The Winelands  ·  16–17 March 2027  ·  Side events 14–15 March

African founders. Global capital. Two days in the Winelands.

SWEAT Africa brings startups, investors and the people who build Africa’s ecosystems to a wine estate for two days of pitches, meetings and long conversations under the oaks

--Days
--Hours
--Minutes

Build. Pitch. Invest. under the oaks The Winelands · South Africa· 16–17 March 2027 · 2000+ participants · 400+ startups · 150+ investors ·  100+ volunteers · 50+ ecosystem builders ·

Road to SWEAT

Our pitch competition for African startups. Apply in your Cluster and pitch in the online heats. The best make the SWEAT 100 and the finalists pitch live in the Winelands.

Apply

In your ClusterEntries open soon

Heats

Online pitchesDates to come

100

The SWEAT 100Best across all Clusters

25

Semi-finalists5 per Cluster

10

Grand Finalists2 per Cluster, live in March 2027

Entries open soon. Register your interest and we’ll tell you first.

A retreat, not a conference hall.

The best conversations at SWEAT happen between sessions: on the lawn, at the long table, around the fire when the sun goes down.

Two days on the estate

Mountain path near the venue

Early morning

Active sessions

A run or walk into the hills before the first pitch.

Speaker energising the crowd in the tent

Morning

Cluster stages

Pitches and talks in each of the five Clusters.

Two people in conversation outdoors

Morning

Partner Side Meetings

100s of side meetings in many of the neighboring estates and wineries with One-on-one conversations between founders and investors.

Participants sharing lunch at a long table

Lunch

The long table

Lunch with whoever sits next to you. Usually someone useful.

Full tent during a session

Afternoon

Main Stage

Reverse pitches, competition, top speakers and investors.

Participants around a fire pit at dusk, mountains behind

Sunset

Fireside

The day ends outside, around the fire.

rupert and rothschild

14–15 March

Investor dinners

Dinner and events in dozens of top wineries before the main event, with side events across the region.

In 2026, about 150 startups and 50 investors spent two days together in the Cape.

In 2027, 400+ startups and 150+ investors expected…

SWEAT is student-driven and owned by a consortium of about 20 partners. 

Full tent during a session
Participants taking a selfie
Two participants smiling
Founders together at SWEAT Africa 2026
Audience in the tent
Conversation in the lounge

Built by partners

SWEAT is owned by a consortium of about 20 partners. One list, in alphabetical order.

  • AHRIFF
  • CERI Bio
  • FirstRand Empowerment Foundation
  • GIZ
  • LaunchLab
  • OneBio
  • Open Startup International
  • Science for Africa
  • South African Medical Research Council
  • Spoor & Fisher
  • Stellenbosch Network
  • Synexa Life Sciences
  • Technology Innovation Agency
  • University of Cape Town
  • University of KwaZulu-Natal
  • University of Pretoria
  • University of the Free State
  • University of the Witwatersrand
  • UVU Africa

Startups from SWEAT 2026

83 companies from 13 countries. Filter by Cluster.

See all 83 startups

Participants gathering in the garden at dusk

SWEAT Connect

SWEAT doesn’t start on the 16th. Side events run across the region before the main days, and Connect events keep the community meeting during the year.

Come to the Winelands.

By registering you agree that SWEAT Africa may store your name and email to contact you about SWEAT Africa 2027, in line with POPIA. You can ask us to delete your details at any time.

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