Endeavor South Africa
Dream Big. Scale Up. Pay it forward.
January 2021 Newsletter
Dear Friends of Endeavor,
Let’s get 2021 off to a flying start! We’d like to start 2021 by celebrating the impressive achievements of the Endeavor Entrepreneurs in 2020 — in one of the toughest trading years in recent history — and take the time to reflect on these to inspire us for the year ahead.
Endeavor literally skyrocketed in the 2020 Q4. Endeavor Italy Entrepreneur, Luca Rossettini, launched into orbit as D-Orbit deployed 12 SuperDove Earth-imaging CubeSats bearing the Endeavor logo into space. Other stellar news, Endeavor celebrated six new unicorns: Kavak, a used car platform, first Mexican unicorn; payments company dLocal first unicorn in Uruguay; Brazil’s VTEX raised $225M to reach a $1.7 billion valuation; AppHarvest, became Louisville’s first unicorn following a reverse merger with Novus Capital; Checkout.com which raised $450m round at a $15bn valuation, making it Europe’s top unicorn and the latest addition being Brazil’s MadeiraMadeira who raised $190M from SoftBank, Dynamo and others.
On the local front, we’ve successfully launched Endeavor SA Harvest Fund II. Similar to the Endeavor Global Catalyst Fund, it is a rules-based VC fund that invests alongside credible lead investors. We’ll invest in rounds of >R15m into SA Endeavor Entrepreneurs, providing growth capital, in turn driving revenue growth and job creation, with the carry being re-invested back into Endeavor SA. We are receiving positive traction with many of our Endeavor Entrepreneurs, Board Members and Mentors investing in this fund — thank you to those of you who’ve invested to date. The first close is planned for later this month, with a number of investments lined up for 2021 Q1. We cannot wait to start investing into our Endeavor SA portfolio, knowing that the success will be harvested straight back into the SA ecosystem. And the most exciting part? We’re only just getting started!
Endeavor SA is continuing to work with others in our local ecosystem to create a more enabling environment for SMEs, including drafting a national Start-Up Act, engaging the SARB to revise loop structures, being part of the Business for South Africa #Payin30 campaign and supporting various digital upskilling program for the country’s youth. Hats off to SA Endeavor Entrepreneurs Clickatell (Pieter de Villiers), Melvyn Lubega (Go1), Candice Roberts (CallForce), Kirsty Chadwick (TTRO), Ingrid Osborne & Julie Mathieson (Saryx), Mike Renzon & Trent Rossini (inQuba) who all have spearheaded projects in the SA community to drive digital upskilling of SA’s youth to combat unemployment.
All in all, SA Endeavor Entrepreneurs performed exceptionally well in a very difficult year, capitalising on the trend of accelerated digitisation and proving out the words of military general and tactician, Sun Tzu who said: ‘In midst of chaos there is always opportunity’.
Kind regards,
Alison Collier
Managing Director: Endeavor
Entersekt Partners with Cellulant to Deliver Safer Mobile Banking Solutions
Endeavor Entrepreneur, Entersekt, a leader in device identity and omnichannel authentication, has announced a partnership with fellow Endeavor Entrepreneur, Cellulant — one of Africa’s leading financial technology company. The partnership will further enhance Cellulant’s cybersecurity by proactively securing its digital banking channels and guarding against digital banking and payment fraud. Read more here.
CallForce Scoops Award for Outstanding Delivery by a Service Provider
Endeavor Entrepreneur, CallForce won the award for Outstanding Delivery by a Service Provider at the ISG Paragon Awards™ Asia Pacific. The company is also responsible for hiring +300 new staff since March 2020, more than 75% of which are black South African women.
Clickatell and GreatSoft Celebrate 20 Years
Congratulations to Endeavor Entrepreneurs, Clickatell and GreatSoft on their 20th anniversaries! Keep pioneering and continuing to be inspirations to others. Cheers to the next 20 years!
Clickatell Helps Make Covid-19 Testing Available for Frontline Healthcare Workers
Endeavor Entrepreneur, Clickatell has teamed up with the Independent Community Pharmacy Association (ICPA) to make free Covid-19 testing available for frontline healthcare workers in South Africa. Clickatell has donated 36,000 free SMSs to forward testing vouchers to healthcare workers who test positive. Read more here.
Go1 Launches Programme to Upskill 1 Million SA Youth
Endeavor Entrepreneur, Go1 has implemented a programme with Acting Director General of the Department of Communications, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, to upskill 1 million South African youth on data science and other 4IR skills to fight youth unemployment.
TTRO Launches Digital Learning Skills Development Programme with FirstRand Group
Endeavor Entrepreneur, The Training Room Online (TTRO) has launched Creation Station, a digital skills development initiative in Cape Town and Johannesburg, in conjunction with First Rand Group, with the aim of developing future talent for the financial services sector. Fifty unemployed graduates are participating in the programme.
