African Origin Stories

Eight African founders. Seven minutes each. The real story behind the company.

One night in Cape Town. Eight handpicked founders take the stage in District Six and tell the story the pitch deck leaves out. Why this person. Why this problem. What they gave up. What broke. What they did next.

Think 'TED talk for African entrepreneur meets PechaKucha'. Expect humour, emotion and a room full of people who want them to win.

What this is not

This is not a pitch event. Nobody is selling anything. No investor has to decide anything on the night. Some of last year's audience came expecting a pitch night. You get the human story behind the company and an evening of networking and good conversation with other curious and supportive Humans.

What happened last time

In November 2025 we sold 318 tickets and filled the theatre. Nine founders from Cape Town, Johannesburg and Zimbabwe spoke about health tech, local language AI, salt farming, fintech and community development. Several had never been on a stage before. People cried. Strangers were still talking long after the lights came up.

"One of the most special, real formats I've seen come alive in a long time."

Marcus Zandhuis, founder, CapeTownMagazine.com

"Super inspiring and exciting evening. An event so needed!" Taryn

“I found the stories very inspirational. A Great evening." Ian

"A heartwarming experience listening to the stories of people who refused to give up and followed their dreams through hardships to success. Anyone who has an entrepreneurial spirit and needs encouragement needs to hear these stories." Anon

"Well planned. Professional. Appreciate that they stick to time. MC was gracious and warm. Speakers were inspirational." Anon

Choose your seat

Every seat is allocated, and you pick your own when you book. The Star Theatre seats 320 across three levels.

• Ground floor · R300. Rows A to L. Closest to the stage and level with the speakers. Wheelchair seating in row H.
• Level 1 · R250. Full central view over the room.
• Level 2 · R200. Full central view, further back.
• Side balcony · R150. Single seats on the sides of Levels 1 and 2. You'll hear every word and see most of the stage.

If you're coming as a group, book in one transaction so you sit in the same row. The interval is half the reason to come.

Why Origin Stories?

Early one Friday morning I was walking down Lion's Head with an African founder. On the way down it hit me that there was nowhere for more people to hear his inspiring stories, and nowhere for them to reach and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.

African founders are raised humbly not to talk about themselves. In Africa, failure carries a silent scar that is celebrated publicly in other markets. The usual investor ‘pitch’ format leaves no time to tell the real story about the people behind the companies.

This origin story of the entrepreneur is the most powerful story that needs to be told so ecosystems can support their growth, buy from them, work for and with them and maybe even invest in them.

“If not now, when? If not me, who?” So with plenty of encouragement from the people around me, we built a stage for their stories.

“It takes an ecosystem to raise an Entrepreneur.”

Come and celebrate these Humans with us.

Will Green and the Origin Stories team

Curator, Origin Stories

A WGW Community and Africa Tech Ecosystem initiative

Our vision

To change how the world sees African entrepreneurship and to reach one million African entrepreneurs by 2050. Between events, the stories continue on the Origin Stories podcast and media pages.

Profits get invested back into future events, recording and sharing more stories and high school entrepreneur programmes in the Western Cape.

Thank you

To the Western Cape Government, Silicon Overdrive for your support, to the volunteer team who make this night happen and to you for buying a ticket to attend and support us.

Book your seat now.

Are you ready to experience real, inspiring African origin stories?

Thursday 19 November 2026 · Doors 18:30 for 19:00 · The Star Theatre, Homecoming Centre, District Six