Sanari Capital - Afrikan Heroes

Sanari Capital Raise Funds for Massive Investment in South Africa

September 10, 2022

To enable efforts for a foothold in South Africa, Sanari Capital has announced the first close of a new, R475-million private equity fund for investment in South African growth companies.

Sanari Capital has announced the first close of a new, R475-million private equity fund for investment in South African growth companies, including in the technology sector.

The first close of the Sanari 3S Growth Fund (3SG) will invest in growth companies emanating from Africa, and mainly from South Africa, with regional and global scalability and exposure, the company said in a statement.

“Sanari 3SG will invest in established and growing companies in industries that benefit from Sanari’s thematic focus areas and capitalise on its specialisation of investing in founder-run, owner-managed and family-owned businesses,” it said. The fund is the manager’s second but the first targeting institutional investors.

At its first close, Sanari 3SG has received commitments from the 27Four Black Business Growth Fund, RisCura (on behalf of various clients) and the National Fund for Municipal Workers.

“Officially launching now, the fund has already deployed over 30% of its first close committed capital, with two investments warehoused before closing and a third investment in a fintech services provider to be announced shortly.”

The first two investments are in:

Edulife Group, the largest independent schools group in the Free State, which is embarking on a national expansion.

LightWare LiDAR, a South African developer and manufacturer of micro LiDAR systems (remote sensing technology) for drones, robots, autonomous vehicles, interent of things and smart cities.

“Sanari has a significant pipeline of investment opportunities in healthcare, agri-business, education, services, food and technology,” the company said.

Bowmans served as legal adviser for the fund.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Sanari Capital Raises $28M In First Close Of New Fund To Invest In Growth Stage African Firms

The Sanari 3S Growth Fund from Sanari Capital has just closed its first round of investment at R475 million (about $28 million) (Sanari 3SG). To that end, the private equity firm looks primarily to South African firms with regional and global potential for investment.

Because of its expertise in investing in founder-run, owner-managed, and family-owned firms, Sanari 3SG will target mature and expanding companies in sectors that align with Sanari’s thematic emphasis areas. The 3S Sustainable Scalable and Saleable Fund is the manager’s second fund overall, but the first to specifically target institutional investors.

Ofentse Pelle, Executive Director at Sanari

“We are delighted to hit this milestone that recognises Sanari’s purpose-led approach, built on experience and our particular brand of inventive, disciplined investing that attracted significant commercial capital to the fund. We appreciate our investors’ conviction and support for our approach to growth-stage PE. We are excited to see pension funds stepping up to support the real economy and growth companies to achieve combined social and financial returns,” Samantha Pokroy, CEO of Sanari, said.

Leading institutional investors such as the 27Four Black Business Growth Fund, RisCura (on behalf of various clients), and the National Fund for Municipal Workers have committed to Sanari 3SG at its first close, giving the company a strong chance of reaching its final close target of R1.2 billion to R1.7 billion (c.$70–100 million).

“We are excited to back Sanari. The team’s focus on addressing social and economic challenges through growth investments is closely aligned with our objectives of generating strong returns for our investors and broader social impact within South Africa. We believe we have supported the right partner to achieve this,” Rory Ord, Head of Private Markets at 27four, commented.

A Look At What Sanari Capital Does

Sanari Capital is headed and owned by a group of black women. The fund’s funding counts as 100% black ownership in its portfolio firms. The fund is also eligible for the 2X Challenge, which encourages development finance institutions (DFIs) and private sector investors to pool resources to promote women’s economic empowerment and leadership throughout the world.

How The Fund Invests

“We invest in companies that share our commitment to creating meaningful employment, contributing to inclusive economic growth without harming the environment and communities in the process. We live our values daily, and our diverse team offers a competitive advantage in a changing world where we must be relevant to win,” Ofentse Pelle, Executive Director at Sanari, said.

The fund, which is now officially opening, has already deployed more than 30% of its first close committed money, with two investments warehoused before closure and a third investment in a fintech services company to be revealed shortly.

