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TechInAfrica — Naspers Foundry is accepting pitches with its R1.4 billion (equals to $100 million) VC fund to support South African startups. The initiative’s first investment was in an online cleaning services company, Sweepsouth.
Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa joined Naspers in July as a CEO reporting to Group CEO of Naspers, Bob van Dijk.
“We’ll be investing in businesses here in South Africa that have an impact in South Africa. We look for these opportunities all around the country, to the extent that they have South African founders or have a marketplace in South Africa,” Mahanyele-Dabengwa said. Founders from other parts of Africa with startup operations in South Africa can be considered for funding, she added.
Naspers Foundry will support companies that are in tune with the internet business’s Naspers focuses on, such as food, payments, or classifieds, and any other digital venture that addresses a societal need.
On financing size, according to Mahanyele-Dabengwa, the Foundry will make equity investments in numerous amounts mainly from Series A up to Series B.
Pre-series funding won’t be on the table, for now, but could be at some point. “We’ve been talking to our stakeholders…and there really is a need [in the region] for a much more earlier stage [investment]. So we are giving thought to that,” she noted.
Though Naspers Foundry is already engaged in outreach screening activity, application call on its website are still open to any startup that meets specific criteria.
Regarding VC allocation, Naspers Foundry will make investments over a three year period. The Foundry is part of a 1.4 billion rand (≈$314 million) general commitment by Naspers to support South Africa’s tech sector.
In addition to operating notable internet, video, and entertainment platforms, Naspers has also made notable investments in Europe, India, Asia, and South America. Naspers was an early investor in Chinese tech group Tencent, selling $10 billion in shares this year after a $32 million investment in 2001. The company recently established a new holding company, called Prosus NV, to relist a portion of its assets on Amsterdam’s Euronext stock exchange.
Though Naspers Foundry will not support startups outside South Africa, Mahanyele-Dabengwa said that its parent company, Naspers, can finance ventures anywhere on the continent, if the right opportunity is met.
Recently the company added around $70 million to its commitment to South African e-commerce site Takealot and made one of the largest acquisitions in Africa this September, buying South Africa’s Webuycars for $94 million. The $100 million fund Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa leads could help South Africa surge in Africa’s rapidly growing competitive tech ecosystem.
In Africa’s tech ecosystem, Naspers Foundry’s $100 million could bring back the startup financing lead back to South Africa.
Source: techcrunch.com
