With the announcement of its rebrand and name change to 54 Collective, African venture capital firm Founders Factory Africa is now better equipped to support transformative technology ventures throughout the continent by providing value-added support through its Venture Success Platform and catalytic capital.
Founders Factory opened for business in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2018 after first launching in London in 2015. In collaboration with Standard Bank, the business introduced its model to the continent. It then got support from Small Foundation to invest in agritech and Netcare to create a platform where entrepreneurs can launch and grow e-health businesses throughout Africa.
It rebranded after receiving US $114 million in fresh funding a year ago from Johnson & Johnson and the Mastercard Foundation to expand its business model and better support founders throughout the African tech ecosystem. With the goal of assisting business owners in expanding their enterprises to serve all 54 African nations, 54 Collective is the new name that represents the company’s aspirational pan-African vision.
“Our catalytic capital and value-add support to founders, through our Venture Success Platform, signifies our evolution and ongoing mission to support entrepreneurs across Africa and enable them to build without boundaries to drive commercial and impact returns. Our name change to 54 Collective communicates our continued commitment to African founders. We are more supportive than ever of unlocking opportunities for entrepreneurs and ensuring a level playing field for youth and women founders,” said 54 Collective CEO Bongani Sithole.
54 Collective helps entrepreneurs expand their businesses throughout the continent by providing equity and non-dilutive funding up to a maximum of US $500,000. In order to remove obstacles to entry, female founders get an extra $150,000 in non-dilutive capital on top of what their male counterparts receive.
The team of highly skilled venture specialists at the Venture Success Platform offers customized support. This takes the shape of talent, technology, business strategy, growth, product, and data to create large-scale ventures.
By assisting founders with fundraising strategies, investor access, debt unlocking, impact capital, and investor readiness, the team also makes sure that the right funding is available to them.
Through networking and community-building opportunities, the Venture Success Platform enables founders to achieve global success.
