Home
FacebookSearchMenu
  • Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • News
  • Features
  • Knowledge Library
  • Columns
  • Customs
  • Jobs
  • Directory
  • FX Rates
  • Categories
    • Categories
    • Africa
    • Air Freight
    • BEE
    • Border Beat
    • COVID-19
    • Crime
    • Customs
    • Domestic
    • Duty Calls
    • Economy
    • Employment
    • Energy/Fuel
    • Events
    • Freight & Trading Weekly
    • Imports and Exports
    • Infrastructure
    • International
    • Logistics
    • Other
    • People
    • Road/Rail Freight
    • Sea Freight
    • Skills & Training
    • Social Development
    • Sustainability
    • Technology
    • Trade/Investment
    • Webinars
  • Contact us
    • Contact us
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Send us news
    • Editorial Guidelines
Technology
Economy
Domestic

SME Fund and gov’s tech partner to invest in three venture capital funds

16 Sep 2019 - by Staff reporter
0 Comments

Share

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • E-mail
  • Print

The SA SME Fund and the government’s Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) announced a first of its kind partnership in the national system of innovation - a public-private partnership to co-invest R350 million across three venture capital funds, the two entities said in a joint statement on Sunday.

The funds are: OneBio Seed Investment Fund, a biotechnology dedicated fund; Savant Venture Fund, a hardware technology incubator and fund manager (in which two deals have already been pre-funded by TIA’s Seed Fund); and the newly established University Technology Fund (UTF), the statement said.

These fund managers would invest in a portfolio of early stage businesses and provide capital, as well as other support, to entrepreneurs to help them commercialise technologies and grow their businesses. The SA SME Fund’s mandate to the three fund managers included a requirement that they invest at least 50 percent of the fund into businesses owned by black entrepreneurs.

The parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the Innovation Summit in Cape Town on Friday, the statement said.

“We are hugely excited and energised by this partnership to support and invest in innovation, especially in black-owned start-ups and scale-ups in this space. This forms part of our commitment to support government, together with TIA, in stimulating and intensifying technological innovation to improve economic growth, create jobs, and impact on the quality of life of all South Africans,” SA SME Fund CEO Ketso Gordhan said. 

Reaffirming the fund managers’ combined focus on bio-innovation and technology, Gordhan said, “We foresee that the intersection of biology and technology will be a critical component in positioning countries, communities, industries, and people to harness the opportunities of the future and we see these funds as a key to unlocking those opportunities.”

“This new investment partnership is the result of the synergies and commitment that exist between government and the private sector," TIA interim CEO Fuzlin Levy-Hassen said.

"We are aligned in our vision of turning bright young minds into viable and sustainable business founders whose successes will create jobs and drive economic growth. The sophistication and creativity already evident in these businesses should make us proud as a country, and encourage us to further support innovation,” Levy-Hassen said.

The current value of the fund commitments were R83.5 million to the OneBio Seed Investment Fund, R111.5 million to Savant Venture Fund, and an anticipated commitment of R152.5 million into the University Technology Fund (UTF) (for which the SA SME Fund anticipated receiving formal approval by the end of September).

The SA SME Fund and TIA also signed the legal agreements for the OneBio Seed Investment Fund, officially launching the only biotech dedicated investment fund in South Africa.

Michael Fichardt, co-founder of OneBio, said, “We are thrilled to be partnering with the SA SME Fund and TIA in launching this biotech investment fund. The fund will provide investment capital to seed early stage start-up companies. It will help to develop the country’s emerging biotech ecosystem and place South Africa at the front of this new age where we will see engineered biology disrupt many of the globe’s traditional industries.” 

Sign up to our mailing list and get daily news headlines and weekly features directly to your inbox free.
Subscribe to receive print copies of Freight News Features to your door.

Cabotage restrictions: Merchant Shipping Bill’s threat exposed

Imports and Exports
Logistics
26 Jun 2025
0 Comments

Chicken farmers warn of US poultry import risk

Imports and Exports

The sector has urged the government to reverse a decision allowing the US to control its own export bans.

26 Jun 2025
0 Comments

OPINION: SA’s energy future depends on speed, scale and grid connectivity

Economy
Technology

The June update builds on earlier projections from July 2024, incorporating substantial changes following November's draft Integrated Resource Plan.

26 Jun 2025
0 Comments

Mental health claims the most seafarers – survey

Sea Freight

Mental health challenges among seafarers have long been described as a silent epidemic.

26 Jun 2025
0 Comments

IMO campaign targets bullying aboard ships

Sea Freight

Maritime industry marks Day of the Seafarer, with focus on dignity and safety on every vessel.

26 Jun 2025
0 Comments

Hormuz tension triggers surge in war-risk insurance premiums

Logistics
Other
25 Jun 2025
0 Comments

Lobito Corridor construction steaming ahead

Imports and Exports
Infrastructure
Logistics

The corridor is designed to facilitate the export of copper and agricultural products through Angola.

25 Jun 2025
0 Comments

Grindrod reports slip in interim volumes for year to date

Logistics

The company reaffirmed its commitment to improving throughput across its network.

25 Jun 2025
0 Comments

MSC's $23 billion terminals take-over deal under threat

Logistics

Together with BlackRock, the line submitted a joint bid worth $22.8 billion in March.

25 Jun 2025
0 Comments

Infrastructure alone not the only trade shortcoming – corridor specialist

Infrastructure
Logistics

PPP disconnects is one of the issues highlighted by the IMD’s report.

25 Jun 2025
0 Comments

Rail prospects beginning to look up

Road/Rail Freight

The road freight sector saw a sharp contraction in 2024, with an 8.3% drop in payload volumes.

25 Jun 2025
0 Comments

Forum tightens net against border corruption

Border Beat
Crime

Recommendations have been made to revoke all ‘irregularly awarded’ visas and to deport people involved – SIU.

25 Jun 2025
0 Comments
  • More

FeatureClick to view

Road & Rail 27 June 2025

Border Beat

Forum tightens net against border corruption
25 Jun 2025
Police clamp down on cross-border crime
17 Jun 2025
Zim's anti-smuggling measures delay legitimate freight operations
06 Jun 2025
More

Poll

Has South Africa's ports turned the corner?

Featured Jobs

New

Road Logistics Pricing Specialist

Tiger Recruitment
East Rand
02 Jul
New

Operations Manager

Lee Botti & Associates
Cape Town
02 Jul
More Jobs
  • © Now Media
  • Privacy Policy
  • Freight News RSS
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Send us news
  • Contact us