Jozi Angels – Startup Funding Application

About this opportunity

Jozi Angels is a South African angel network investing personal capital in early-stage digital startups with large market opportunities. You need a co-founder, a digital product or service, and proof of market fit or paying customers.

Who can apply

• South African incorporated company (Pty Ltd, CC, or NPC)
• Early-stage digital product or service
• Team of at least two founders
• Targeting a sizeable market opportunity
• Able to demonstrate market validation or traction

Not eligible

• Capital-intensive projects such as real estate, vehicle finance, and manufacturing
• Single founder (team of two minimum required)

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Full eligibility wording from the listing

South African incorporated company; early‑stage digital product/service; sizable market; not capital‑intensive (e.g., real estate excluded); team of at least two founders.

Documents you will need

• Pitch deck
• Business plan
• Financial statements (historical and forecast)
• Company registration documents
• CVs of directors and key staff
• Shareholders agreement
• BEE certificate (if applicable)
• SARS tax clearance certificate

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How to apply, step by step

1. Before applying, work through the founders' checklist on the Jozi Angels website: confirm your team has the required skills, your problem is real, your solution is novel, you have market validation, and you can scale to a large market.
2. Complete the online application form on the Jozi Angels portal, providing details of your team, problem, solution, market opportunity, traction, and funding ask in South African Rands.
3. Keep your written answers concise—do not paste lengthy AI summaries or generic text.
4. Upload supporting documents: pitch deck, business plan, financials, registration papers, team CVs, and any BEE or SARS certificates.
5. Submit the form. Only successful applicants will be contacted for a meeting with the deal team.
6. If shortlisted, Jozi Angels will contact you directly using an official Jozi Angels email address (never from Gmail or private addresses).

How applications are selected

What reviewers look for

• Jozi Angels strongly favour teams with proven traction: paying customers or clear product-market fit will significantly improve your chances over pre-revenue ideas.
• Demonstrate that your team has the technical and business skills to execute. A balanced founding team with complementary expertise scores higher than a single-skilled group.
• Show that the market opportunity is genuinely large and that your solution can scale without major additional capital investment.
• Be explicit about how you validated your solution in the market—customer feedback, pilot results, or early revenue carry more weight than market research alone.
• Avoid sectors and models flagged as capital-intensive: real estate, vehicle finance, manufacturing, and other asset-heavy businesses are automatically rejected.

Frequently asked questions

Guide written from the official programme page on 1 November 2026. Funders change their rules, so confirm the details on the official page before you apply.

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