A Startup Act
in South Africa
How We will do it
Over the last years, startups have proved their ability to bring solutions to some of the biggest challenges of the continent in various sectors such as energy, financial services, healthcare, or mobility. As governments are realizing the potential of these innovative companies in developing their countries, some have decided to make easier the journey of creating and developing a startup for the entrepreneurs and the investors.
Tunisia and Senegal have paved the way with their Startup Act regulations and we believe, as a collective of entrepreneurs, investors, incubators, accelerators that there is a phenomenal opportunity to set up similar regulations in South Africa to accelerate the digital economy.
Our current progress...
In September 2021, the Digital Collective Africa working group for SA Startup Act published a position paper.
The paper presents gathered over the past six months via desktop research, focus groups, and research contributed by the World Bank (one of the main sponsors of the research), provide a holistic overview of the problems affecting the ability of startups to establish, grow and scale in South Africa.
The findings suggest that innovation-driven startups with a turnover of less than R100 million be exempted from the limitations of existing policies and the red tape that constrains their growth as well as their ability to contribute to job creation.
Doing so will accelerate the socio and economic spillover of such startups to the rest of South Africa.“
SA Startup Act
Position Paper September 2021
A panel discussion among ecosystem experts as they unpacked the draft position paper towards the development of a Startup Act for South Africa
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The vast majority of new small and micro business enterprises that exist beyond the first three years of operations do not grow. Rather, it is the remaining balance comprised of a tiny portion of startups that are responsible for creating a disproportionate number of jobs.
Such firms, with their high-growth potential, are the intended beneficiaries of the proposed South African Startup Act,” explains Stephan J Lamprecht, Founder of VS Nova, a Southern African-based management consultancy that has been appointed by the SA Startup Act Steering Committee to provide research and advisory services.
The Steering Committee is comprised of representatives from Digital Collective Africa; AfricArena, Endeavor South Africa, i4Policy, Loudhailer, the Southern African Venture Capital
and Private Equity Association (SAVCA), Silicon Cape, SiMODiSA, and Wesgro.
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