By Saskia Nysschens, Partner and COO, Anza Fund Manager
It is easy to back a company once it already looks like a success. Our work starts earlier, with founders building what Africa's food, energy, health and education systems depend on. Here is what we look for, and why.
Anza invests in early-stage African technology companies, from Seed to Series A, through hubs in South Africa and Kenya. Since 2020, Anza Capital has backed 13 companies. Anza Africa Seed Fund II builds on that experience, with a more structured approach to follow-on investment.
My work at Anza covers operations, governance, impact and portfolio management, so much of my time is spent with companies after we have invested. That view shapes what we look for before we do. These are the seven things we test for at the start, and each one tells us something about how a company will hold up later.
1. Scalable technology that solves a real problem
We invest in three sectors: food, clean and digital technology. Across all three, we look for technology that has been shown to work, can scale, and addresses a problem businesses and households face every day. We also want to see product-market fit, or a clear path to it.
In our markets, many of those problems sit where technology meets the physical world: getting food from farm to market without losses, keeping power reliable, and reaching patients and learners far from cities. Some companies solve them with software alone. Others build networks and assets alongside their code, such as EV charging, cold storage, clinics or learning hubs. Either way, we look for a solution that is hard to copy and becomes more valuable as it grows.
2. IP worth protecting
We look for valuable intellectual property that is properly protected, and we check that it does not infringe anyone else's rights.
Many founders cannot afford protection at the earliest stage, and we do not hold that against them. We help them put it in place, with support from venture partners who specialise in IP commercialisation. Protected IP strengthens a company's position in its market, and it is one of the first things a future acquirer will examine.
3. A team, not a single founder
We back companies with at least two founders and a diverse management team. Of everything we assess, the team carries the most weight.
An early-stage company has to build a product, win customers and raise capital, often all at once. That is too much for one person to carry. Diverse teams also see more of the market they serve, which matters to us because inclusion is one of the lenses we apply to every investment decision. Of the 13 companies in the Anza Capital portfolio, seven have Black founders and five have female founders.
4. Revenue and economics that hold up
We invest in companies that are already earning revenue. Before we invest, we look for growth that holds up on the financial metrics, and gross margins in the medium to high range.
Revenue is the clearest evidence that customers value what a company has built. Healthy margins mean each new customer adds value rather than cost. Both matter in markets where capital is scarce and the next funding round is never guaranteed.
5. Impact we can measure
Impact is part of how we assess every company from the start, not a report added at the end. I lead this work at Anza. We assess each company's ESG risks and practices during due diligence, and agree up front which indicators it will report on.
After investment, companies report selected indicators every quarter, provide fuller data once a year and update us on their ESG action plans. We align this work with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and report on portfolio progress to our own investors twice a year. Measuring from the start gives founders a clear view of their progress, and gives our investors evidence rather than anecdote.
6. Knowing founders well before we invest
Anza Fund Manager is part of the same group as the SA Innovation Summit and TechTribe Accelerator, and we work closely with the Research Institute for Innovation and Sustainability (RIIS). Through this ecosystem we often meet founders early and can watch how they build over time, which no pitch can show us.
Because founders reach us through several channels, every application goes through the same steps:
- A mandate check including stage, sector, team and revenue.
- A weighted scorecard covering product, market, team, strategy and economics.
- A pitch to the investment team, for shortlisted founders.
- Due diligence, done in-house and with our specialist technology partner, including interviews and reference checks.
- An Investment Committee decision, followed by a term sheet.
Using the same process for every application lets us compare companies fairly, and founders know what to expect.
7. An exit planned from the start
We work on acquirer fit and IP defensibility from the first day of an investment, so that an exit is planned rather than hoped for. It is also why we look for companies with a large, growing market and the ambition to expand beyond their home country, which widens the field of potential acquirers.
After investment, our venture partners help each company set a 100-day and a 200-day plan. We open doors to corporates, distributors and partners, including routes into the US and Europe, and RIIS's corporate network gives our companies access to potential acquirers. We also provide technology support through our specialist partner, plan for follow-on rounds with each company, and connect founders with mentors through TechTribe and the SA Innovation Summit.
Where to go from here
Founders. Building a post-revenue company in food, clean or digital technology? Start with the fit checker on our For founders page, which takes you through our six mandate criteria, then apply online.
Investors. Our Track record page sets out the Anza Capital portfolio and its performance to date. The Anza Africa Seed Fund II page explains the fund's strategy, structure and governance, and qualifying investors can request the fund overview there.
The companies that Africa's food, energy, health and education systems depend on rarely look obvious at the start. Our job is to find them early, back them with more than capital, and work towards their exit from the first day. That is what looking beyond the obvious means to us.