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South Africa-based Grindstone Ventures has announced the launch of a R500 million ($30.92 million) venture fund to invest in high-growth, technology-enabled African businesses from Seed through Series A, targeting the transition from early commercial validation to institutional scale.
Led by Thandiwe Maqetuka, Grindstone Ventures brings together her venture investment experience with the networks and expertise of Knife Capital and Thinkroom, which have partnered with her to establish the female-led, black-empowered fund manager.
“The evolution from Seed to Series A remains one of the clearest gaps in the African venture ecosystem,” said Keet van Zyl, co-founder of Knife Capital. “The lessons from Grindstone Ventures Fund I have shown us exactly where that gap bites, and this fund gives us the opportunity to close it.”
The fund is targeting a first close of R150 million ($9.28 million) and intends to build a portfolio of 15 to 20 businesses, primarily in South Africa and selectively elsewhere on the continent.
“Some of Africa’s most promising businesses are getting caught in the space between proving that something works and having the scale required to attract larger pools of institutional capital,” says Thandiwe Maqetuka, managing partner of Grindstone Ventures.
“That is Africa’s missing middle. Our opportunity is not simply to provide more capital, but to identify exceptional businesses earlier, invest at a point where capital remains scarce, take meaningful ownership positions and work actively with founders to build companies capable of scaling, attracting institutional capital and ultimately delivering realisable returns,” she adds.
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