Funders
The Department of Trade Industry and Competition
Who we are
The Department of Trade Industry and Competition (the dtic) was established after the merger of the Department of Trade and Industry and the Economic Development Department.
the dtic’s Mission is to:
- Promote structural transformation, towards a dynamic industrial and globally competitive economy
- Provide a predictable, competitive, equitable and socially responsible environment, conducive to investment, trade and enterprise development
- Broaden participation in the economy to strengthen economic development
- Continually improve the skills and capabilities of the dtic to effectively deliver on its mandate and respond to the needs of South Africa’s economic citizens
- Co-ordinate the contributions of government departments, state entities and civil society to effect economic development
- Improve alignment between economic policies, plans of the state, its agencies, government’s political and economic objectives and mandate
What we offer as a funder:
The main thrust of our work is to facilitate between SMMEs and potential investors on the financial instruments that the DTIC has to offer.
In essence these industrial instruments are incentive schemes. These incentives are co-funding grants in which we assist with a non-refundable percentage of this. The purpose of the funding is to ensure that the business becomes sustainable.
Read More
The Support Programme for Industrial Innovation (SPII) is designed to promote technology development in South Africa’s industry, through the provision of financial assistance for the development of innovative products and/or processes. SPII is focussed specifically on the development phase, which begins at the conclusion of basic research and ends at the point when a pre-production prototype has been produced.
The SPII offers two schemes namely, the:
- SPII Product Process Development (PPD) Scheme; and
- SPII Matching Scheme.
Technology and Human Resource for Industry Programme: The DTI partners with an industry partner as well as a tertiary institution to help support research / product development that is beneficial to all involved.
Health tech innovators working in developments around products such as cannabis may also be interested the Agro-Processing Support Scheme(APSS), which aims to stimulate investment by the South African agro-processing / beneficiation (agri-business) enterprises. The investment should demonstrate that it will achieve some of the following: Increased capacity, employment creation, modernised machinery and equipment, competitiveness and productivity improvement and broadening participation.
The amount of funding available is dependent on each scheme.
What we need:
The criteria for applications would be sector specific, but applicants need to have the following in place: You would require to be a registered business
Have valid tax clearance certificate
BEE certificate between levels 1 and 4
Applicants must be in a position to contribute from their own reserves or be eligible to apply for a loan to contribute from their side. This amount would be dependent on the specific programme being applied for and the size of the enterprise applying for the funding.
First point of contact would be the regional office, in this case the Western Cape, and once a relevant programme is found for possible funding, an application with all relevant documentation will be submitted to the national office.
Want to know more?
Contact your regional office to find out if you fit the criteria by visiting their website.
Technology Innovation Agency (TIA)
Who are we?
The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) is an agency of the Department of Science andInnovation (DSI). Supporting the state’s vision to stimulate and intensify technological innovation, we play a key role in bridging the innovation gap between research and commercialisation of products through exploitation of South African generated intellectual property into products and services that can bring about transformation and economic revival to South Africa
Although funding is big component of what we do, we also provide access to infrastructure which enables innovators to develop new technologies as well as promote innovation skill-development initiatives between academic institutions and industry. .
In terms of the Health sector, we provide three levels of support”
1. Seed Fund support: this is where we fund , up to R1 million per project, through a variety of instruments to universities and science councils who are our Seed Fund Partners.
For example, we’ll give money to a Technology Transfer Office (TTO) at a partner university who can select a health project within the university that they believe has potential to translate from research into a proof of concept.
Our Seed Fund Partners include UCT, UWC, SAVANT, and Stellenbosch University, to mention a few.
Read More
2. Technology Development Fund(TDF): here we’re looking for successful proof of concepts that have emerged from seed level funding, and are now looking to move into the phase of technology demonstration i.e. the technology is ready for validation in the relevant environment
3. Pre-Commercialisation Support Fund(PCSF): working hand in hand with Technology Development funding, this fund support products that have evolved from research, to proof of concept and is now a product ready for market but requires financial support for regulatory certification registering or limited testing within an identified market.
Funding limits for both the Technology Development and Pre-Commercialisation funds can vary from project to project with higher amounts requiring special approvals and compelling motivation. It is important to note however that funding limits may vary from program to program depending on funding availability.
A variety of funding instruments are employed by TIA for deploying the TDF and PCSF and these include , conditional grants ,loans and equity.
What we look for?
- Innovation opportunity in a science based product or service that has a strong potential for market penetration.
- Projects that are aligned with the national health mandate and address prevalent diseases in South Africa
- Projects that have a high socio-economic impact, support local manufacture as well as support job creation.
