Startup Club ZA to Host First-Ever South African Startup Week, Showcasing Founders and Innovation in Cape Town
Startup Club ZA is set to host the inaugural South African Startup Weekup from April 15-17, 2026 in Cape Town. It is an organized three-day event which will bring together different founders, investors, and entrepreneurs to share ideas, run workshops, and build connections across South Africa’s growing tech ecosystem.
The theme of the event is scheduled in three different topics stating; Inspire, Build and Connect. Each will be considered on each day, for instance, Inspire will focus on real lessons, pivots, and challenges in building companies. Also providing candid conversations from 14 leading founders of South Africa’s most ambitious startups and scale-ups.
According to Startup Club ZA, Mathew Marsden, he stated that;
The event aims to bring together “the people building and backing the country’s most ambitious companies” in a single, collaborative environment.
While the second day will concentrate on practical workshops, masterclasses, and hackathons covering subjects like product development, fundraising, and artificial intelligence. Then the last day will focus on networking, investor participation, and community-building activities.
The launch corresponds with a renewed startup ecosystem in South Africa. The nation is set to restore its top spot in Africa for venture capital investment in 2025, which is suggestive of higher deal activity and investor confidence.
Organizers of the program also confirmed plans to expand the concept beyond Cape Town, with a Johannesburg edition expected later in 2026, further strengthening national reach.
About Startup Club ZA
Startup Club ZA was founded in 2023 by Mathew Marsden. The organisation started off as a smaller community called the Joburg Startup Club, before expanding and rebranding into Startup Club ZA to serve a national audience across South Africa. The company is building a startup community and ecosystem-building organization focused on supporting founders, entrepreneurs, and innovators across the country.