GrowthAfrica and its principals have two decades of experience as investors in Africa and have themselves been on the receiving end of the investor-entrepreneurship continuum. We are therefore well-equipped to deliver a balanced service for investors sensitive of their role in the wider ecosystem and the impact their investments make across the continent.

We are able to engage investors at a number of levels including:

• Deal origination
• Diligence – partly/full or local coordination
• Deal structuring and pre-investment facilitation
• Technical assistance – pre- & post-investment
• Portfolio management/assistance

We naturally also work with investors for a more direct involvement in our accelerator and scaleup programmes, offering them a unique and affordable access to potential pipeline, knowledge of local entrepreneurial challenges and a gateway to the wider ecosystems. We can engage investors at various levels and are always especially interested in investors who are willing to share the financial burden of strengthening the quality of the pipeline – against, of course, a privileged access to these startups and scaleups, and the insights our programmes provide.

Deal origination
Over the past 4 years we have sparked the interest of more than 2000 businesses – startups and early stage, but also copious growth enterprises and mature businesses. Our database includes an incredible degree of variation in terms of size, maturity and industry; and we have a nag of finding the well-hidden entrepreneurial talent – not all of which is appropriate for the services we deliver, but who might be the ideal candidate for an investor.

Diligence
Our work with institutional funds and business angles over the years has sharpened our senses in terms of identifying issues and aspects that may become distractions or potential disagreements in the future. From identifying simple inconsistencies in data and information to more substantial discrepancies in fundamental assumptions or belief-systems, we dig deep and leave nothing unturned – we know going down an unsustainable path, or a path riddled with pitfalls, is not in the interest of you, nor the entrepreneur.

Deal structuring and pre-investment facilitation
Advice on what is acceptable and effective in the market vis-à-vis structuring of investment deals, and how to package this to local entrepreneurs so it becomes acceptable is second nature to GrowthAfrica. But even then the deal isn’t sealed and getting from an apparent agreement to signature and disbursement is another area that we have a great deal of regional experience in – from closing multimillion dollar deals to ensuring that smaller deals do not end up procrastinating and draining limited resources unnecessarily.

Technical assistance
Making young companies investment ready, putting in place the necessary control and reporting systems and discipline is at the core of our programmes, so it is no stretch for us at an individual basis. We are conscious of, and understand the need for, these precautions and can communicate and implement these without the founders feeling mistrusted.

We also know how to build on their strengths and make them rally around the successful implementation of the plans that you as an investor are funding. The support we offer stretch from basic mentorship and leadership coaching to specific technical aspects across the organisation.

Portfolio management
As an extension of how we engage our own alumni and investees, we extend the same level of service to investors and their portfolio companies on an individual basis. Fellowshipping with other entrepreneurs and access a steady flow of events designed to inspire, challenge and upskill is at the core of this offering, as is rigorous data collection, processing and reporting.