Grindstone Accelerator for South African Startups 2022

Grindstone is a structured entrepreneurship development programme that assists high-growth innovation-driven companies to get the fundamental building blocks in place to scale quickly and become sustainable and fundable.

Our Grindstone programme is now open for applications where we will select the top twenty innovative scaleups to provide them with knowledge, networks and funding readiness through growth measurement, gap analysis and deep interventions designed to build a foundation for growth. We transfer skills, create relevant business networks and enable these companies to take advantage of market access opportunities. We are running our programme for both Cape Town and Johannesburg cohorts this year, and will select the best ten applicants per city.

About Grindstone

We understand what it takes to start and grow a business to the point of real scaling. For this you need resilience, loads of patience, a good sense of humour and real grit. Enabling growth is what we do. Will it always be easy? That we can’t promise. Will it be worth it? Oh, so very much.

Grindstone Accelerator

Aim and Benefits of Grindstone Accelerator

Grindstone has joined forces with the SA SME Fund, Deloitte, Thinkroom, Knife Capital,Microsoft for Startups, Webber Wentzel, ABSA and Google for Startups. The programme is aimed at entrepreneurs who are ready to take their businesses to the next level.

Business support resources and services will include elements of training, corporate advisory, coaching, mentorship and funding. Specific interventions for each company include a structured gap analysis, understanding of the company value system, building a digital go-to-market strategy, financial modelling, intellectual property assessment, strategic and financial valuation as well as populating a data room.

Favourable funding support will also be provided to the 20 Grindstone Companies to enable them to de-risk and close the initial growth gaps identified.

In addition to Knife Capital’s Funding Readiness Course: Find-Make-Grow-Realise, there will be 6 x 1-day workshops over the year…

• Culture & Strategy
• Sales & Marketing
• Market Positioning & Messaging
• Technical
• Finance, Valuation and Exit
• Legal compliance & IP

Through Grindstone, Knife Capital forms long-term partnerships with scale-up entrepreneurs for a shared upside. Grindstone would not be possible if it wasn’t for our Programme partners who generously contribute their knowledge, services, time and funding.

Requirements for Grindstone Accelerator Qualification

• A South African registered company
• Post-revenue with some customer traction
• A dynamic team of awesome people
• Innovative business offering with a clear competitive differentiator
• Scalable business model

Application Deadline

How to Apply

For more details, visit Grindstone website.