Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC) Launches Venture for Black-owned Businesses

The Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC) has opened the second application window to promote what it refers to as high growth potential and innovative enterprises. Through its venture capital initiative, MIC Khulisani Ventures, the firm intends to invest R150 million ($9M) in new black-owned enterprises.

The MIC will be providing funding to startups that have already received seed funding (and are predominately owned by black people) but are “not linked into the main streams of venture capital networks.”

It claims that many of these businesses are “investment-ready” and have concepts that have the potential to change industries and society. The lack of institutional support, however, prevents them from receiving the boost they require at a crucial juncture in their development.

MIC Khulisani Ventures has so far invested in two businesses. It stated in May 2022 that it invested R23.5M in the interactive digital bookstore and e-library Kelo Africa. Additionally, it also invested R20M in Rentoza, a subscription-based online retailer of goods and appliances.

MIC Khulisani Ventures will invest up to R30 million to selected businesses. All sectors will be taken into account, with the exception of those participating in primary agricultural and primary extractive industries.

About Mineworkers Investment Company

The Mineworkers Investment Trust (MIT) founded Mineworkers Investment Company in 1995 to develop a Black-owned investment company with an emphasis on supplying a sustainable asset base for the advantage of mine, energy, and construction workers and their dependents. While sustaining solid corporate governance and genuine transformation, the organization has made investments in a variety of big and small businesses in different industries.

The focus for MIC is innovation, namely innovative products or services that disrupt traditional markets, improve efficiencies or respond creatively to existing problems in South Africa.

In the next application window, the MIC want to be more transformative, with particular emphases on black female-owned or led businesses and relatively young businesses.

“We quickly learned that the field is slightly less developed than what we had initially envisaged in terms of where the demand for that kind of investment was, versus our ambitions. Incidentally, this still gives us opportunity to diversify and reach as many businesses as possible especially those that are disruptors of market and show immense potential for scalability,” said MIC CEO, Mary Bomela.

Criteria for eligibility includes:

• At least 51% black South African ownership
• Black women owned businesses
• Innovative product or service offering
• Disruptive within sector
• Scalable
• High growth potential
• Open to all sectors except fast food, mining, primary agriculture and franchises
• Post-revenue
• Minimum investment requirement of R15 million

Interested enterprises can apply here. Applications close on 23 August 2022.