- We are also keen to support projects where there is an industry commercialisation partner as it shows us there is greater potential for that product.
We want to know…
Our application process has recently changed in that unlike in the past where applications could be received throughout the year, we will now release closed calls for applications at specific periods that pertain to a particular area of intervention that TIA and/or our fundingpartners are interested in.
All our calls are advertised on www.tia.org.za as well as our social media (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn).
We want to ensure that:
- the entity is majority South African – we do not fund foreign entities, they may however partner with locals
- the majority of the work is being done within South Africa – we want to benefit South African industry and institutions
Think you have what it takes? Get in touch…
For Seed Funding, please reach out directly to your preferred Seed Partner.
Check out www.tia.org.za for calls for application and keep updated on new calls by following them on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn
For general queries please email customerservice@tia.org.za
Development Bank of South Africa
Who are we:
The Development Bank of South Africa is 100% owned by the South African government, falling under the governance of the National Treasury. In terms of funding and mandate perspectives, we can look at transactions and projects in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.
What sets DBSA apart from other commercial banks is the holistic project finance value chain that we offer to the sectors that we service. A typical commercial bank will give you a loan, whereas we assist our clients in planning and rolling out the infrastructure, we provide funding, and we assist with maintenance. We are a one stop shop from an infrastructure funding and capacitation point of view.
We also provide project preparation in which we pay to get projects to a bankable stage, where we either expect to participate in the funding to move the project to the next leg or if the client doesn’t want us involved in the funding, we would need to be re-imbursed with what we provided along with a multiple factor.
What we want:
We fund both economic and social infrastructure.
Economic infrastructure we define as energy, ICT, environment and transport and logistics.
On the social side, it’s affordable housing, it’s health projects education projects as well as student housing.
We provide a suite of debt or equity, depending on the transaction at hand. On a debt side, we would look at your term loans, mezzanine debt and quasi equity. Essentially we can structure, whatever it is the client requires and whatever it is that the project cash flows can support.
Read More
If somebody is looking at getting an equity stake in a project, that equity will then flow towards a project or transaction. We will then provide debt, but we can also take an equity stake in transactions, which then upon the meeting of certain milestones by the sponsors, then we can release our equity stake in their favour.
We have a minimum funding of R50-million, with a maximum of R1.3-billion per borrower.
We want to know:
On the high level, we want the project description, the rationale for the project, and what are you looking to solve in the market?
The project financing plan and the proposed sources of funding to meet those project costs.
A high-level market overview, including consultants and advisors – this is important to understand who the sponsor is and who the jockey is. The consents and licenses that are required and obtained indicative project timelines.
To underpin this, we would want to see your financial model that speaks to how the costs will be dispersed over the project cycle, how revenues are going to be facilitated and ultimately how our facility is going to be serviced.
Every project is different and nuanced and we reserve the right to request additional information on top of this.
We never fund 100% of a project. We need projects that have partial sponsorship and we need to know what experience is being brought to the table, should we need to partner with other experienced bodies to mitigate the risk.
We do not look at funding salaries or monthly running costs. We can look at funding assets, things that are tangible. In terms of health tech we can look at platforms – tele-medicine, patient e-filing, from an IT perspective there is flexibility.
Think you have what it takes? Get in touch…
Industrial Development Corporation
Who we are:
The IDC was established in 1940 to provide funding to the private sector. We are government owned with a core mandate to drive industrial development in the country. We have a broad sectoral mandate starting from investment in mining, agricultural – our primary sectors – and linking that to the manufacturing sector where we do a lot of our transactions.
What we do:
We provide debt funding for working capital, assets that companies require for their manufacturing, while in certain circumstances we will look at taking equity position in certain companies, but these are generally strategic where there is potential for high development impact in a specific company or an emerging technology.
We provide funding across a number of sectors, including Agro-Processing and Agriculture,
Chemical Products and Pharmaceuticals and basic and speciality chemicals.
We have a national footprint with offices in all the major cities. Through our regional offices we will provide funding to small business up to a maximum of R15 million, with a minimum of 1 million. For larger amounts, we refer to our national office, with various levels of approvals needed to secure larger loans beyond 15 million. Here funding for start-ups is a maximum of R1 billion.
Read More
The point of entry for smaller amounts would be the regional office.
Enquiries are assessed and if it is within our mandate, it is referred to one of our deal makers who will get in touch within 24 hours.
The criteria
This depends on the type of funding required.
