Funding and South Africa’s tech startups [Infographic]

South Africa’s funding scene is cagey. It’s really hard to find concrete information, but it’s no surprise really, considering all the non-disclosure agreements. Silicon Cape has been running a survey in an effort to unlock some funding information which it hopes will enlighten the country’s tech startup community.

The survey results were compiled into this infographic. While 60% of startups are self-funded, 41% are in search of funding. Funding is still a luxury available to a select few — about a quarter of the survey respondents have received funding from VCs, Angels and family.

Few investors are willing to invest amounts in excess of R50 000 (36%), but for those startups looking for large sums, Silicon Cape reckons that a pool of about R72-million will be available in the next 12 months.

Gauteng seems to offer more investment opportunity in total, but according to the survey, Cape Town remains the single most attractive city for tech startup funding.

We find the low investment in the eCommerce sector interesting, considering some of the success stories.

Finally, the survey seems to expose a drop in VC investment over the last four years, but it seems to parallel other emerging markets.