Orange Corners opens its third hub in the Tshimologong Tech Incubator in Johannesburg on February 6, 2018. This exciting moment is combined with the launch of the 2018 programme and the graduation of the class of 2017. Orange Corners, an initiative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in partnership with top-tier Dutch businesses, assists South-African start-ups by giving them expert training and mentoring, as well as access to networks and supply chains.
Orange Corners supports entrepreneurs in three Johannesburg-based hubs, Maboneng, Diepsloot and – for the first time this year – Braamfontein. Last year Orange Corners helped creating over 70 sustainable jobs by providing its entrepreneurs with access to collaborative workplaces, intensive training, business development support, networks and supply chains. In 2018 Orange Corners will take the programme to new heights by providing world-class mentorship by executive partners from Shell, Heineken, Vopak, Royal HaskoningDHV and Philips.
Orange Corners is part of a growing network. Steps to expand internationally are currently being explored; Orange Corners will be established throughout Africa in countries such as Mozambique, Angola, Nigeria and Kenya, providing entrepreneurs with steppingstones to spread their business throughout the continent.
Ambassador of the Netherlands in South Africa, Marisa Gerards: “Our mission is to establish an innovative support system for entrepreneurs and truly partner with them in their business journey. A key element of the initiative is to link start-ups to companies and knowledge institutes from South Africa and the Netherlands. Orange Corners is a take-off platform for South African start-ups and a landing platform for Dutch entrepreneurs”.
Orange Corners is made possible by a network of Dutch businesses that include Heineken, Philips, Shell, Vopak, Royal HaskoningDHV, Philips, TomTom and Mazars-Berenschot, as well as knowledge institutes Delft University of Technology, the University of Witwatersrand and South African stakeholders such as Rhiza Babuyile, OPEN Workspaces, Myers Attorneys and SiModisa. These parties join forces to make a positive contribution to South Africa’s socioeconomic development by creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurs.
