South Africa: Michael Jordaan-backed Hlayisani Growth Fund announces first close
Hlayisani Growth Fund (HGF) has announced its first close at R350 million (about $23.9 million) to invest into high-growth, high-impact businesses. The funding round was led by Standard Bank and prominent South African family offices.
Focused on the SME ecosystem, the HGF tackles the existing SME funding gap between early-stage venture capital and more traditional private equity in South Africa. The fund offers strategic support and capital to high-growth, highly scalable SMEs with a proven track record, and specialises in growing these SMEs into large, successful enterprises that operate across multiple territories, create jobs and generate export revenue domestically.
Investments are chosen for their sustainable growth and above-average returns potential, as well as their strong focus on delivering a positive socio-economic impact. R200 million (about $13.6 million) has already been invested in seven businesses that are expanding globally and operating on six continents. The portfolio of companies includes Snapplify, Gometro, Wyzetalk, LEAP, Opennetworks, Sudonum and Ikeja.
The HGF is the first fund offered by Hlayisani Capital, an investment manager founded by a team of venture capitalists, private equity investors and entrepreneurs that include Dr Reuel Khoza and Michael Jordaan, who serves as investment committee chairperson.
“Collectively, our team has extensive experience and expertise as investors and operators. We believe this will unlock value for both our entrepreneurs and investors,” says Jordaan. ”We believe in investing into future-proof, agile businesses and our portfolio has proven its resilience over the recent Covid-19 pandemic, with portfolio companies continuing to grow despite an extremely challenging environment.”
“Finding growth in the current global economic climate is challenging, and not backing SMEs with the right investment is a missed opportunity. The Hlayisani Growth Fund offers investors a unique opportunity to gain exposure to the exciting entrepreneurial talent of Southern Africa. The fund provides much needed strategic capital to a fragmented and underserviced regional SME ecosystem. Investment into the right SMEs unlocks significant investment value opportunity in globally exportable technology businesses,” concludes partner in Hlayisani, Dr Eugene van Rensburg.
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