Founder First, Founder Always. Join us in 2022: Founder Institute is the #1 place in the world to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses.
Today’s economic 'New Normal' is full of reshuffling industries, and new problems in need of solutions - now is a time for entrepreneurs to act.
Whether you need to test and validate early hypotheses before making a large financial commitment to your startup idea, or you are ready to push your startup to the next level through aggressive weekly growth sprints to refine your vision, improve key metrics, and prepare for investor diligence, Founder Institute has the proven processes and network to help you do it.
If you could use a structured process that tells you what to focus on when, and a lifetime of support from South Africa's top investors and entrepreneurs, then apply to the South Africa Winter 2023 Founder Institute today.
We will be hosting several free startup events in South Africa over the coming weeks, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs all from the comfort of home:
South Africa Events:
- Founder Institute South Africa Demo Day 2026: 6:00pm, Aug 17, 2026 (Africa/Johannesburg): https://FI.co/e/403656
Global or Regional Events:
- How to Find the First Customers for Your Startup Idea: 6:00pm, Aug 11, 2026 (Africa/Johannesburg): https://FI.co/e/403201
- How to Get Customer Feedback on your Startup Idea in the Age of AI: 6:00pm, Aug 18, 2026 (Africa/Johannesburg): https://FI.co/e/403359
- Stop Guessing, Start Raising: An Investor Q&A: 6:00pm, Sep 01, 2026 (Africa/Johannesburg): https://FI.co/e/403878
- [Restricted] VIP Pitch Lounge: Pitch Live and Get Feedback from Investors & Advisors: 6:00pm, Sep 08, 2026 (Africa/Johannesburg): https://FI.co/e/401104
- How to Create a Great First Startup Pitch using AI: 2:30am, Sep 15, 2026 (Africa/Johannesburg): https://FI.co/e/403498
Make better, faster business decisions in 2022 by sharing your latest progress, challenges, and strategies for constant feedback and evaluation from our expert mentors and advisors, every step of the way–scale your team, develop new business opportunities, and recruit an amazing advisory board with the world's largest network of international startup founders, CEOs, advisors, and investors.
The South Africa accelerator is led by some of the region's top startup leaders, including Daan Weddepohl (CEO, MEER), John Zabula (Founder, Revisall), Keshni Morar (Managing Director, FI South Africa + Investable), Lily Makaleng (Director, The Founder Institute South Africa), Victoria Odimba (Founder/Lead Strategist, Cellente). In addition, some of Cape Town's top entrepreneurs will be participating as mentors in the program, including:
- Johann Ungerer: Director, 1099 Ventures, Infinite Loom
- Michael Oshogbunu: CEO/Co-founder, vevet
- Pommie Lutchman: Digital Executive (CIO/CTO/CDO) and Startup Mentor, PommieLutchman.com
- And many more to be announced.
Since 2009, Founder Institute’s highly-structured accelerator programs have helped over 9,000 entrepreneurs to grow quickly, know what to do next, and make key connections through the largest community of startup advisors in the world.
It all starts with our renowned ‘FI Core’ accelerator, which pushes founders at the idea and pre-seed stages to reach the milestones needed for investment and sustained growth. Alumni of FI Core then receive free access to our advanced ‘Founder Lab’ accelerators for years to come, and can get matched with prospective investors in the FI Venture Network - a collection of global funds actively investing in the earliest rounds of funding.
Join us in South Africa to get funded and build a global business.
Apply to the South Africa Winter 2023 Founder Institute today, or learn more at FI.co/overview.
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