Silicon Cape is an NPO and an ecosystem enabler for tech-enabled startups in the broader Cape Region of South Africa. We work to connect stakeholders, curate ecosystem data, amplify the stories coming out of the ecosystem and advocate on behalf of stakeholders through our membership programme.
Vision
The Cape is an innovation hub for Africa and the world
Mission
Silicon Cape enables an inclusive ecosystem for tech-enabled startups.
Values
Curiosity, Integrity, Openness and Respect
Founding Members
Vinny Lingham is the chairman of the board and co-founder of Civic, a blockchain startup offering decentralized identity verification. He also joined the leading crypto investment fund, Multicoin Capital, as a General Partner in 2018. Previously, he was the co-founder and CEO of Gyft, a mobile gift card company, which was acquired by global payments leader First Data Corporation and prior to that, founding and exiting multiple other startups.
He is an active investor and co-founder of South African Venture Capital leader Newtown Partners and has led early stage investments into successful startups, including SweepSouth. Vinny was a Shark on Shark Tank South Africa, a Dragon on Dragon’s Den South Africa, and an Angel in National Geographic’s Undercover Angel. He is a co-author of “I’m In: Essential Advice for Entrepreneurs.”
Justin is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist from Cape Town, South Africa. With more than 20 years experience, he is founder, board member, advisor, or investor to a wide variety of companies in the domestic and global technology industry. Growing up on a farm, his self-taught interest in early personal computers, software and connectivity led to him eventually deciding not to complete high school, to pursue a dream of being an internet entrepreneur at the start of the 2000s. After moving to the city, a few years of failed startup attempts followed, but he ultimately went on to build a pan-African online software company from a garage in the suburbs of Cape Town, in the then emerging cybersecurity industry.
Developing a passion for local startups and entrepreneurs in South Africa, he next took on a bigger challenge, to try and address the development of a local tech startup ecosystem, and the lack of seed capital available to founders. Today he spends his time working on 4Di Capital, a pioneering venture capital firm formed in 2009 as a result. Based in Cape Town and Atlanta, the firm invests in early-stage tech companies from across Africa.
As co-founder of the Silicon Cape Initiative, also created in 2009 as a non-profit community body aimed at catalysing South Africa’s nascent ecosystem, Justin believed in the potential for Cape Town as a global technology startup hub. This vision has steadily become reality over the years that have followed, and has since grown to encompass Africa more broadly.
Board of Directors
The volunteer Board of Directors is responsible for Silicon Cape’s overall governance and strategic planning.
Operations team
The Operations Team manages Silicon Cape day-to-day and supports the Board of Directors and Community Council in an effort to fulfill the nonprofit’s objectives and mandate.
Community Council
The Community Council is elected every two years with each volunteer member responsible for a specific portfolio of activity.