The South African business accelerator Grindstone has forged a strategic partnership with USAID Southern Africa Mobilising Investment to introduce a specialized two-year initiative aimed at transforming the landscape of startup and scale-up support in South Africa.
Established in 2013 and jointly owned by venture capital firm Knife Capital and consultancy Thinkroom Limited, Grindstone is renowned for its structured entrepreneurship development programme. This programme is dedicated to aiding high-growth, innovation-driven enterprises in establishing the essential elements required for rapid scaling, achieving sustainability, and becoming attractive for funding. To date, Grindstone has successfully conducted 16 accelerator programmes.
Grindstone was chosen by USAID Mobilising Investment from a pool of 13 grantees across Southern Africa to execute a novel programme designed to assist 40 startups each year. The programme will source participants from Grindstone’s network of alumni as well as other burgeoning startups and scale-ups within the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The inaugural cohort is set to commence in July. The ventures selected for this cohort will benefit from a combination of mentorship and specialized coaching, supplemented by crucial back-office services that are often neglected by startups, including finance, marketing and branding, operations, legal support, and technology. A key component of the programme is Grindstone Boost, an innovative back-office solution crafted to elevate startups’ operational capabilities, solidify their financial base, enhance their brand visibility, and leverage technology to scale effectively and efficiently.
Keet van Zyl, a co-founder of Grindstone and partner at Knife Capital, emphasized the importance of solid business fundamentals as the foundation for successful scaling and reaching a company’s full potential. He highlighted that accurate financial reporting and forecasting are indicative of such fundamentals being in place. Grindstone Boost is expected to significantly improve the quality of financial records and modelling, thereby facilitating better investment decisions for venture capitalists and the startups they may invest in.
The development and planning of the Grindstone Boost back-office services are set to continue through the application and recruitment phase, which will take place in May and June. During this period, Grindstone will select the first cohort of startups. The programme will maintain a rolling intake of cohorts over the subsequent two years, ensuring ongoing support and development for South Africa’s entrepreneurial talent.
