unlocking capital to help
early-stage ventures grow
About us
Keyo is a data-driven investor that unlocks capital for early-stage green economy and
asset-backed businesses in Southern Africa
Our mandate
We support tech-enabled startups in the green economy sector and those with asset-backed models across Southern Africa
Vision
To be Southern Africa’s leading data-driven financier, offering fit-for-purpose funding solutions for entrepreneurs
Mission
To innovate access to finance for early-stage businesses; whilst accelerating the growth of the green economy sector
Vision
To be Southern Africa's leading data-driven financier, offering fit-for-purpose funding solutions for entrepreneurs
Mission
i. To innovate and accelerate access to finance for early stage businesses.
ii. To help accelerate the adoption and growth of the green economy sector
OUR VALUES
Drive
We are motivated and committed to achieving the best results for innovative entrepreneurs across Southern Africa
Visionary
We are forward-looking and constantly working to shape a sustainable and greener future
Collaborative
We believe in working with the ecosystem to make funding more accessible and advance entrepreneurship development
Integrity
We are honest and trustworthy, doing what we say we’ll do
OUR VALUES
The core principles
that define who we are.
Drive
We are motivated and committed to achieve the best results for innovative entrepreneurs across Southern Africa
Collaborative
We believe in working with the ecosystem to make funding more accessible and advance entrepreneurship development
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OUR JOURNEY
Road to Keyo Ventures
Untapped Southern Africa
Untapped SA was formed as a partnership between Untapped Global and Fearless Girl Global (FGG). It came to be after FGG provided consulting services to help Untapped Global expand its South African footprint. FGG saw the potential of the technology platform Untapped Global, which is being built whilst investing in asset-heavy businesses. FGG saw an opportunity to provide a “fit-for-purpose” value proposition by founding a data-driven tech-enabled alternative financing business for Southern Africa. Untapped Global equally saw the opportunity to localise its SA operations through this partnership and agreed to help incubate the fund. In January 2024, another three fearless, ambitious professionals saw the vision and agreed to join the journey.
Keyo Ventures
On the back of the progress made in 2024 to 1) unlock capital; 2) achieve a robust pipeline in line with our investment mandate; and 3) become an independent emerging manager, Untapped SA was rebranded to Keyo Ventures: A data-driven key, unlocking capital to help early-stage ventures grow.
Untapped Southern Africa
Untapped SA was formed as a partnership between Untapped Global and Fearless Girl Global (FGG). It came to be after FGG provided consulting services to help Untapped Global expand its South African footprint. FGG saw the potential of the technology platform built by Untapped Global whilst investing in asset-heavy businesses. FGG saw an opportunity to provide a “fit-for-purpose” value proposition by founding a data-driven tech-enabled alternative financing business for Southern Africa. Untapped Global equally saw the opportunity to localise its SA operations through this partnership and agreed to help incubate the fund. In January 2024, another three fearless, ambitious professionals saw the vision and agreed to join the journey.
Keyo Ventures
On the back of the progress made in 2024 to
- unlock capital;
- achieve a robust pipeline in line with our investment mandate; and
- become an independent emerging manager, Untapped SA was rebranded to Keyo Ventures: A data-driven key, unlocking capital to help early-stage ventures grow.
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OUR TEAM
Operating Team
Managing Partner
KG Legodi
General Partner
Jim Chu
Fractional CFO
Melisa Afordofe
Investment Manager
Suzanne van Niekerk
Investment Analyst
Thulaganyo Kodisang
Advisors
Zazi Capital
Mamkeli Jim
Old Mutual Next176
Rajiv Daya
RMB Ventures
Sally-Anne Jansen
Identity Partners
Sonja De Bruyn
Investment Committee
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FOR FOUNDERS
Leveraging data and technology to make capital more accessible and flexible for early-stage ventures
We are a forward-looking, alternative financier that invests in pre-series A startups. We understand that, in the early-stage of your business, you have little track record and struggle to unlock traditional forms of capital. We leverage technology to collect your day-to-day operational data to help track the scaleability of your business and explore how we can help you grow.
We want to partner with courageous founders, together stepping outside of our comfort zones to build the next Top 40 largest companies and a greener Southern Africa.
Our value proposition to you
Our eligibility criteria
- Data integration – We integrate with your back-end systems to automatically collect data relating to your day-to-day operational activities. This helps us analyse the productivity of the business and manage our risk.
- Payment integration – Implementing a digital payment mechanism that allows us to automatically receive our repayments as and when cash flows into your business.
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FOR INVESTORS
A tech-enabled funding partner that helps validate early-stage as a viable asset class to invest in
We are a tech-enabled and data-driven investor that wants to contribute meaningfully to validating early-stage investing as a commercially viable, sustainable and impactful asset class using of technology and leveraging data to make informed investment decisions. We focus on operational data to effectively monitor the profitability and risk of our investments on an ongoing basis, thereby providing better transparency to our investors.
We want to partner with investors equally passionate about helping early-stage businesses grow. We understand that investing in early-stage can be all-consuming and the “return on effort” may be low for institutions with resources for larger projects and companies. We help develop a viable pipeline for the growth and mid-market companies you seek.
Our value proposition to investors
Our portfolio
