Keet van Zyl

🔥 Speaker Spotlight: Werner Gerber🔥 Welcome, Werner Gerber, Group Head of Investment Solutions at Skybound Capital Group, to the Crypto Fest 2025 stage! 🎉 Werner brings deep expertise across private markets, alternative assets, and cross-border structuring, making him a powerful voice in South Africa’s evolving institutional crypto landscape. With more than a decade of experience in finance and investments, Werner leads innovative portfolio design for global institutional and high-net-worth clients at Skybound Capital. His strategic insight into regulatory frameworks and private markets makes this a can’t-miss conversation for financial professionals navigating the digital asset space. Werner will be joining the panel: "Navigating Institutional Crypto Adoption in South Africa: Challenges and Opportunities for Hedge Funds, Asset Managers, and Pension Funds" This session will explore the evolving landscape of institutional crypto adoption in South Africa, focusing on how hedge funds, asset managers, and pension funds are responding to the growing interest in digital assets within a still-developing regulatory framework. Key discussion points include: 🔹How institutional investors are cautiously entering the crypto space 🔹Regulatory constraints impacting adoption, including Regulation 28 and its effect on pension fund allocations 🔹Recent legal rulings clarifying the status of cryptocurrencies under South Africa’s exchange control laws 🔹Strategies for managing risk and compliance in the face of regulatory uncertainty 🔹The role of service providers in offering safe, compliant crypto exposure to institutional clients 🔹The future potential for mainstream institutional investment in crypto assets in South Africa and across Africa This session aims to provide financial institutions with actionable insights into responsibly engaging with crypto while navigating South Africa’s unique regulatory and investment environment. #CryptoFest2025 #InstitutionalCrypto #CryptoAdoption #SouthAfrica #BlockchainAfrica #DigitalAssets

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🤝 New Partnership Announcement | South Africa We’re excited to announce that Rise SA Business Solutions has signed a partnership agreement to promote and localise AccountingSuite, an AI-powered accounting platform, for the South African market 🇿🇦 This agreement marks another important step in Rise SA’s mission to bring advanced, globally proven business software to local companies — combining intelligent automation with deep regional expertise in accounting and compliance. Together with AccountingSuite, we aim to support South African businesses with modern, cloud-based financial tools designed for scalability, accuracy, and growth. 🔗 Read the full announcement: https://lnkd.in/d8VZC_NA #Partnership #AccountingSuite #RiseBusiness #SouthAfrica #AccountingSoftware #AIAccounting #DigitalTransformation #FinTech

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In South Africa, we have helped many venture capital funds secure easy access to early-stage startups that have dynamic founding teams and a pragmatic approach to disruptive innovation. Strategic investments and partnerships in relevant and tech-enabled business models helped to accelerate the digitalization of South Africa’s economy and bring immense growth. High-speed internet, advanced data centers, and reliable power supply are all essential for leveraging AIs full potential and advancing digital transformation. The regulatory authorities also must regulate digital platforms in line with the country’s level of maturity and development. South Africa’s inclusive economic growth agenda can be significantly supported by the digital economy, which expands access to opportunities, goods, and services for most of the population. Our innovative consulting services helped to deliver exceptional business results for our VC clients in South Africa. We can do the same for your organization if you allow us to help you scale your business to new horizons and beyond. Please get in touch with us today to get started. #business #finance #financialservices

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Good news! Australian company West Mits Mining has raised $14m to launch the first phase of its gold projects, Qala Shallow, in South Africa. 🚀 Mining natural resources is capital intensive and often requires strategically sourcing funds from different partners and stakeholders. Gold, in particular, is receiving more attention from not only Central Banks but investors from all over the world as the precious metal continues its historical value climb. Africa is home to substantial gold reserves 💰💰 seeking investment for sustainable extraction. Congratulations to West Wits Mining on the successful fundraising. #GoldRush #FutureOfMining #InvestSmart #CriticalMinerals #MininginAfrica #Fundraising

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South Africa’s 2026 National Budget presents a cautious but growth-oriented approach — with clear implications for business leaders and entrepreneurs. Our article breaks down: • Fiscal measures affecting cash flow and taxes • Infrastructure investments that could open market opportunities • Specific support aimed at small businesses and how to leverage it Read the full analysis and recommended next steps for businesses: https://wix.to/kgmtrzZ #SABudget2026 #BusinessStrategy #SME #Infrastructure #FundingConnection

