Secha Capital of South Africa has announced the first close of its second fund, with a target size of ZAR650 million (US $34 million) and a first close of ZAR300 million (US $15.7 million).
The operator-investor model used by Secha Capital, which was founded in 2017 by Nombuso Nkambule, Brendan Mullen, and Rushil Vallabh, places highly skilled human capital resources into its portfolio companies to work on high-impact value-creation projects that produce exponential growth for its entrepreneurs.
In particular for South African women-founded businesses, its first fund demonstrated that the combination of equity investments and human capital for growth-stage businesses is a replicable model for generating financial returns and social impact.
With a similar mandate, Secha Capital Fund II has completed its first close of ZAR300 million ($15.7 million). Among the investors are Caleo Capital, 27four Investment Managers, RMB Ventures, and the SA SME Fund.
The fund, which aims to reach a final value of ZAR650M (US $34 million), invests in established businesses in Southern Africa’s various sectors that are undergoing the tech-enabled transformation into the green economy.
In iG3N, Cultura Fresh, Herbivore, and FarmTrace, the new fund has already invested $4. The fund intends to invest $10 more in the following five years.
“We invest in companies at an inflection point in their growth trajectory. Most capital in Southern Africa is invested in either extremes — early-stage startups or mature companies. We’ve identified a gap in the market where we can find a unique proprietary pipeline and bring in our team of operator investors to achieve outsized returns,” said Vallabh.
