The Silicon Cape Question

I first wrote about Silicon Cape in blog post at the start of 2009, in which I highlighted the challenges and opportunities for the Western Cape technology fraternity.

Paul Graham (Founder of startup incubator, Y-Combinator, based in Silicon Valley) also wrote a post about recreating Silicon Valley.

I'd like to really open the discussion to all the members of this forum, but posing a new question :

What do we need to do, to realize the dream of a Silicon Valley in the Cape Region? Please volunteer your insights!

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Christiaan Beukes on September 14, 2009 at 12:38pm

Peter Gelderbloem said:

cape town needs more and cheaper bandwidth

I must second this - the fact that we lag so far behind in cost per MB is just one of the many things keeping us tied down, but as Vinny said, this is about creating something special, and initially in any new startup you'll find challenges which you need to overcome. This is just one of them. Siliconcape is a brilliant concept and one which I will highly support , even though I'm not even directly involved in the industry but have great interest in it.

As to foreign intellect and skills transfer; that should be the least of our worries. I have a penchant for people who think that sharing knowledge means that they'll miss out on something further down the line. As Tomas says, if we as South Africans embrace the power to learn from what is in front of us whilst also sharing this and without waiting to be taught it like a parrot, then we can make huge inroads into developing an economically viable and continually developing tech industry.

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Permalink Reply by Melissa on September 14, 2009 at 2:08pm

Maybe you could try hitting the Varsity scene, catch young developers, engineers, marketers, new media graduates etc because they're exploring new technologies and theories at the moment. Do a few expos at campus in the right departments. There's a larger group of like-minded people out there than you think, how about gathering all those little hubs that are forming around different universities around the Western Cape, and involving them in this initiative?

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Permalink Reply by Duncan Drennan on September 14, 2009 at 9:39pm

We need to have success stories which people (we) believe in. Those success stories should provide the model of success for future entrepreneurs. I can only think of one success story and that is Thwate. I'm sure there are others, it is just that I don't know them, and I guess the "average" student/entrepreneur/inventor doesn't either. We need better and more stories that spread.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Tucker on September 15, 2009 at 11:52am

Good idea! But, remember, success is not just determined by how much you earn from your exit strategy. Think MXit, Afrigator, FireID, etc. Successful, but not sold for $$$ (yet).

Duncan Drennan said:

We need to have success stories which people (we) believe in. Those success stories should provide the model of success for future entrepreneurs. I can only think of one success story and that is Thwate. I'm sure there are others, it is just that I don't know them, and I guess the "average" student/entrepreneur/inventor doesn't either. We need better and more stories that spread.

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Permalink Reply by Lloyd Jurgens on September 15, 2009 at 3:44pm

Good Day
I am extremely new to this forum and from the feedback I have read this far, this looks like the beginning of something great. As for Bandwidth I assume that this will always be an issue, when we don't really have the option of choice nor the comparative rates as the rest of the world. So how about Bandwidth Management as a business option. I am eager to see what will become of our Bandwidth issues; i.e can we expect more competitive rates after 2010, seeing that the infrastructure is a reality?

People this forum and site is inspiring. One does forget that we are not the only ones experiencing certain problems and Ideas so I hope this grows into a database of knowledge and networking among all people!

Peter Gelderbloem said:

cape town needs more and cheaper bandwidth

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Permalink Reply by Tobie van Zyl on September 19, 2009 at 9:25pm

Comunicate with loads of Passion!!! Be loud and be outrageous with the attempt, get everyone to support everyone.

Kiyosaki said, the only way to get what you want is to give others what they want first.... But that takes alot of time

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Permalink Reply by Sheraan Amod on September 28, 2009 at 2:30am

The inputs on this thread have been fantastic. For the curious case of building a Silicon Valley in Cape Town, here's my contribution:

A shared mindset of being "world class".

Entrepreneurs should be embracing the idea that their startups can lead the world in their niche. Focus on global markets, not only local ones. Be bold enough to build products/services that aren't "me-too's". Silicon Valley espouses global innovation and leadership- to mimic that requires us to mimic the basic mindsets of their entrepreneurs. We have the talent and skills... but imprinting this mentality among the majority of local entrepreneurs will be one of the great challenges of Silicon Cape.

I believe that we're on our way, and salute the founders of this initiative for driving this type of thinking in our industry. The time of playing unlucky underdog in a small, behind-the-times market should be declared over. The world beckons.

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Permalink Reply by Marius van Niekerk on March 5, 2010 at 8:27am

In the last almost two years that I have been back in the country, I've been impressed with what I've seen in terms of skills. Those with talent and vision seem to have broken away from corporate life and started up their own businesses, from +- 22 yrs old to 35+, making them citizens of the world, inbound or outbound, or inbetween.

There doesn't seem to be a benchmark though, as to what world class is, or how to rate yourself. Many people have great skill and experience in new media for example, but no formal qualifications. Could that be because the world is changing so quickly?

Those who have been to San Francisco or Barcelona or Silicon Valley talk about how great it is, but it is almost like a closed shop. What are these Eldorado's? Is it ok to admit that we are copying great ideas that we saw there, or are piggy-backing on those ideas? Not always, but sometimes. Only by standing on the shoulders of giants will we be able to reach greater heights.
Examples: I was fortunate that my employers paid for great education, or that I was able to attend lectures by XYZ, world leaders in ABC... at Stanford/Harvard/Insead/Oxford/Cambridge/...
The reason you did attend those events, was because you were good enough to do so, therefore there is no need to be embarrassed to be from the bottom of Africa (mult-disciplinary world cup winners, Nobel peace prize holders etc.)

Most of what you know and saw is probably not a secret anyway, and if you discuss it openly with others, you'll get feedback (positive or negative but that's ok).
My challenge to all in a forum such as this is to say things less cryptically, share more and accept that a lot of your learning will come from mistakes. You will become a bit tougher a bit more quickly but will also realise that you are privileged to be in the company of like-minded entrepreneurs at various stages of the same journey.

Real example: I've travelled quite a bit but have not been to Silicon Valley, or San Francisco, or South Korea, or Switzerland, or Stockholm. Can anyone tell me what events I should plan to go to in San Francisco that would benefit my interests in Cloud Computing/ Web 2.0/ Mobile phone technology/snow boarding/wine making/new business incubation etc. (and why)