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Andrés Diana, Managing Director at SeedInvest

Andrés' Bio:

Andrés Diana is the Managing Director for SeedInvest Los Angeles. SeedInvest is a leading equity crowdfunding platform connecting investors with high quality startups seeking funding. SeedInvest provides investors with insider access to highly vetted startup investment opportunities and makes investing in the asset class as easy as buying shares of stock.

Before joining SeedInvest in 2014, Andrés spent most of his career driving innovation in the public financial markets. In previous roles, he founded and managed a broker dealer and trading floor, and spent much of his career working as a quantitative proprietary trader in the equities markets. Andrés received his degree in entrepreneurship, information systems, and marketing from The Wharton School and loves all manner of action sports, especially Kitesurfing.

Robin Ardeshir, Managing Director at Plug & Play LA

Robin's Bio:

Robin Ardeshir is the Managing Director of Plug and Play LA, Plug and Play’s first US satellite office and investment arm. Launched in the summer of 2016, Plug and Play LA is an innovation platform that brings together the LA startup, investor and executive corporate network. Prior to this role, Robin was part of the early Plug and Play team and helped to launch the joint-venture partnership with Axel Springer in Berlin, Germany.

Maureen Klewicki, Program Manager at Techstars Healthcare Accelerator

Maureen's Bio:

Maureen Klewicki is the Program Manager for the Techstars Healthcare Accelerator, in partnership with Cedars-Sinai. Prior to Techstars, Maureen worked at a venture backed hardware startup handling business and legal operations. Previously, Maureen worked as an attorney in the IP Transactions group at Nixon Peabody LLP, a Global 100 law firm. Maureen attended law school at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, and did her undergraduate studies at the University of Utah.

Peter Mansfield, President at CMO.LA

Peter's Bio:

Peter Mansfield is the quintessential startup marketing professional. Over the course of 25 years, he has been involved in a notable sequence of early stage company adventures and successes. Peter’s in-the-trenches experience makes him particularly valuable in helping new ventures move quickly and efficiently to realize their market potential. He has helped fast growth companies including PropertyBridge, Xylan, Packeteer, Xircom, and Gearworks reach an aggregate market value of close to $5 billion. On a tactical level, Peter gets actively involved in branding, user acquisition, partner development, social media marketing, PR, and channel programs. Peter’s current roster of venture-funded clients includes Revolution Credit (Irvine), Wallaby Financial (Pasadena), The Build Card (Washington DC), and Thriii (Santa Monica).

 

Michael Njenga, Group ICT Manager at Subaru Kenya/ECTA Group has confirmed that he will be presenting a keynote on 'Building a Digital Transformation Framework to maximize IT Value' at the 8th IT Leaders Africa Summit. During his keynote, he will look at driving digital transformation with focus on Business context, Applications, Technology infrastructure, Organizational capability and Governance for positive Customer Experience outcomes.
 
Michael is a Business Technology Leader with 14 years of experience in managing IT services, delivery and improvements within various sectors including Automotive, FMCG, IT Enterprise Services, Telecommunications, Agribusiness/Manufacturing and Systems Automation Management.
 
He has played a key leadership role in the development and implementation of the group's current digital transformation framework.  Michael has been featured in the media for his contribution to the industry, especially regarding digital transformation.
 
He also has a successful track record in implementing other major transformation initiatives ranging from creating and running a Project Management Office (PMO), Multi-site ERP & Infrastructure roll-outs, eLearning management, digital presence orchestration with focus on B2B and B2C channel optimization and IT Governance framework installation for organizations within East Africa.
 
Attend the 8th Annual IT Leaders Africa Summit for insights into Building a Digital Transformation Framework to maximize IT Value.
 
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For more information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.itleaders.co.za
 
The 8th Annual IT Leaders Summit will be hosted on 15 & 16 March 2017 at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town.

Colleen Poynton, Vice President at Core Innovation Capital

Colleen's Bio:

Colleen is a Vice President at Core Innovation Capital, where she covers consumer and small business credit, next gen payments protocols, and insurance. Colleen's prior experience includes sourcing high-impact entrepreneurs with Endeavor Global, launching and scaling a double bottom line commercial real estate start-up, and developing inclusive financial products and services with a Chicago-based CDFI.

Colleen holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Princeton University.

The seemingly continuous boom of online services and retail is attributed to the congruence of mobile payment solutions and ecommerce delivery. Added to that, as disposable incomes grow for many Africans, the financial services gap has become more apparent, and opportunities quickly served. Enabling relatively affluent people on the continent to make purchases easier, brings them closer in line to global counterparts in terms of their attitude towards ecommerce.
 
Consumers are demanding to be able to transact easily with brands and businesses, with a strong affinity for locally sourced products and services. There is an intrinsic "buy local" loyalty that hasn't been muddied too much by the foreign brand invasion; even those multinational players are finding local solutions to local problems.
 
Local brands shouldn't look to imitate out-dated models of business, or look to closely at what is happening in the "sophisticated" US and European markets. Where the opportunity lies is to create platforms for purchasing goods and services that are localised, to allow transaction portals that meet the requirements of the unbanked, the former cash-only consumer. This impacts your pricing model, your customer service model, and processes that attract loyal, happy and paying customers. 
 
You need to consider how your customers earn their money, how they are paid, when they are paid. You need to consider how they spend their money, how this is prioritised, where and how they will engage with you.
 
Hear about these strategies at the eCommerce MoneyAfrica 2017 Confex, 22-23 February, CTICC
 
Click here to register now for a Platinum Delegate Pass.
 
The eCommerce Africa Confex takes place 22 - 23 February 2017 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

The sight of commercial delivery drones whizzing through the sky is much closer than anticipated according to  Jonathan Ledgard, Director of Afrotech-EPFL and Founder of Red Line ; and nowhere more so than in Africa, where the world's very first droneport, is expected to open in Rwanda next year.

 

In a recent interview, Jonathan gave a guided tour through the world's very first droneport.  We are delighted to announce that he will be presenting at eCommerce MoneyAfrica on 22nd February 2017.

 

Jonathan believes that the bigger opportunity represented by Drone technology development is in the medium-sized payloads flying between secondary towns in Africa, which will present some really interesting retail opportunities. 

 

Jonathan expects large retailers to start serving African towns with delivery drones on a massive scale within the next five to six years.  At the same time, the droneport will put small businesses in the town on the map for the first time.

 

"There are technology firms in Silicon Valley that are approaching Africa as a place which doesn't have much air traffic, and therefore view it as an opportunity to accelerate the development of drone technology.  The first droneport should be completed in Rwanda by next summer with plans to build another three or four droneports within five years" says Jonathan.

 

Click here to register for an exhibition visitor pass for only R100! http://shop.kineticevents.net/ecommerce-africa-exhibition-2017.html

Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information or visit http://www.ecommerce-africa.com/ 

Click here to register now for a Platinum Delegate Pass. http://shop.kineticevents.net/ecommerce-africa-conference-and-exhibition-2017.html

 

The eCommerce Africa Confex takes place 22 - 23 February 2017 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

  1. Start-up and investor success stories on the agenda for eCommerce MoneyAfrica
  2. Where eCommerce meets FinTech.
  3. Bios and Presentation from Latin America Meets Silicon Valley on Payments - October 20, 2016 - Oakland, CA event
  4. Panelist - Brandon Zorner - Uber - Bio

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