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HAVAÍC secures second close for $50M (~R900M) Big moves in Venture Capital: 🇿🇦 Cape Town-based firm HAVAÍC has landed $25M in commitments for its third African Innovation Fund - backed by heavyweights like Sanlam Multi-Manager, Fireball Capital, and the SA SME Fund. The fund is laser-focused on post-revenue African startups with global ambitions, already investing in: 💸 SaPay – digitising payments in the SA taxi industry 📊 Sportable – bringing sports analytics to a global stage 🌍 NjiaPay & SwiftVee – expanding pan-African fintech + agri-tech reach This latest close strengthens a growing trend: South African institutional capital stepping up to back high-growth, homegrown innovation. 👉 With 22 startups scaling across 183 countries, HAVAÍC’s portfolio speaks for itself. 📈 Check out the press release: https://lnkd.in/dYSxkM2R #AfricanInnovation #VentureCapital #Startups #SouthAfrica #TechInvesting

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South African startup Flood is redefining digital commerce in emerging markets with its innovative “SuperApp-as-a-Service” platform. Designed to empower banks, telcos, and offline brick-and-mortar retailers, Flood bridges the gap between online and offline commerce by creating marketplaces tailored to large audience businesses. Unlike traditional e-commerce models, it focuses on SMEs and local retailers, making them discoverable and connected to broader digital platforms. Founded by serial entrepreneurs André de Wet 马上就做 and Shashank Jain, Flood provides a zero-code, SaaS-based, API-driven infrastructure that allows enterprises to scale marketplaces with ease. Its features include merchant onboarding, loyalty programs, in-store pickup, discovery tools, and real-time analytics, all designed to drive engagement and create value for both consumers and businesses. This unique approach ensures that SMEs, often overlooked in the digital space, gain visibility and access to new revenue streams. The platform has demonstrated remarkable traction, onboarding 8,000 merchants in just three months during one of its engagements and achieving daily usage rates of up to 28 percent of the population. Having raised US$2.5 million in a recent seed round, following a US$1 million raise in 2024, Flood is now set to accelerate its market expansion. The funding will fuel new partnerships with telcos and challenger banks while supporting the rapid onboarding of thousands more offline merchants. Currently active in South Africa, India, and the Maldives, Flood has bold plans to expand into Ghana, Mauritius, Panama, Puerto Rico, Turkey, and Tanzania. By monetizing through integration and transactional fees, Flood is not only creating sustainable revenue models but also pioneering a new way of thinking about digital commerce in emerging markets—one that goes beyond logistics to meet local realities. #DigitalCommerce #EmergingMarkets #Innovation #SuperApp #RetailTech #Fintech #SaaS #AfricanTech #MarketplaceSolutions

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Botswana entrepreneurs often get stuck applying for the same loans and miss hidden, high-impact funding options. Choosing the wrong investor isn’t just a delay—it can cost you real growth, key networks, and future scaling. Most overlook regionally connected angel and VC networks, or miss the importance of tailoring pitches for local SME units. Review your approach this week. #BotswanaBusiness #EntrepreneursInBotswana #InvestorsInBotswanaStartups #Lephutshi Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ewXW9Bdj

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Endeavor South Africa has closed its Harvest Fund III at R230 million ($13.6 million) to support high-growth tech companies. Backed by investors including FirstRand, Standard Bank, and the SA SME Fund, the vehicle co-invests in later-stage startups to help them scale for global expansion. Led by Alison Collier, the fund leverages Endeavor's global network to provide mentorship and strategic guidance. The initiative aims to strengthen South Africa's venture ecosystem by enabling successful exits and encouraging founders to reinvest their capital and experience. More at: https://lnkd.in/dZvG2FXC #VentureCapital #SouthAfrica #Tech

