WeChat South Africa, a joint-venture owned by China-based internet company Tencent and local media conglomerate Naspers, has announced a R50m ($3.5m) seed fund aimed at mobile startups in Africa, VentureBurn reported yesterday.
WeChat South Africa, the operator of an instant messaging platform, will also help startups hoping to develop products for its service. It is in effect a subsidiary of the China-situated WeChat service owned by Tencent, in which Naspers holds a 34% share.
Consultancy firm Batstone will help WeChat source and coordinate potential investments. After a successful application, startups will participate in a set of workshops through which they will receive capital and further support from Batstone.
The decision to launch the fund follows the success of startups such as M4Jam, which has created a tool for users to complete micro-jobs through WeChat.
Brett Loubser, head of WeChat South Africa, said: “Our fund aims to provide financial support to businesses so that they can effectively get on the WeChat platform. This will include technical integration and communications tactics across the Naspers’ stable and other suited channels.”