The seed of the idea first took root when travel entrepreneur and CEO of Travelstart, Stephan Ekbergh visited Sophia Antipolis in the French Riviera and wanted to create a similar tech innovation and development hub in Cape Town, a city that reminded him of the French Riviera in the 70s and 80s. 

Spending time working in a dynamic co-working space called Epicenter in Sweden during 2021, Ekbergh marvelled at the successes they had had in developing Sweden into a colossal digital hub by playing a very active role in getting people and corporations to collaborate and create something new.

Ekbergh then consulted his long time friend and cofounder Kieno Kammies, who then joined the project. His network in South Africa in business, tech, education and politics being second to none, Kammies brings decades of hard hitting journalism and connects the business dots by staying in touch with the VCs, Entrepreneurs and corporates, identifying common business interests., which is key to building this unique community. 

Solidifying a partnership with Epicenter Stockholm and leveraging networks in Sweden and South Africa, Ekbergh and Kammies have brought both worlds together to light a fire in Africa’s nascent digital scene, with Cape Town as the magical backdrop. 

With the vision of globally helping key innovative hotspots to supercharge their local entrepreneurial ecosystems, Innovation City provides a community, learning platform, and meeting arena for local change makers to accelerate their growth and innovate with impact.