Western Cape startup founders: are you ready to start raising equity capital?
Do you truly understand what it takes, and do you have a strategy? Alex Fraser is running a one-day workshop in Cape Town to help you understand the local equity investment scene, the dealmaking process, how to define your ask, and where to focus to get your business “deal-ready”.
This is a great opportunity to check your understanding, discover the gaps, and gain first-hand tips from Alex, the Viridian team and other founders.
When and where
Friday, 18 September | 08h30 – 16h00
d-school Afrika, University of Cape Town Middle Campus
Lunch and refreshments provided
The founder responsible for fundraising should fill out the form and attend. We will select 20 businesses to participate.
About Alex, your workshop facilitator
Alexandra Fraser has spent over 20 years on both sides of the deal table. She worked as a venture capitalist for many years and was a founding member of the African Business Angels Network (ABAN). She is now an active angel investor and founding member of Dazzle Angels, as well as the lead facilitator of the African Angel Academy, which has trained over 800 new African angel investors. She also sits on the investment committee of Jaza Rift Ventures, a specialist healthtech fund.
As a startup mentor and coach, she has worked with hundreds of founders both locally in South Africa and from across the continent, with a focus on investment-readiness and growth. She also designed and built Viridian’s signature Raise Ready programme.
Who should apply
We consider early-stage, ready-to-raise startups that meet the following criteria:
✅ Market-tested product and post-revenue
✅ A plan for building out your commercial model for your market-tested product, or a clear plan to take it through regulatory testing to get to market
✅ Clear evidence of initial traction, and you know the key stats of your business
✅ A plan for scaling into new market segments and new revenue streams
✅ A competent founding team, fully committed to the business and able to execute on the plan
✅ A clearly defined competitive advantage and USP from your customer’s perspective
✅ Innovation-driven, whether through technology, intellectual property, business model innovation, or differentiated products and services
✅ Raising under R25 million and willing to give away equity in your business
We will be running a second workshop on 15 October in Stellenbosch area. Please email ma-asi@viridian.africa to register your interest in this date and location.
Who we are and why we’re offering this workshop
Viridian is a Cape Town-based organisation that designs and runs programmes that catalyse African entrepreneurship ecosystems, with deep roots in the South African and broader African angel and early-stage VC ecosystem. Over the next three years, Viridian is working with the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism to increase the investment readiness of local startups, while encouraging more collaboration among early-stage investors. We will be running a number of in-person and virtual activities to share knowledge and build connections. In early 2027, Viridian will run its signature Raise Ready programme for a select group of startups from this workshop.