Despite bleak and rainy weather, a live demonstration of AI solving business challenges drew strong interest from a vibrant KuGompo City business community last Wednesday.
Startup Grind East London (SGEL) hosted the hybrid demo, which showcased the business suite of local entrepreneurs Ruka Africa at Second Office in Vincent.
The event drew a large turnout, said CEO Vuyo Ncwaiba, and audience engagement was high throughout.
“The boardroom at Second Office was at near capacity and abuzz with excitement,” she added.
Ruka Africa has an AI-powered operating layer and modular software ecosystem built with African businesses and organisations in mind.
Automation tools work as a layer on WhatsApp to help handle customer interactions, sales admin and a host of other operations across multiple languages and channels.
Holding an event with this kind of practical offering has been high on the list for SGEL for some time, Ncwaiba said.
“As an organisation, we are surfing a wave of our freshly minted status as a Public Benefit Organisation — SARS finally confirmed approval in July.
“This has boosted our drive to take this community beyond buzzwords and into genuine empowerment.
“When this intention was met last week with such overwhelming engagement, it was deeply rewarding.
“It confirms our belief that the KuGompo ecosystem is ready to move forward into the age of AI.
“The demonstration itself landed well, generating a notably strong and positive reaction from the audience.”
She said one main lesson that emerged from the day was that transport was a huge factor preventing many from attending in person, so it was a good thing participation was available online, too.
“SGEL is already tightening its processes — earlier confirmation of attendance and attention to transport needs will close that gap next time.
“Remaining sensitive and responsive to people’s needs is the backbone of all the activity we carry out as an organisation.”
Startup Grind is the world’s largest independent startup community, active in hundreds of cities and over 150 countries.
Founded in 2010, it aims to educate, inspire, and connect local entrepreneurs by hosting monthly events, fireside chats with prominent founders, global conferences, and networking opportunities.
Ncwaiba said after the demo’s reception, SGEL will co-ordinate a three-month period of placing small enterprises on the Ruka platform, with terms to be finalised directly with Ruka.
“So a busy stretch for SGEL is coming up, including an upcoming masterclass, a fashion show, participation in Entrepreneurship Week, and a local pitch battle in the coming months,” she added.
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