The company must:
Be established in South Africa or an international based in South Africa
Have a business plan in place
The jockey must have a background linked to the project needing funding
The project must be economically viable and sustainable
Have all relevant industry approvals in place
Have evidence of market traction
Have the technical specifications and skills in place to develop on the project
What we are looking for:
Opportunities in the manufacturing sector are of interest to us, but where we won’t get involved is when the technology is still in the development phase.
Where we are interested is when the product is ready for commercialization. We will then assist in helping take the company through the next steps.
Would you like to know more?
Visit our website or call 021 421 4794 / 082 473 8817
MediCoop
Who we are:
MediCoop is a medical co-operative financial institution, governed and regulated by the Prudential Authority of the South African Reserve Bank, owned and controlled by medical professionals based on co-operative principles, providing tailored financing products and financial services to health professionals and businesses in the health sector in South Africa
We provide affordable and efficient finance provisioning to health care professionals and health related businesses. Financing products include Equipment Rental Finance, Vehicle Rental Finance, Practice Finance (establishment and buy-in), Investment and Saving products and Financial Services (Medical Malpractice Insurance, short term, life and group insurance, Practice Management and Audit and Accounting services).
Read More
How we work:
MediCoop is owned by its members though membership shares and may in terms of its constitution only transact and provide services and products to its members. In line with the MediCoop Constitution, a prospective member is required to purchase a minimum of 1,000 shares (R1per share) and pay a R200 once off joining fee to qualify for membership. Membership and finance application can be done interactively on our website at www.medi.coop
MediCoop is fully committed to the medical and health sector in South Africa and to serve its members (clients) with the required financing products to modernise and equip practices and businesses, assist with project development, providing financial services and investment opportunities and establishing a financial institution owned and controlled by the sector itself.
One Bio
Who are we?
An entrepreneurial partnership that builds sustainable biotech companies, stimulates economic growth and provides investment returns.
With the potential to make investments up to R16 million, the bigger the cheque size the bigger percentage of the business we’ll hold, until such time as a funding team is onboarded whereby, we’ll dilute our shares in the startup.
What we want?
Bio tech means different things to different people, but for us, biology needs to be at the core of your business.
An over-arching theme we look for is where data and biology meet – the ability for data to be recycled to support and improve other projects is a big draw card for us.
Read More
Our funding application process is simply and informal, we request that you drop us an email explaining a bit about yourself and your startup along with a pitch deck. We’ll take a look to see if it matches our mandate – if it’s of interest to us we’ll set up a phone call and, should that go well, we’ll request a face to face meeting.
We want to know?
Do you truly understand the problem you’re solving?
Why is your solution the best?
A common mistake entrepreneur’s make is that they pitch us an idea that is already in existence overseas – that’s the beginning of an SMME not a start-up. It’s very hard to compete with medical technology already existing in places like the United Kingdom and Israel.
We want to know why your geographic location and resources here in South Africa are advantageous to your solution? And does your startup have a global competitive edge.
Think you have what it takes? Get in touch…
General | infor@onebio.africa
Co-Founder Michael Fichardt | mike@onebio.africa
Co-Founder Nick Walker | nick@onebio.africa
Savant
Who we are:
Savant is a commercially-focused hardware technology incubator that provides bespoke business development support. Savant partners with highly skilled science and technology inventors for their start-up growth journey.
The Savant Venture Fund focuses on investing in early-stage technology companies with protectable technologies and sustainable competitive advantages. The Fund recently completed its first close with SA SME Fund of R110 million. It is the logical next step for Savant Technology Incubator and will invest in stage 4 (Venture & Grow) of the proprietary 5-stage technology commercialisation model.
The Savant Technology Incubator de-risks hardware technology development and ensures that the start-ups that house these ground-breaking innovations are commercially driven and investable.
Read More
How it works:
We have three three funding mechanisms.
The first is the tier seed fund that’s administrative by the incubator. The second is what we call our incubator facility, which is part of the fund, but it’s designed to to get very early stage businesses ready for venture capital funding. This would be a small amount of money just to get them across the line.
Finally, we have the main fund, which is up to 15 million.
The first thing we do is assess the Savant-fit. Is it hardware technology, is it innovative, does it have a sustainable competitive advantage and is it focused on this particular project? We then decide what funds it is most suited to in terms of its stage and outcomes and if it does fit into the Savant criteria, we put it into our internal scoring process and based on whether they meet our hurdle, they get accepted or not.
What we are looking for:
Our mandate is focused of hardware technology, science and engineering based innovation. So, we don’t look at funding apps, or web-based / digital products.
