies. Others may even employ the funds to refine their products and services further before making a dash to the market.

The most important thing is that these funds move the startups from where they are to where they want to be: the real world where their lofty ideas would put to the test. Demo Africa looks at seeing start-ups signing up deals shortly after having participated at the event. For this to happen, Hare told me in a chat, “we need to bring the right audience”.

Read more at BBuzz