Startups: What VCs look for
Venture capitalists and entrepreneurs often don’t see eye-to-eye, and in South Africa in particular, there seems to be a very real gap in meeting the needs and expectations of both parties. While we...
View Article7 reasons to bootstrap: Angels, VCs or none of the above?
The venture capitalist (VC) community is disdainful of angel investors and their puny funds, but the angels can do deals that VCs cannot because they are too small for the large funds. Today’s...
View ArticleInsights from a VC: Social networks overdone, but storage is hot
I spoke with Bob Ackerman, managing director of US-based Allegis Capital and a veteran Silicon Valley venture capitalist about some of the trends and issues in VC. Here are some of his insights on the...
View ArticleHere comes the flood: VC firms funding corporate media push into social media
Somewhat lost in the news because of Google’s acquisition of Motorola, Buddy Media, a New York startup raised US$54-million at a US$500-million valuation. Buddy Media helps corporations set up and run...
View Article6 reasons why SA’s Western Cape deserves to be called Silicon Cape
The Western Cape region, which includes Stellenbosch and Cape Town is colloquially referred to as “Silicon Cape”, a nod to the legendary Silicon Valley in the United States. The Western Cape is...
View ArticleWith new asset class, Grovest wants to disrupt VC in South Africa
Grovest Venture Capital introduces a new asset class today. Investors are encouraged through incentives like tax relief as well as the growing attractiveness of the VC industry in South Africa....
View ArticleZoona: mobile money helping Zambia’s unbanked populace
What is Africa’s biggest problem when it comes to money and banks? Easy: in many parts of the continent there are large portions of the populace that are unbanked. The solution for this came a few...
View ArticleDEMO Africa 2014 to kick-off with special investor summit 24 September
DEMO Africa is one of the continent’s biggest and most extensive startup competitions. Earlier this year, the annual initiative announced the top 40 up-and-coming tech companies on the continent to...
View ArticleAmendments to Section 12J under the Income Tax Act welcomed by VCs
Complex legal or financial regulations are all too often cited as South Africa’s main obstacles for flourishing entrepreneurial activity. First introoduced in 2009, Section 12J under the South African...
View ArticleU-Start launches investment vehicle, will be worth €30-million in 2015
Global Venture Capital initiative U-Start has recently rounded-off its 2014 conference series in Cape Town, South Africa, and announced further penetration to the Central and Eastern European region as...
View ArticleAfrican VC activity shows impressive spike in 2014
It’s been a good year for Africa’s startups. In terms of investment activity at least, data from one of the world’s most comprehensive startup databases, CrunchBase, shows that there’s been a huge...
View ArticleHow do you infiltrate the startup ecosystem in Africa?
The question posed by the headline makes Africa’s VC (Venture Capitalist) ecosystem seem like the mafia, where your cousin Vinny has to introduce you to the godfather and you have to get through a...
View ArticleIsraeli VCs raised US$914-million in 2014, the most in six years
Israel is, without doubt, one of the most exciting startup hotspots on the planet. If it’s not the admiring government support, it’s the succinct financial support being made available as this new...
View ArticleNo surprise: funding the biggest hurdle for SA’s startups
Over the past couple of years, there have been plenty of funding successes for the South African startup scene to celebrate. Just this year, WooThemes exited to WordPress holding company Automattic for...
View Article5 key steps to getting your startup ready for funding
It’s the age of the startup. Technology is enabling us to solve more problems at a greater speed than ever before. Solutions to big enough problems often have commercial value — leading to new...
View ArticleHong Kong VC firm Nest expands to Nairobi to support continent’s talents
Hong Kong VC and incubation firm Nest has recently announced its expansion into Africa, connecting local talent with Asian investors abroad. Founded by Simon Squibb in 2010, Nest is described as Hong...
View ArticleFrom banker to VC: what I’ve learned from SA’s startup space so far
In 2013, Michael Jordaan stepped down as CEO of FNB after 12 years of working for the financial institution. Jordaan spearheaded an era of change and creativity at FNB, which in 2012 was named the...
View ArticleIs state VC funding becoming the name of the game?
The Indian government this week launched a much awaited venture capital (VC) fund. Dubbed the India Aspiration Fund, the 20 billion rupee fund (US$306-million) will operate as a fund-of-funds...
View ArticleHong Kong VC firm partners with Nairobi, Cape Town Garage
Hong Kong venture capital firm and entrepreneurial hub Nest recently signed a partnership agreement with the Nairobi Garage and Cape Town Garage to connect three major hubs spanning Africa and Asia....
View ArticleCapria launches global business accelerator for impact VCs
US-based venture capital firm Capria has launched a global accelerator programme for impact VCs. Yes, that’s a VC-cum-accelerator for VCs. Claiming to be the first of its kind, the initiative aims to...
View Article