We don’t like to invest in things that cannot be scaled. There needs to be a path to commercialisation. So if it’s fintech or health tech-related, but is only an app, we won’t fund that. If it’s an app that runs on a unique machine or something else that has been designed – not on a phone – we will look at it.
We want the innovator to be involved in the business. We want the jockey, we don’t want this to be a side hustle.
We specifically work with South African developed innovations. We are not interested in a business that is licensing technology from Australia and commercialising it here.
It needs to be locally developed IP.
Think you have what it takes?
Visit our website https://www.savant.co.za or contact us at info@savant.co.za
SEDA
Who we are:
SEDA assists SMMEs with various types of interventions in order for them to grow and become sustainable. We do not provide finance. These interventions are dependent on the needs of the particular business and range from helping with an e-commerce website to product testing or IT systems. We will do an assessment and consider the right intervention for each respective business. We will then facilitate with the relevant service provider.
We are mandated to implement government’s small business strategy; design and implement a standard and common national delivery network for small enterprise development; and integrate government-funded small enterprise support agencies across all tiers of government.
Our mission is to develop, support and promote small enterprises throughout the country, ensuring their growth and sustainability in co–ordination and partnership with various role players, including global partners, who make international best practices available to local entrepreneurs.
Read More
How it works:
In order to become a client, you would need to register with SEDA and will be provided with a business adviisor.
We will then consult with the SMME, run various assessments, consider what is needed, and motivate based on those needs. Our interventions are done through external service providers and we facilitate between the client and the service provider. Running on a three-quote system, we will contribute towards payment on the lowest quote (the amount being dependent on what the business qualified for), with the client paying the difference.
Payment is made once the client is happy with the resultant work.
We work on one intervention at a time, but can do as many as five during a three-year period.
Who can apply?
SEDA is not a membership organisation, but those looking to apply for assistance must be operational as SEDA needs to motivate why the business needs assistance.
Want to know more?
Visit out website http://www.seda.org.za or contact us at info@sed.org.za / 0860 663 7867
Endeavour SA
Who we are:
Endeavor South Africa is part of Endeavor Global, a global non-profit present in 35 markets, that focuses on supporting high impact entrepreneurs n emerging markets. Endeavor’s mission is to catalyze job creation, innovation and economic prosperity by supporting high-impact entrepreneurs and providing them with expertise and market access through a vast network of global mentors.
Endeavor South Africa was set up in 2004. We focus on a rigorous program of selecting what we see as the most high-potential and high-impact entrepreneurs coming out of South Africa. They go through a rigorous local selection before moving onto an international selection process. This process can take up to 18 months.
Read More
The rewards are significant with successful candidates become part of the global Endeavor network, which provides them, as entrepreneurs, access to some of the most incredible entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, leading business people from almost every single market around the world.
Globally, Endeavor is currently chaired by Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn, and in South Africa it’s led by Alison Collier, and an incredible board, consisting of some of the country’s most celebrated business people including Chairman of the Board, Herman Bosman, CEO of RMB and RMI
Endeavor Entrepreneurs include CEOs from Clickatell, SweepSouth, Hello Paisa, Wyzetalk, GuidePost, Aerobotics, Go1. MFS Africa and Skynamo.
What we do
Endeavor is not a venture capital funder.
We provide an exclusive program for our high impact entrepreneurs. Once you are in, we help support and mentor you along your journey with capital advisory, mentoring, coaching and finding the best capital partners.
Endeavor high impact entrepreneurs are defined as: fast growing companies, with the biggest ideas, and the ambition to scale.
Alongside Endeavour, we have set up a local fund called Endeavor Harvest Fund that invests into Endeavor entrepreneurs. So those interested in receiving support would need to go through the process.
This is a rules based fund. Once you are an Endeavor entrepreneur we do no further due diligence on you, but we will come into a deal as a minority investor in that deal – up to 15% of that of that transaction, with a minimum of R5 million to a maximum of R10 million per round.
We don’t negotiate deal terms and come on board on the same – or substantially the same – terms as the lead investor.
We are very open to investing into the medical space and supporting health and wellness related companies as well.
The Endeavor Local Scale-Up programme does bring you into the system and gives you access to local mentoring and local support. We will invest in local Endeavor entrepreneurs that haven’t passed the Endeavor Global selection panel if we can see they are making some sort of global traction.
