By partnering with BongoHive, Zambia's foremost technology and innovation hub, Draper Startup House (DSH) has established its first location in Southern Africa in Lusaka, Zambia.
About Draper Startup House
Draper Startup House (DSH) is a global network of spaces connected to services, education, and investment founded in Singapore in 2018 by Vikram Bharati as Tribe Theory, a hostel concept 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 are using its education, technology 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.
About BongoHive
BongoHive was founded in 2011 in Zambia to aid scalable startups of all types by improving skills, accelerating growth, expanding networks, promoting collaboration, and idea exchanges, and lowering barriers 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 trading ties, and BongoHive shared DSH's values and ambitions to help entrepreneurs.
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“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 collaborating with the BongoHive team. They are incredibly supportive and well organized,” said Phan.
Zambia is hoping to become a key technology hub for the region, according to BongoHive executive director Lukonga Lindunda, and DSH will provide local startup founders with direct access to education, mentorship, and funding resources.
