What’s on Goodwell’s radar? - December 2024 edition
As the year rushes to a close, our team is embracing the balancing act of reflecting on the past while setting goals for the future. Here are some interesting insights that have caught Goodwell’s attention over the past weeks.
Founder well-being is central to sustainable growth
Investment company Flourish recently published must-read research on the well-being of company founders in Africa. These entrepreneurs are extremely motivated but are subject to severe stress and pressure. From insights on the founder psyche to how investors can foster more supportive relationships with investees, this report shows that caring for founder resilience and well-being helps to ensure sustainable growth and improved business outcomes. It’s also a key priority for the Goodwell team. Our local investment teams work closely with founders and the rest of the management team to offer support during the inevitable ups and downs of running a growing company.
Goodwell attends the Africa Tech Forum in Rwanda
The race is on for financial inclusion in Africa. Goodwell team members Els Boerhof and Lilian Oyando recently participated in the Africa Tech Forum in Rwanda, and inclusive finance proved to be a hot topic. There were numerous discussions of strategies for products aimed at reaching the unbanked, such as table banking for groups, financial literacy campaigns, leveraging agency networks, and interoperability between, for example, payment systems.
Rwanda was, therefore, an appropriate host, having built and launched a nation-wide international payment system earlier this year. This public infrastructure acts as a single switch connecting all financial service providers and we’re watching its social impact closely as the system evolves. Other Forum topics that caught our team’s attention included the growth of Africa’s tech ecosystem and its AI objectives, and the venture capital investing environment in Africa during turbulent macroeconomic conditions.
African investors are bridging the funding gap
It’s exactly those challenging fundraising and economic conditions that African investors are now stepping up to address. Many US venture capital firms remain reluctant to participate in the African market since its peak in 2022. As an impact investor, our job is to more strongly convey the hidden potential of the continent, despite these conditions. And we need to start looking to funders outside the US and Europe. This article in Semafor talks to the local investors stepping up to bridge the continent’s funding gap – and why they’re now more incentivised to support local start-ups.
Private wealth is becoming a major player in venture markets
Continuing that trend of finding a silver lining in the reluctance of international venture capitalists, it certainly does present a golden opportunity to buy low, and to attract a new type of investor. PitchBook shared a report in late November examining the potential impact of high-net-worth individuals utilising some of the USD 450 trillion they are estimated to have at their disposal as venture capital. Such individuals are expected to invest more than USD 7 trillion on private markets by 2033, opening the world of venture capital to more and more people. This “democratisation” (of sorts) of venture markets is one to watch in 2025.
Retirement funds as leverage for a more sustainable, inclusive future
Retirement funds hold significant sway over the market, representing the potential for sizable investments in sustainable development. Already a much-discussed issue in many parts of the world (like the Netherlands, where our European office is based), it’s now gathering steam across the African continent too. South Africa’s pension fund, for example, is worth R5.8 trillion, holding serious potential to create positive social and environmental impact – if the fund specifically invests with impact in mind. We’re excited to watch this conversation grow and spread – dare we dream of a world where the majority of investments are impact driven?