Andy Higgins (Bidorbuy)
Details
THIS IS A PAID EVENT - PURCHASE YOUR TICKET HERE (http://www.startupgrind.com/events/details/startup-grind-pretoria-presents-andy-higgins-bidorbuy)
Andy Higgins (Bidorbuy)
Andy Higgins is the Founder of Bidorbuy - Africa's largest online marketplace. He is also the Managing Director of uAfrica - a technology company with a focus on ecommerce. He attended Durban High School, studied Electrical Engineering from UKZN and has an MBA as well from Wits.
In 1999 Higgins started Bidorbuy in South Africa, and qucikly expanded it internationally. Then the unthinkable happened and the Internet boom came to a halt. The company was on the verge of bankruptcy and the investors called and said that he needs to shut down. Higgins was left with the South African company only, retrenched 25 employees and put cost-cutting measures in place just to keep the company afloat. At one point, it was just Andy and one other person working for the company. He put the business in maintenance mode and kept it ticking over with just a few users.
The year 2005 was a turning point for Bidorbuy. That’s when ADSL began to replace dial-up. The business saw the impact of this progress and began to grow. From 2007 Bidorbuy was expanding at 120% and is now Africa's largest online market. Higgins also serves on the board of Payfast and Private Property.
Agenda
5:30 pm Networking and Food
6:30 pm Fireside Chat
7:30 pm Networking
Speaker
https://res.cloudinary.com/startup-grind/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,g_center,h_150,q_auto:good,w_150/v1/softlayer0/80135C1/media/v1/AUTH_d0619b05-07fc-49f0-8249-da585ea45ce5/events/Andy-Higgins_3q3iyLq.jpg Andy Higgins - Bidorbuy
Hosted By
Guillaume De Smedt, Global Community Director
Guillaume De Smedt, "G", as he is otherwise known, is the Global Community Director for Startup Grind. He completed his bachelors degree in Electronic Engineering and is part of the Silicon Cape Board.
Twitter: @gdesmedt1 (http://twitter.com/gdesmedt1) Mohamed Chohan, Durban Chapter DIrector
Mohamed Chohan is the Managing Director at Startup Grind Durban and the Founder of Actinium Digital Consultancy as well Co-Founder of Carbon Compliance.
Previously he has worked as a Business Development Manager at RSAWEB and has completed a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from UKZN. He has also worked at Smartrac which is a Management Consultancy, Black Ticket Creative Bureau which is a Brand Consultancy and KPMG.
Global Partner
https://res.cloudinary.com/startup-grind/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,g_center,h_100,q_auto:good/v1/softlayer0/80135C1/media/v1/AUTH_d0619b05-07fc-49f0-8249-da585ea45ce5/sponsors/google_for_entrepreneurs_-_final.png (http://www.google.com/entrepreneurs/)
Google is committed to empowering entrepreneurs around the world through programs, partnerships, and our products.
Sponsorss
https://res.cloudinary.com/startup-grind/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,g_center,h_60,q_auto:good/v1/softlayer0/80135C1/media/v1/AUTH_d0619b05-07fc-49f0-8249-da585ea45ce5/sponsors/StandardBank.png (http://bizconnect.standardbank.co.za/https)
As South Africa’s leading Business Bank, we understand what it means to do business in Africa and beyond.
https://res.cloudinary.com/startup-grind/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,g_center,h_60,q_auto:good/v1/softlayer0/80135C1/media/v1/AUTH_d0619b05-07fc-49f0-8249-da585ea45ce5/sponsors/Microsoft.png (http://www.microsoft.com)
At Microsoft our mission and values are to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential.
https://res.cloudinary.com/startup-grind/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,g_center,h_60,q_auto:good/v1/softlayer0/80135C1/media/v1/AUTH_d0619b05-07fc-49f0-8249-da585ea45ce5/sponsors/PayFast.png (https://www.payfast.co.za/)
Secure, Online Payment Processing for South Africa. PayFast is a payments processing service for South Africa. Payfast now allows sellers to accept Bitcoin payments.
Partner
https://res.cloudinary.com/startup-grind/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,g_center,h_50,q_auto:good/v1/softlayer0/80135C1/media/v1/AUTH_d0619b05-07fc-49f0-8249-da585ea45ce5/sponsors/VentureBurn.png (http://ventureburn.com/)
Startup News For Emerging Markets
What is Startup Grind?
Startup Grind is a global startup community designed to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs. We host monthly events in more than 200 cities and 98 countries featuring successful local founders, innovators, educators and investors who share personal stories and lessons learned on the road to building great companies. Our monthly fireside chat interviews, startup mixers and annual conferences provide ample opportunities to connect with amazing startups and the people behind them, tap into a strong support network, form meaningful connections and gain inspiration for the startup journey ahead. For more information visit StartupGrind.com (https://www.startupgrind.com/) or follow us on twitter @StartupGrind (https://twitter.com/StartupGrind).
Andy Higgins (Bidorbuy)