Summary:

• Naspers Foundry, a $100 million fund for South African startups, has been closed down by its parent company Naspers.
• It cites changes in the global economic climate but has faced local challenges, including a run-in with South Africa’s Competition Commission, which accused it of discriminating against historically disadvantaged persons.
• The firm has nine portfolio companies that will still benefit from its investments, and ongoing investments will include writing follow-on checks.

Naspers Foundry, a $100 million fund for South African startups, have been shut down by the parent company citing changing global economic climate.

The company expressed its commitments to ongoing investments which will include writing follow-on checks. According to TechCrunch, the fund has nine portfolio companies that still stand to benefit from its investments.

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In addition, the company will no longer have a dedicated team focusing on South African startups, instead, overseeing them falls under the purview of Prosus Ventures, its international investment arm.

“The global investment environment, as well as the local SA one, has changed, and we have made clear the need for our business to adapt. In line with changes across the wider business, we have reviewed our early-stage investment strategy within SA to bring it in line with our international approach,” a company spokesperson said about the news.

The media outlet mentions that Naspers Foundry faced some local challenges including a run-in with South Africa’s Competition Commission. It had been accused of discriminating against historically disadvantaged persons (HDPs), including people of color and women.

Apart from that, the commission also sought various means to prevent the investment company from being too dominant, including blocking some of its deals. Before its shutdown, the fun had backed a total of 23 founders including Planet 42.

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