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.

“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).

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“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.”

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