Knife Capital launches fourth edition of Grindstone Accelerator programme

Cape Town based venture capital firm Knife Capital has launched the fourth edition of its Grindstone Accelerator programme in partnership with Johannesburg-based management consultancy Thinkroom.

Applications for the year-long programme – which aims to assist high-growth South Africa tech startups to become more “investable, sustainable and exit ready” – close 31 August.

The programme’s selection process kicks off next month with an interactive Exit Readiness Workshop aimed at providing tangible information to 50 small businesses and unpacking some of Knife Capital’s exit case studies.

Only 10 companies will be selected to join the year-long Grindstone Accelerator programme

Thereafter, twenty companies will then be shortlisted for Grindstone’s early stage “Find-Make-Grow-Realise” investment course and gap analysis bootcamp which will culminate in 10 companies being selected as participants of the final stage of the programme.

Over the course of the programme, 10 selected businesses will undergo intensive review of their strategies and be provided with executive coaching, skills transfer and access to relevant business networks. In addition, the programme will also serve as a potential deal pipeline for Knife Capital’s Sars Section 12J Venture Capital Company: KNF Ventures.

In a statement today Knife Capital partner Andrea Böhmert said the Grindstone accelerator programme set out to prove that growth can be engineered on a “significant and sustainable scale” by offering the right guidance and support to coach-able entrepreneurs.

Table depicting the performance of Grindstone’s previous three cohorts (Supplied)

“The fact that so many of our Grindstone companies have experienced growth, investment and or exits clearly demonstrates that it is possible. The team is excited about taking everything that we’ve learnt into the next Grindstone programme starting in August,” said Böhmert.

Alumni of the programme include ticketing solutions provider Quicket, tax solutions company TaxTim, mobility startup WhereIsMyTransport, marketing agency Mpull, augmented reality, animation and gaming company SeaMonster and Custos, a blockchain startup taking on digital piracy.

In the same statement Knife Capital co-founder Keet Van Zyl said the accelerator programme was created by compressing the VC firm’s venture capital engagement model of aggressively growing a company for three to five years into an intense year-long programme.