Antonia Bothner, capital markets lead at Endeavor South Africa, once had a cushy job in the UK, investing in publicly traded stocks for a big pension fund. But that wasn’t enough.
Bothner told episode 12 of Disrupt Africa’s “The month in VC” podcast series, released in partnership with Katapult Africa, Hlayisani Capital, Atlantica Ventures, and Endeavor South Africa, that though she is originally from South Africa, she ended up working in the UK investing in publicly traded stocks in emerging markets for a big pension fund.
Yet, she became frustrated that she wasn’t having much impact.
“The companies I really loved investing in were entrepreneur-led, they were innovative. It was very hard to get exposure to the tech sector. So when I came back to South Africa and had the opportunity to join Endeavor and they were launching a co-investment fund, I loved it,” Bothner said.
“A combination of both impact working with entrepreneurs, and also working in the tech sector, which felt like it was a very disruptive and worthwhile place to be.”
This was four years ago, and Antonia, and Endeavor haven’t looked back. The organisation, she said, like herself, is very focused on emerging, high-growth tech entrepreneurs. Part of the global Endeavor network, Endeavor South Africa opened its doors in 2004, and currently has around 100 businesses in its portfolio.
It gives entrepreneurs access to mentors and networks, programmes focused on leadership and innovation, and techniques for scaling companies. It also facilitates access to capital through introductions to investors in its global network, its own Harvest Fund and the Endeavor Global Catalyst Fund.
“The tech sector has seen incredibly high growth, and it really uses the model of mentors within the businesses that get selected. The premise is really based on the fact that Endeavor believes that entrepreneurs globally, particularly in emerging markets, really create a disruptive energy and elevate inclusive growth,” Bothner said,
It primarily started in Latin America, but having seen how well the model worked has expanded rapidly over the last 20 years. Each country has a board, made up predominantly of entrepreneurs. The global co-investment Catalyst fund has so far raised US$500 million, and invested in 300 startups, with one in six now unicorns.
“So they really play in this scaling space where they co-invest, and the model of the fund is such that it will allow the Endeavor offices, of which there are 42 globally, to continue to support these businesses.”
South Africa is just one of those, though it has already got quite a history. The local fund, Harvest, was launched two years ago, after the team saw the need for an earlier-stage vehicle to bridge the gap into Catalyst. It has so far made 17 investments, including the likes of Tyme Bank, onAfriq – previously MFS Africa, IDENTIFii, and go1. But what type of business in general appeals to Endeavor?
“The type of business is really what signifies an Endeavor entrepreneur, which is a business that is scaling. They’re at that Series A, B stage, and they really require resources in terms of mentorship, access to markets, access to capital, and they’re really a VC type of a business,” Bothner said.
The LPs of the Harvest Fund include two funds of funds – the SA SME Fund, and Fireball Capital, but the first LPs were actually the founders themselves. Endeavor, Bothner said, is something of an upside-down VC fund.
“We’re very active; we sort of work as a mini-consultant to the business. So we’re incredibly active in terms of supporting them in terms of whatever their strategic goals are – going into a new market, thinking about a capital raise, the junctures at that point…” said Bothner.
‘It’s really like having an extended family that’s been very highly vetted in terms of the focus. We’ve got 42 different markets, and about 20 entrepreneurs in those markets that all act as mentors. So you’ve got an adjacent business in another market that’s doing something similar, so there’ll be mental support from that business.”
