Entrepreneurs complain of a shortage of funds available to commercialise new technology. Funders say there are plenty of funds available.
Part of the problem is that many entrepreneurs have no idea how to access these funds. SA's funding landscape is varied and confusing. It's made up of an array of funders, many with a variety of funds and some with a specific industry focus.
Acorn Technologies, a government-funded incubator for companies in the life sciences arena, has developed a website which aims to link suitable investors with entrepreneurs or companies that need financing to start or expand their businesses.
"As far as we are aware there is no public database of all SA funds at a single site," says Acorn projects director Craig Landsberg.
The interactive website, www.fundman.co.za, has an extensive and searchable database of fund providers in SA, including their investment criteria and contact details, and makes this available to fund seekers.
To access this information, fund seekers register their personal details on the site and supply some basic information about their project. The fund seeker is not required to supply any proprietary information that might jeopardise the intellectual property potential of the project.
Then the fund seeker can select the "search" button. This generates a list of funders applicable to the project.
Aside from providing a free service to entrepreneurs, the site can deliver valuable information to the investment community.
Because users are required to register, Acorn can forward the contact information of a fund seeker to the relevant incubator. (Acorn is one of eight incubators within the Small Business Development Agency.)
In addition, says Landsberg, the fund seeker's demographic data and the project particulars are captured in a database. This will create a better picture of the profile of fund seekers and projects in SA.
"There is a widely held view that a funding gap exists," says Landsberg, referring to a mismatch of projects and the type of funds available. "We need to gather information from the market to establish whether this is indeed the case, and present it to government."
In less than six months the site has had about 40 000 hits and more than 500 unique visitors, 150 of whom have registered their details online. Ninety of these have registered 90 bona fide projects, 10 of which are in the life sciences.
