A new venture capital fund has launched with the aim of taking tech startups in Africa to the global market, it is the Niveus Ventures. The entrepreneur-led fund has the support of Niveus Investments, a subsidiary of Hosken Consolidated Investments.
Selected entrepreneurs will receive financing that fills the gap between angel funding of less than R1 million, and capital from listed firms or private equity groups that range between R100 – R200 million, which is typically difficult for a younger business to secure.
Heading up the team at Niveus Ventures is Jesse Hemson-Struthers, who has successfully launched, invested in, grown and sold several businesses. These include SAcamera, which Naspers acquired in 2012; BetTech Gaming, providing software to three of the top five listed gaming companies in Africa; LifeQ, wearable healthcare technology with clients such as TomTom; and SaveMoney, a fast growing FinTech startup.
“Building an enduring business remains an immense challenge,” he says. “Most businesses don’t survive past the startup phase despite great ideas.”
“The downfall is execution and turning ideas into viable businesses. Knowing when to scale is not that easy, and while top entrepreneurs know their industries very well, they don’t always have the operational experience of starting and running a business.”
To prevent this, Niveus Ventures will provide support beyond any funding it gives entrepreneurs.
“Investment criteria comes down to the right person and the right team. We look for talented individuals who may have started a business once or twice before, or individuals who have achieved corporate success but haven’t been able to realise their entrepreneurial potential,” says Hemson-Struthers.