Some of the fund’s previous investments include: Edulife Organization is the largest independent school group in South Africa’s Free State province, and it is currently expanding nationally. Edulife is an example of an African solution to one of our continent’s most critical challenges: providing accessible, cheap, relevant education to students of all income levels in a sustainable and lucrative manner, combining exciting growth opportunities with satisfying impact.

LightWare LiDAR, a South African developer and producer of tiny LiDAR systems (remote sensing technology) for drones, robotics, autonomous vehicles, IoT, and smart cities on a global platform with a halo customer base, is taking Africa to the globe.

Sanari also has a sizable investment pipeline in healthcare, agribusiness, education, services, food, and technology.

Moushmi Patel, Executive Director at Sanari, commented: “Sanari brings a unique experience set focused on unlocking digital and human potential for successful investment in today’s local and global context. The fund invests between R50 million and R200 million (c.$3-$12 million) in medium-sized and mid-market businesses, in either a single tranche or a series of capital investments, signalling our emphasis on supporting companies as they grow.”

Sihle Gumede, Executive Director at Sanari, added: “We see substantial opportunity through our investment themes to back the businesses that counter economic headwinds. Our investees provide solutions for a more connected and digital world, with investments in technology, IoT, data and services. In addition, as the world becomes more socially conscious, we’re ready to meet the growing demand for education, healthcare, food security and green solutions.”

Over 3 million Customers In Two Years: What Is South Africa’s Digital Bank, TymeBank, Doing Differently?

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexpert

LightWare Attracts $1.5-million Investment From Sanari Capital

August 20, 2020

Sanari Capital has shown great faith in South Africa’s startup LightWare LiDAR through a $1.5 million investment in the supplier of world-class microLiDAR sensor technology to leading global companies. The investment according to Sanari Capital growth will take African tech to the next level, establishing LightWare in the global industry. The investment funding provided will also allow LightWare to rapidly create a series of innovative products using technology. Backed by 27four, Sanari Capital’s lower and Mid Market Fund has made its first investment and chosen LightWare as the innovative company to back.

Sanari Capital which is a private equity investment firm focuses on high growth and international opportunities emanating primarily from South Africa, is backing the company’s global expansion. The CEO of Sanari Capital Samantha Pokroy, says that Sanari has already achieved international success in this niche and growing market. She noted that “based on the reputation of its product and management team alone, the business has attracted large multi-national companies as customers. Now with industrious marketing and the ability to supply customers with on-the-ground presence in international markets, we expect the company’s growth to accelerate dramatically.”

Speaking on Sanari Capital’s strong belief in LightWare, Moushmi Patel, Partner at Sanari Capital said that the company has tremendous prospects to become a world leader adding that “not only does LightWare present an opportunity for attractive financial returns, confirmed by its profiling by Silicon Valley veteran investment bank, Woodside Capital Partners, as one of the leading 99 growth companies globally expected to prosper amidst the pandemic, but it is also supportive of Sanari’s focus on ‘Doing Good whilst Doing Well’. We are pleased that LightWare can play such an important role in the COVID-19 response, promoting the South African industry on a global platform and creating jobs and skills for our local market.”

Established in 2012, LightWare gives ‘eyes to machines’, designing and manufacturing some of the world’s smallest and lightest precision LiDAR systems for use in drones, robots, autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and other applications. Using LiDAR technology, LightWare provides its service to some of the largest internet, logistics, and drone companies across the world. LiDAR is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure the distance to an object.

The tech company has established an international reputation as a leader in autonomous navigation and collision-avoidance applicants for LiDar technology, using the provided funding, LightWare will further its advances in utilising and providing a service of LiDAR technology. Tailwinds for LiDAR were already emerging when the transaction was initially contemplated, driven by the staged regulatory opening of autonomous drone delivery in the US and widespread use of drones for the delivery of life-saving medical supplies to remote areas in Africa.

However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the adoption and use-cases for LiDAR technology. With emerging megatrends such as the demand for contactless solutions (delivery by drone, workplace robots, IoT monitoring, and management), remote medicine, test kit, and vaccine delivery, and e-commerce, the demand has intensified.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry