South African VC firm has revised the size of its second fund to US$100 million from US$30 million after receiving a major commitment.
Disrupt Africa reported in February on the launch of Kingson Fund Two, a high-growth tech and black-owned SME Fund, by Kingson Capital, a Section 12 J VC firm founded in 2015.
Initially launched at US$30 million, the fund has now been revised to US$100 million as a result of committed capital from international investors. The US-based digital investment platform Stat Zero has committed a multi million dollar investment in a bid to help South Africa become a global hub for tech innovation.
“We are committed to bringing together innovation and emerging technology, with impact, to enact global change. Our investment into Kingson’s Fund Two reinforces this mission to evoke change for the better on a significant scale, which will help increase South Africa’s GDP by enabling global market access to Silicon Valley, California and US markets and capital to grow and scale SMMEs in South Africa,” said Marquis Cabrera, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Stat Zero.
Gavin Reardon, founder and managing partner at Kingson, said the company was excited to contribute to the growth of VC in South Africa, where he believes there is a tremendous opportunity for tech companies to provide solutions that are scalable into the rest of Africa and developed markets.
“Venture capital in South Africa is critical in helping to create an entrepreneurial nation. We view our role as enablers to help connect talented founders and startup teams into the global VC ecosystem. For local investors, this is also an opportunity to invest with international investors and participate in an alternative asset class with potentially out-sized returns,” he said.
“This is an exciting time for us as we look to identify, invest and help accelerate the most promising high-growth tech companies. South Africans are entrepreneurial by nature, and what we are looking to do with this fund is back these companies that can scale into other markets.”
In addition, Kingson earlier this year secured a US$10 million loan portfolio guarantee facility from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The guarantee is a risk sharing facility on debt issued by Kingson, which is supported by the United States Treasury.
