Through a partnership with BongoHive, Zambia’s premier technology and innovation hub, Draper Startup House (DSH) has opened its first outpost in Southern Africa in Lusaka, Zambia.
Draper Startup House (DSH) is a worldwide network of places related to services, education, and investment that was founded in Singapore in 2018 by Vikram Bharati as Tribe Theory, a dormitory idea for digital nomads.
DSH is a section of the Draper Venture Network, which was formed by Timothy Cook Draper, a US venture capital investor, and has over 35,000 community members in 60 countries that use its education, technological services, investment, and community resources.
Draper also created Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), Draper University, and Draper Associates, and his most well-known investments include Baidu, Hotmail, Skype, Tesla, SpaceX, AngelList, Twitter, Coinbase, Robinhood, and Focus Media.
BongoHive was founded in 2011 in Zambia with the goal of aiding scalable businesses of all types by improving skills, accelerating growth, developing networks, promoting cooperation, idea exchanges, and lowering obstacles to entrepreneurship.
Phuong Phan, DSH’s regional manager for East and Southern Africa, said Zambia shared borders with eight countries in a region with strong cultural and trade ties, and BongoHive shared DSH’s principles and objectives to help businesses.
“So, it’s a good starting point for us to get connected across Southern Africa. It has been such a pleasure getting to know and to collaborate with the BongoHive team, they are incredibly supportive and well organised,” said Phan.
Zambia is hoping to become a vital technological hub for the area, according to BongoHive executive director Lukonga Lindunda, and DSH will provide local startup founders with direct access to education, mentorship, and finance resources.
