Scores and rankings provide a measurement of progress and are based on an algorithm that uses information pulled in from online sources about early stage companies. SASI’s first index focuses on the tech sector and includes the likes of Yola, ITWeb, MXit and Zoopy among its top 30. The initiative takes its cue from the popular TechCrunch network’s Europe Top 100 Index, but will include other sectors overtime.
Prof Mthuli Ncube, dean of the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at Wits University, says SASI is a platform for stimulating entrepreneurship in South Africa. “It takes into account the vision and capabilities of the people behind the project, the capital investment the project has attracted, the traffic the business is drawing, its sustainability,and its global scalability. To be listed on the index, the business owners must be prepared to divulge this data.”
SASI will help to make investors aware of businesses that are worth keeping an eye on, and provide funding institutions with information on worthy entrepreneurs. Likening the initiative to a stock market for SMEs, Ncube says the aim is to enable start-ups to graduate to the AltX and the main board of the JSE over time.
FindSASI online at www.busrep.co.za.