Programme to boost early-stage SA tech businesses is hitting home runs

South Africa is way behind the curve when it comes to early-stage venture-backed businesses. The country has not managed to excite the global venture capital community in the same way that other African countries like Nigeria and Kenya. To address this lag, the Local Scale Up programme was launched in 2021 by Endeavor, an international company with a local presence that promotes high-growth entrepreneurs, and the SA SME Fund. The programme supports a cohort of early stage tech start-ups and help them access markets, mentors and capital. The managing director of Endeavor in South Africa, Alison Collier, told BizNews the companies in the programme have seen excellent growth and are expected to deliver R3 billion in revenue by the end of the year. Job growth has almost doubled in the last six months. The SA SME Fund’s Ketso Gordhan told BizNews about the pitfalls of grant funding and said venture capital in South Africa was about driving costs down, but in South Africa it is geared to solving crucial societal problems. – Linda van Tilburg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices