I think, like many people, I grew up thinking that my youth was different to many others, a little outcast from a lot of society, I grew up mostly around a business table with the content of a large amount of regular discussion reflective of business landscapes and coporate culture. This had a great impact on my interests, it was tech venture capital magazine Red Herring that graced my bedside table rather than Car Magazine, and I felt different, and that was OK. Except I wasn't.

The Silicon Cape launch brought together communities from academia, government, finance and the tech sector in order to pool a wealth of South African talent in a single geographic hub so that the dreams of uplifting ourselves, and our economy could be addressed, realistically and from the right stand point. Key speakers included high level names like Dr. Johann Rupert, Dr Mamphela Ramphele and Helen Zille.

Although there are still concerns of "typical" South African backscratching, the energy that was felt within the one circular wall of The Bay hotel's rotunda was not only immense and passionate, but also thoughtful and concerned. If there is one thing that we have it is talent and passion, in order for this initiative to be successful we also need drive, patience and to be relentlessly resourceful in our approach to how we get government on sides.

Already in the news items have come up, regarding a push for the western cape to be a tax neutral zone, one of Dr. Rupert's primary key points, which, when made, was cause for Helen Zille to break into applause. Dr. Ramphele (who is now heading up the Technology Innovation Agency - TIA) almost brought down the house with her softly spoken: "I can't believe that we can't sell to people who pay in dollars. How stupid is that? How can we grow our economy?" as she spoke about the importance of government creating an enabling environment and bringing down regulatory barriers.

There are very real challenges in trying to make this work, and I don't think that any of us expect it to be an easy road, however the pawns have position themselves to the bishops and queens, and they are the pieces that have to take this to the king. For now an important start has been made, an ethos created, and a vision shared. For now, we will talk, and share, and and commune together, maybe not physically in the Silicon Cape, but at least in that mind space.

All in all, I must congratulate Justin Stanford and Vinnie Lingham on a remarkable event, I've never felt as enthused as when I left that building. An an entrepreneur I'll be looking on with great interest and expectation, because it is my overbearing opinion that if we don't get this right, we are in a world of trouble as a country. At some point, we've got to grow up, and learn how to manage our resources, as the mantra of the event mentions "If we're not exporting our IP, we're exporting our talent."