The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), in partnership with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has recently introduced develoPPP Ventures funding for South African startups.
The develoPPP Ventures programme is designed for the growth phase of the innovative SGBs, which should have a definite and measurable social or environmental impact, along with good potential for generating reasonable returns.
The financing takes place at the latest within the context of regular calls, where startups can obtain grants of up to €100,000 (US$ 110,000) for a growth investment for an iteration with development relevance for the business model.
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develoPPP Ventures financing seeks to provide these companies with funds to propel them to the level that makes them interesting to substantive commercial investors or institutions. The SGB must be incorporated in South Africa, must already have a product or service in the market and be able to demonstrate first revenue by submitting at least one set of annual accounts.
Apart from funding, other assistance is to be extended to the selected companies depending on their requirements so that they can stand the best shot at success. VC4A, an organization specializing in startup ecosystems worldwide, and Jozi Angels, an angel investor collective with a strong South African base, assisted GIZ with the creation of develoPPP Ventures in South Africa.