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HAVAÍC has hit a fresh milestone. The Cape Town based venture firm has secured over $30 million for its $50 million African Innovation Fund 3, following new backing from E Squared Investments, the impact investor established by Allan Gray. The move signals growing institutional confidence in African venture capital at a time when patient funding matters most. With support from E Squared, Fireball Capital, Universum Wealth, the SA SME Fund and Sanlam Multi Manager, HAVAÍC is backing revenue generating African tech startups ready to scale beyond borders. Under the leadership of Ian Lessem, the fund has already deployed about $10 million into companies such as SAPay, Entersekt, Sportable, Talk360, NjiaPay, SwiftVee, RNR App, RapidDeploy, hearX Group and AURA. From fintech and payments to security, health tech and digital marketplaces, these businesses are building practical solutions with global potential. Pyi M. of E Squared says the alignment is clear. The focus is on long term value creation, responsible scaling and real world outcomes. This is more than a fundraising update. It is a signal that African innovation is attracting serious capital and that local startups are being positioned to compete globally. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/d6hZgCde #AfricanVentureCapital #TechStartups #ImpactInvesting #AfricanInnovation #StartupEcosystem #VC #Entrepreneurship #AfricaBusiness

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🔍Scale and integration: The driving forces behind the dominance of rules-based investing The latest insights from the 2025 Nedgroup Investments Core Chartbook reveal that the top 10 global firms now hold 88% of rules-based assets, with that figure climbing to 90% in South Africa. Over the past decade, South Africa’s largest rules-based funds have grown from R30 billion to R164 billion, indicating that scale drives down costs and fosters efficiency. Discover how scale and integration are shaping the future of investing in the 2025 Core Chartbook. 📈Download now: https://ow.ly/8Rwt50XfobW #NedgroupInvestments #CoreRange #RulesBasedInvesting #Nedbank #PassiveInvesting #CoreInvesting #LongTermInvesting #InvestmentStrategy #FundManagement #FinancialPlanning

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The Shrinking Credit Market in 🇿🇦 , and the Rise of Transaction-Based Liquidity South Africa’s credit market isn’t expanding, it’s tightening. Since 2007, stricter lending, rising over-indebtedness, and declining SME creditworthiness have reduced the pool of “bankable” clients. Yet more banks and lenders continue competing for the same limited market. The result? Growth is being diluted, not created. Between Dec 2025 and Mar 2026 alone, over R12 billion in unpaid invoices has placed severe pressure on SMEs, delaying salaries, stalling projects, and eroding credit profiles even further. The problem isn’t risk. It’s timing. Traditional models assess balance sheets and credit scores. But SMEs don’t fail because of bad businesses, they fail because of delayed payments. At MOMULA, we’re redefining this model. By focusing on verified transactions, buyer-backed payments, and short-duration liquidity cycles, we transform invoices into bankable assets, unlocking a new, scalable asset class. This is not credit expansion. This is liquidity infrastructure. #MOMULA #Fintech #SME #TradeFinance #SouthAfrica #Liquidity

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Benchmark International Contributes to the Dialogue on Private Equity and Family-Owned Businesses   Great to see John Loubser speaking at the SAVCA Ignite conference yesterday in Century City.   SAVCA Ignite continues to serve as an important forum for South Africa’s private equity and venture capital community, bringing together fund managers, advisors, and business leaders to engage on the themes shaping investment performance and long-term value creation.   John’s session focused on performance and alignment in private equity, with particular relevance for family-owned and founder-led businesses considering institutional capital. His insights highlighted how alignment between shareholders, management teams, and capital partners is critical to execution discipline, governance, and sustainable value creation throughout the investment lifecycle.   A timely contribution to an important conversation, especially in a market where the success of private equity partnerships depends as much on alignment and trust as it does on capital.

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South Africa-based investment firm REdimension Capital has officially announced the final close of its REdimension Real Estate Technology and Sustainability Fund I, securing total commitments exceeding R250 million (approximately $14.1 million). The fund is focused on investing in early-stage proptech startups that are innovating at the intersection of property, technology, and sustainability. Click the link to read more: https://lnkd.in/eDh46-fZ #innovationvillage #redimension #funding #proptech #realestate #earlystage #startups #property #sustainability #innovation #technology #technews #techpreneur #techcompany

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Private equity is shifting gears. As rates turn and investor confidence improves, funds are deploying again, and South Africa is firmly back on the radar. But this isn’t a return to excess, it’s a shift toward smarter leverage, disciplined execution and sharper capital structuring. In the latest episode of No Ordinary Wednesday, Jeremy Maggs speaks to Rishanth Pillay, Head of Sponsor Leveraged Finance at Investec Corporate & Investment Banking, about what’s driving the renewed momentum – and what could derail it. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/dECz5z8m

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Secha Capital Impact Fund II reaches second close at $40 million, attracting new and existing investors including E Squared Investments, RMB Ventures, and SA SME Fund. https://bit.ly/48CJOOm

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