What the process entails
Our assessment will look at the following:
Do you have a credible lead investor with a good track record and reputation and is supportive to Endeavour’s mission of supporting entrepreneurs
Do you have the potential to become an Endeavor entrepreneur and are you the type of person that will give back to the community
Do you have the potential to be a top player in the South African market and/or are you going to be a player in the global market
We only look at high impact, high growth opportunity businesses that have the ability to win in their space
We also take a lot of pride in the jobs that have been created by Endeavor entrepreneurs is significant, with around 6 500 new jobs created in the last couple of years.
All Endeavor entrepreneurs enter into the programme with the ethos of ‘pay it forward’ to support and re-invest back into up-and-coming entrepreneurs.
Why join?
The power of the Endeavor network is a global investor in emerging markets.
To date, there are over 3000 active mentors around the world, including some of the most accomplished business people and entrepreneurs in the world.
Endeavor gives access to talent, markets and capital.
We have our own local funds, but entrepreneurs raising rounds of $5 million and above automatically get access to the global fund, which invests between $1 million and $2 million on a regular basis.
How to apply
If you are interested in applying for the scale-up programme, email Jacqui Gogele at jacqui.gogele@endeavor.co.za
For Capital & mentoring programme enquiries, contact Antonia Bothner at antonia.bothner@endeavor.co.za
For any other angel and VC funding opportunities in health & wellness space, please contact Marc Herson at marc@endeavor.co.za
Visit the website: www.endeavor.co.za for more information on Endeavor SA and what it takes to become an Endeavor entrepreneur.
The rewards are significant with successful candidates become part of the global Endeavor network, which provides them, as entrepreneurs, access to some of the most incredible entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, leading business people from almost every single market around the world.
Globally, Endeavor is currently chaired by Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn, and in South Africa it’s led by Alison Collier, and an incredible board, consisting of some of the country’s most celebrated business people including Chairman of the Board, Herman Bosman, CEO of RMB and RMI
Endeavor Entrepreneurs include CEOs from Clickatell, SweepSouth, Hello Paisa, Wyzetalk, GuidePost, Aerobotics, Go1. MFS Africa and Skynamo.
What we do
Endeavor is not a venture capital funder.
We provide an exclusive program for our high impact entrepreneurs. Once you are in, we help support and mentor you along your journey with capital advisory, mentoring, coaching and finding the best capital partners.
Endeavor high impact entrepreneurs are defined as: fast growing companies, with the biggest ideas, and the ambition to scale.
Alongside Endeavour, we have set up a local fund called Endeavor Harvest Fund that invests into Endeavor entrepreneurs. So those interested in receiving support would need to go through the process.
This is a rules based fund. Once you are an Endeavor entrepreneur we do no further due diligence on you, but we will come into a deal as a minority investor in that deal – up to 15% of that of that transaction, with a minimum of R5 million to a maximum of R10 million per round.
We don’t negotiate deal terms and come on board on the same – or substantially the same – terms as the lead investor.
We are very open to investing into the medical space and supporting health and wellness related companies as well.
The Endeavor Local Scale-Up programme does bring you into the system and gives you access to local mentoring and local support. We will invest in local Endeavor entrepreneurs that haven’t passed the Endeavor Global selection panel if we can see they are making some sort of global traction.
What the process entails
Our assessment will look at the following:
Do you have a credible lead investor with a good track record and reputation and is supportive to Endeavour’s mission of supporting entrepreneurs
Do you have the potential to become an Endeavor entrepreneur and are you the type of person that will give back to the community
Do you have the potential to be a top player in the South African market and/or are you going to be a player in the global market
We only look at high impact, high growth opportunity businesses that have the ability to win in their space
We also take a lot of pride in the jobs that have been created by Endeavor entrepreneurs is significant, with around 6 500 new jobs created in the last couple of years.
All Endeavor entrepreneurs enter into the programme with the ethos of ‘pay it forward’ to support and re-invest back into up-and-coming entrepreneurs.
Why join?
The power of the Endeavor network is a global investor in emerging markets.
To date, there are over 3000 active mentors around the world, including some of the most accomplished business people and entrepreneurs in the world.
Endeavor gives access to talent, markets and capital.
We have our own local funds, but entrepreneurs raising rounds of $5 million and above automatically get access to the global fund, which invests between $1 million and $2 million on a regular basis.
How to apply
If you are interested in applying for the scale-up programme, email Jacqui Gogele at jacqui.gogele@endeavor.co.za
For Capital & mentoring programme enquiries, contact Antonia Bothner at antonia.bothner@endeavor.co.za
For any other angel and VC funding opportunities in health & wellness space, please contact Marc Herson at marc@endeavor.co.za
Visit the website: www.endeavor.co.za for more information on Endeavor SA and what it takes to become an Endeavor entrepreneur.