Knife Capital 🔪

Economic participation is a human right. In #SouthAfrica, high-growth businesses create jobs, open #markets, and expand #opportunity. Human Rights Day is a reminder that #rights become real when opportunity becomes tangible. #HumanRightsDay #GrowthCapital #AccessToCapital #VC

It’s easy to assume that not raising enough #capital is what kills #startups. But, it’s remarkable how often companies raise too much money at too high a valuation, introducing #artificial pressure and bad behaviours into the #business that are difficult to correct. #Funding #VC

As a #founder, there will always be (what seems like) a thousand things going wrong in your #business. #Scaling successfully does not require solving every problem. Successful founders understand which fires are important enough to put out and which ones to let burn. #VC

Many high-growth #startups reach a critical ‘bet the business’ inflection point in their #growth journey. Too many companies decide to #scale too early, sending the business down a difficult path to back out of without destroying a large amount of value. #KnifeCapScalingSeries

Many #startups decide to #scale too early, sending the #business down a hard path to reverse without losing value. Make sure your #product is mature, the #commercial model has been proven, the foundations are in place, & your “home base” is strong enough to support #growth.

One of the hardest moments in #scaling is realising you’re the bottleneck. The person who built the product isn't always the person to lead a large scaleup. Growth takes #selfawareness. Knowing when to step up, skill up, or bring in the right leader for the next chapter.

As a #business scales, HR & #management practices must transition from #founders doing everything, coding, engaging with #customers, securing initial #funding, hiring the first employees, and getting coffee, to small teams of contributors, to managers, and then executives.

Each #startup growth stage requires #founders to have a completely different focus and approach. The most successful founders tend to be infinite learners who have the ability to develop new skills rapidly and evolve with the #business as it scales. #KnifeCapScalingSeries

What really matters when you're scaling a #tech ##startup? Spoiler: It’s not just about growth charts and #funding rounds. Over the next six weeks, @Johno_JS, #Investment Manager at Knife, will be unpacking some of the challenges of #scaling. Stay tuned. #KnifeCapScalingSeries

The Knife Capital year doesn’t officially start until the first bottle top hits the wall. New year, same standards, sharper focus, and of course, more bubbles. Happy 2026! #KnifeCapital #VentureCapital #HappyNewYear #StartupInvestment

Always sweet to kick off another yr with the 1st addition to the @KnifeCap #ChampagneChain Infographic. Here’s to the collective success stories in 2026 & the inspiring entreps, outstanding investors + enabling African entrepreneurial ecosystem that will unlock them. Let’s go! 🍾

2026 is here, and we’re doubling down on results rather than resolutions. The real cutting edge is in execution, not just talk. Here’s to another year of #funding ambition, fuelling #innovation, and backing the #founders who make things happen. Let’s make 2026 a record-breaker.

Whilst some gifts are wrapped in ribbons, we believe the best gifts don’t fit under a tree. This Christmas, we’re celebrating the #founders who keep giving, creating jobs, driving #impact, and #celebrating returns, until long after the wrapping paper is gone. #MerryChristmas!

True #reconciliation is about rebuilding, rethinking, & reshaping our future. We believe #entrepreneurship plays a pivotal role in #SouthAfrica’s reconciliation story. Today, we #reflect on how far we’ve come, and we recommit to backing the #founders pushing our country forward.

We attended the @AFRICARENA Innovation Night in Camps Bay last night, a room filled with operators building real businesses and investors aligned on scaling Africa’s growth sectors. #KnifeCapital #AfricArena #VentureCapital #ScaleUp #DealFlow #AfricaTech

And that’s a wrap on the @AFRICARENA Grand Summit 2025. Two days of powerful themes, sharp perspectives and a renewed sense of what’s possible when ambition meets execution. Onward! #startupfunding #growth #venturecapital #AfricArena2025

The Day two programme goes deep, from climate tech and venture debt to reverse pitches and the seed track. Across the board, a consistent theme is emerging: Africa isn’t short of talent. It’s short of scalable systems. #startupfunding #investments #venturecapital #AfricArena

@KeetvZ is live on the @AFRICARENA Grand Summit main stage to discuss the secret sauce of exits: “#companies who actually disrupt stuff, those are the ones who get the #exits. You need to build an interesting company first and foremost" #startupexit #startupgrowth #venturecapital

It’s day two at the @AFRICARENA Grand Summit in #CapeTown, and we’re here for round two of hard-hitting conversations, real-world insights and #collaboration that sparks long-term #partnerships. #startupgrowth #investinafrica #venturecapital #funding

Day one of the @AFRICARENA Grand Summit wrapped with a powerful mix of realism & optimism. A few standouts from today: 🍾 Fintech & AI aren’t cooling off, they’re maturing 🍾 Climate tech is shifting from “impact” to “infrastructure” 🍾 Capital efficiency is now a character trait