This is very good news for the South African startup space. 4Di Capital, the Cape Town-based venture capital firm has raised R256-million for its new fund, aimed at early and growth-stage startups.
According to an official blog posted on the company’s website, the bulk of the money for the fund comes from MMI Holdings’s recently launched Exponential division. Headed by company veteran Jaco Oosthuizen, the division’s aim is to hunt out innovative entrepreneurs. To date, it’s primary focus has been on potentially disruptive innovation opportunities around financial wellness globally and domestically in South Africa.
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In the line with that, the new 4Di fund will primarily focus on scalable technology opportunities in the FinTech, InsurTech and HealthTech verticals, particularly those with ambitions to reach international markets.
“We are very pleased to welcome MMI Holdings to our stable of highly regarded investors. The depth and breadth of the venture market has grown substantially in South Africa since we first launched The Silicon Cape Initiative in 2009, and there is more opportunity than ever before, to partner with great local talent and participate in this rapidly growing industry on a global scale,” said Justin Stanford, co-founding General Partner of 4Di Capital.
“It is very good to see innovation-minded corporates in South Africa beginning to acknowledge the benefits of having a stake in the venture sector, as is common in the U.S., and we’ve been impressed by the constructive and enlightened engagement we’ve had with MMI management. We look forward to working together with them to leverage their strengths as well for our future portfolio companies’ benefit,” Stanford said.
If MMI’s form since launching its Exponential division in March this year is anything to go by, it’s unlikely that it’ll be long before the new 4Di fund makes an investment. In March, it invested in tax assistance startup TaxTim, before announcing a partnership with advisory firm Anthemis Group earlier this month. That fund, which is open to other investors, will see it pump millions of Euros into financial wellness startups around the globe.
In partnering with 4Di Capital, MMI cited the firm’s extensive track record. Since launching in 2009, the firm has been involved in a number of high-profile investments including seed accelerator 88mph, HealthQ, BetTech, and Motribe.
“4Di Capital has a proven track record and has garnered significant respect from the tech startup community in South Africa. We look forward to working together with them and the entrepreneurs that we ultimately invest in through the Fund. Our philosophy is strongly win-win and a key aim of Exponential Ventures is to foster a productive environment of collaboration and learning that drives progress and competitiveness for both the startups concerned and MMI,” said Jonathan Stewart, Managing Partner, Africa Investments at Exponential Ventures.
“We look forward to making a tangible difference to the tech startup community and to SA as we align behind our ultimate goal, namely to leverage powerful new technologies and business models to bring about an exponential leap towards universal financial wellness,” Stewart said.