Ozow Launches World-first Bank-to-Bank Payment Solution
Endeavor Entrepreneur, Ozow has developed Ozow PIN — the world’s first one-click bank-to-bank payment solution that allows you to make payments without having to remember your banking details. The company has also partnered with MTN Mobile Money (MoMo) to make it easier for consumers to load funds onto their mobile wallet without the need for a credit card. It’s no wonder then that Ozow scooped second place in the BCX Digital Innovation Awards in the SME category.
Merchant Capital Teams Up with Discovery to Help Healthcare Professionals
Endeavor Entrepreneur, Merchant Capital has partnered with Discovery Health to launch a working capital solution for South African healthcare professionals facing financial challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Merchant Capital Founder and CEO,Dov Girnun, has been appointed by GIBS Business School as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) for the MBA Entrepreneurship Focus programme.
SweepSouth Records 1 Millionth Booking
Endeavor Entrepreneur, SweepSouth, has recently recorded its 1 millionth booking on the platform — a major milestone given that 2020 was the most turbulent year in the company’s history. Additionally SweepSouth has partnered with international home sharing platform, AirBnb, to train hosts, cleaners and domestic workers in the latest cleaning protocols. SweepSouth’s online platform has also been upgraded to make booking a dedicated option for Airbnb hosts.
Sendmarc Launches Fund to Protect Healthcare Workers from Phishing Attacks
Endeavor Entrepreneur, Sendmarc, has established a R1-million fund — the Sendmarc Protect our Protectors programme — to help South Africa’s frontline responders protect their staff, patients and suppliers from phishing attacks amid the Covid-19 global pandemic. The company was also nominated for a BCX Award for Digital Innovation.
inQuba Works with YES4Youth Employment Programme to Tackle Youth Unemployment
Endeavor Entrepreneur, inQuba, has made large strides in the struggle against youth unemployment through its work with the YES4Youth employment programme. As a result of its efforts, inQuba was recently awarded level 2 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) status. Through the YES4Youth programme, inQuba hired six young people into full-time positions at the company for a year-long contract. And while the YES4Youth programme insists that these youth are paid a minimum wage, inQuba pledged to pay them a much higher, fair wage for their work, and will mentor and guide them as they make their first forays into the industry. Read more here.
ENDEAVOR ENTREPRENEUR RESEARCH
BrandsEye Publishes South African Banking Sentiment Index 2020
Endeavor Entrepreneurs, BrandsEye has published its 2020 South African Banking Sentiment Index, revealing how consumers feel about the big retail banks in the country. Read more here.
ENDEAVOR LOCAL NEWS
Endeavor Harvest Fund II
Endeavor Harvest Fund II is a rules-based, co-investment fund with a target size of R75m — R100m and will invest alongside credible lead investors into SA Endeavor Entrepreneurs to deliver strong financial returns and drive job creation and innovation in South Africa. Read more here.
ENDEAVOR GLOBAL NEWS
Redrawing the Global Unicorn & VC Maps
Allen Taylor, MD of Endeavor’s Global Catalyst Fund writes about how the “decoupling” of capital and geography will lead to more unicorns — in more places — in 2021. Read more here.
GLOBAL NETWORK
Endeavor Selects Nine Entrepreneurs from Seven Markets at the Eighth Virtual International Selection Panel
Endeavor selected nine entrepreneurs from seven markets at its eighth virtual International Selection Panel. Endeavor now supports 2,107 entrepreneurs leading 1,317 companies in 37 markets around the world. Read more here.
Endeavor Connects Africa
Endeavor Nigeria recently hosted Catalysing Conversations — an annual entrepreneurship summit for high-growth, high-impact entrepreneurs. Through a mix of moderated conversations and TED-style talks, each year the opportunities for harnessing long-term economic transformation in emerging markets are explored.
Endeavor Entrepreneur Company Checkout.com crowned Europe’s top unicorn after tripling valuation to $15 billion
From bootstrapped company to Europe’s top unicorn… another milestone for Checkout.com! As an Endeavor Entrepreneur, founder Guillaume Pousaz has reinvested his success into the network as a local board member of Endeavor UAE and investor in Endeavor Catalyst. We’re thrilled to be a part of his journey as Checkout continues to scale.
ENDEAVOR PARTNER NEWS
JASIRI 1-Year Talent Investor Programme
JASIRI, supported by Gray Philanthropy, is excited to announce that applications for the Kenyan and Rwandan one-year early-stage entrepreneurship programme are now open! The Talent Investor is a fully funded one-year programme that supports entrepreneurs in finding co-founders, developing a market-creating innovation, and launching a company. Applications close on the 29th of January 2021. Find out more here and, if interested, please submit your applications here
