City of Cape Town Nominates Five Solutions to Establish a New Venture Fund for African Entrepreneurs

Cape Town, South Africa (Vocus/PRWEB) March 23, 2011

The City of Cape Town jointly with Living Labs Global announced today the results of its first round evaluation of 245 entries from 127 cities in 30 countries, which was carried out by an international expert jury as part of the Living Labs Global Award 2011.

Shortlisted solutions are now invited to provide in-depth supporting information, leading to the announcement of a winner at the Stockholm Summit for Service Innovation in Cities on May 12, 2011. The winner will be invited to carry out a full-scale pilot in the City of Cape Town, to evaluate the impact of the solution and lead to broader implementations.

SHORTLIST

Involving business angels and mentors in Cape Town

VC4Africa, connecting entrepreneurs and investors

Energy In Common

MYC4: Eradicate Poverty Through Business

Venture Capital Cultivator Fund

Entries were received in response to a call for pilots to deliver solutions that exploit new technologies and funding systems such as crowdfunding, micro-credits, community finance, social networks and open data systems to provide entirely new ways of connecting investors and entrepreneurs that are more suitable to Africas entrepreneurs than traditional venture capital funds. Successful solutions will help African entrepreneurs become the employers of tomorrow, develop new technologies, provide real solutions to consumers and give investors healthy returns.

"New ways to supply and manage venture finance in Africa, combining some of the existing and proven best practices with new solutions that may have emerged in the developed or developing world will unlock the potential of millions of entrepreneurs to provide solutions to the continent's 1 billion people. As an example, crowdfunding, micro-lending and community fund-raising are all powered by new technologies and financial management. Where in developed countries you may have two investors, African entrepreneurs may find a hundred willing micro-investors, in their family, community or beyond," says Mansoor Mohamed, Chief Executive of Cape Towns Economic-, Social Development and Tourism Agency.

Why Cape Town?

With the well-established institutional frameworks of South-Africa and Cape Town, the city is an ideal piloting area for such new mechanisms by providing stable and proven legal institutions, committed government agencies, a high density of entrepreneurial activity and potential investors of all types.

About the Living Labs Global Award 2011

Living Labs Global, a non-profit association to promote digital service innovation in cities, announces a joint Award with the Cities of Barcelona, Cape Town, Eindhoven, Lagos, San Francisco, Sant Cugat, Stockholm, and Taipei to choose the companies and organizations that have developed solutions that add high value to users in cities around the world. The Award is organised in partnership with Oracle and Farglory, with shortlists being announced on March 22nd and the Winners presented at a Summit and Award Ceremony in Stockholm on May 12, 2011.

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Cleantech Venture Demonstrates Collaboration Between US and China

Los Angeles, CA (Vocus/PRWEB) March 23, 2011

OnGreen, the worlds largest cleantech marketplace announced today the launch of its website, OnGreen.com, out of a successful beta. The website is a comprehensive destination for cleantech professionals, connecting cleantech businesses and entrepreneurs with investors, expertise and resources.

The beta site attracted 250 start-ups from more than 35 countries, representing $ 1.9B in funding opportunities. More than half of those entrepreneurs received investor inquiries, according to OnGreens latest surveys. The company is using its recent series A funding to provide investors with deal vetting and to expand its China marketplace.

OnGreen is backed by China Southern Hong Kong Investment Ltd. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles and has satellite offices in Shanghai and Mumbai, with plans to open offices in other locations during 2011.

The nature of todays global cleantech market is that innovation doesnt always occur where capital is available, says OnGreen CEO Nikhil R. Jain. As a global platform, OnGreen overcomes the physical separation between innovation, capital and expertise and helps speed the time from idea to commercialization.

The OnGreen platform is divided into three key areas:

Deal Marketplace - Where entrepreneurs seek funding for their cleantech businesses and investors make use of the search and filter capabilities to streamline dealflow. The site already hosts some 250 companies from 35 countries seeking a combined $ 1.9 billion.

Patent Exchange Where inventors and companies post their intellectual property for sale or licensing and allow outside investors and enabling service providers to review them. The site already hosts more than 150 cleantech related patents from sources including USC.

Expert Community - Where business and technology experts promote their expertise, collaborate with their peers, engage in opportunity evaluations, share due diligence and make themselves available for mentoring, contract work or even employment.

As part of the companys strategy to bridge cleantech professionals and investors from around the world, OnGreen has partnered with the University of Michigan and Joint US-China Collaboration on Clean Energy (JUCCCE). The project OnGreen is spearheading will entail working with Chinese companies to invest in University R&D and patents in exchange for which they would acquire joint rights to the associated intellectual property.

According to JUCCCEs Co-Founder Peggy Liu, China has a gap between their desire to save energy and reduce pollution, and their capability to go green as fast as they are building. She adds, This joint research project would not only bring positive trade flow into the U .S. from China and create jobs, but also potentially help the U.S. bypass historic patent infringement issues in China.

To kick off the official launch, OnGreen hosted a VIP launch event in Los Angeles featuring private equity firms, media, non-profits, utilities, policy makers, venture capitalists and members of academia.

About OnGreen

OnGreen is the worlds largest cleantech social marketplace. Members from across the globe work together, connecting the best ideas in cleantech to funding and expertise, translating IP into ROI. With thousands of entrepreneurs, investors, and business and technology experts spanning 35 countries, its never been easier to connect with the people and resources needed to turn todays energy and environmental challenges into business opportunities. OnGreen is headquartered in Los Angeles. Connect with the world's leading cleantech investors at http://www.ongreen.com.

Contacts:

Chathri Munasinghe

(800) 297-0445 x 207

Twitter: @OnGreenInc

Facebook: OnGreen.inc

Media Contact:

David Andrew Goldman

Global Communications Director

Expansion Media

646.335.0268

http://www.expansionmedia.net

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