Author: Mpho Sefalafala

Venture capital is not just about pitch decks or numbers, it is about relationships and trust. In South Africa, those circles are concentrated in the Stellenbosch network and the Jewish business community, where capital circulates naturally. Black founders are often absent from these networks, and the few Black angel groups that exist remain fragmented and undercapitalised. Most high-net-worth Black individuals are products of BBBEE deals or tenderpreneurship. Their wealth gravitates toward corporate, property, and infrastructure projects with predictable returns, not risky startups that require building, validating, and scaling. Another gap is friends-and-family capital. White founders often bootstrap with generational wealth…

There is a growing infatuation with Starlink in South Africa. As regulatory hurdles ease, the satellite-based broadband service is increasingly viewed as a silver bullet for the country’s connectivity challenges. Yet behind the shiny promise of global tech salvation lies a harsh truth: South Africa continues to marginalise its own innovation ecosystem in favour of foreign dependency. This country does not lack talent, ideas, or funded technology pilots. Government agencies such as the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) have invested in local broadband technologies like the HomePoynt Wi-Fi access platform, developed by FibrePoynt, a South African broadband infrastructure manufacturer. HomePoynt was…