Skin in the game
We back our conclusions with capital and with time, not just a deck. If we would not fund the recommendation, we do not make it.
Est. South Africa
Technology consulting & strategic investment
Sharpertechnologydecisions —and the capitalbehind them.
Synaegis advises founders, boards and operators on the technology choices that decide the next five years — and invests alongside the ones we believe in.
- Advisory
- Architecture
- Due diligence
- Growth capital
- Board counsel
01Approach
Most advice ends at the recommendation. Ours doesn’t.
Synaegis was built on a simple conviction: advice is worth more when the adviser has something at stake. We work as technology consultants to leadership teams that need clarity fast, and as strategic investors in businesses where our involvement changes the outcome. Consulting keeps us honest about what actually works in production; investing keeps us honest about what actually creates value.
Engineering-grade thinking
Strategy that cannot survive contact with an architecture review is not strategy. Every view we form is tested against how the system actually behaves.
Long horizons
We optimise for the compounding decision rather than the quarterly one, and we are comfortable saying that the right answer will take three years.
02Consulting
Technology consulting
Senior, hands-on engagements — typically weeks, not years. We embed with your team, form a view, and hand over something your engineers can build against rather than a document that gets filed.
- 01
Technology strategy & roadmapping
4–8 weeksTurning commercial ambition into a sequenced, costed technology plan that survives budget season and executive turnover.
- 02
Architecture & platform review
3–6 weeksAn independent read on your systems: what scales, what breaks, what it will cost to fix, and in what order it should be fixed.
- 03
AI & data readiness
4–10 weeksSeparating what AI can genuinely do for your business from what it cannot yet do, and building the data foundations either way.
- 04
Technical due diligence
2–4 weeksPre-investment and pre-acquisition assessments of code, team, architecture and risk, written for investors and boards rather than for engineers.
- 05
Interim technology leadership
OngoingFractional CTO and advisory capacity while you build a permanent team, hire a successor, or restructure the function.
- 06
Modernisation & delivery uplift
8–24 weeksMoving legacy estates forward without stopping the business, and raising the standard of how delivery teams actually ship.
03Investing
Strategic investment
We take meaningful positions in a small number of technology-led businesses and stay close to them. Capital is the easy part; what we really bring is a network, an operating view, and the willingness to sit in the difficult meetings.
What we look for
- Stage
- Post-revenue, early-growth businesses with proven demand and a technology bottleneck worth solving.
- Sectors
- Software, data infrastructure, fintech, industrial technology, and technology-enabled services.
- Geography
- South Africa and the wider African market, with selective international opportunities.
- Structure
- Flexible — equity, advisory-for-equity, and blended arrangements alongside co-investors.
- We bring
- Architecture and delivery capability, commercial pattern recognition, and access to operators who have solved the problem before.
“If you are building something technically serious and want an investor who will actually read the architecture diagram, we should talk.”
Conflict policy
We sometimes advise and invest in the same business. Where that happens we declare it up front and structure it transparently, so everyone at the table understands the position we hold.
04How we work
Four steps, no surprises
- 01
Listen
A short conversation, at no cost. We establish whether the problem is the one you think it is before anyone signs anything.
- 02
Frame
A defined scope with a fixed price and a stated deliverable. No open-ended retainers unless you specifically want one.
- 03
Work
Embedded with your people. Findings are shared as we go, so nothing in the final readout is a surprise to anyone in the room.
- 04
Back it
A recommendation we would fund ourselves — and, where it fits both sides, one we do fund.
Where we spend our time
- Financial services & fintech
- Industrial & mining technology
- Logistics & mobility
- Healthcare technology
- SaaS & platforms
- Public & regulated sectors
05The firm
A deliberately small firm
Synaegis is structured to stay senior. Every engagement is led by a principal who does the work, not a partner who sells it and a graduate who delivers it. That limits how many clients we can take on in a year, and it is the point.
We would rather be genuinely useful to a few organisations than adequately present in many. The name reflects it: syn — together, and aegis — the protection you stand behind. We bring capability together and we back it.
- Model
- Consultancy and investor, under one roof
- Led by
- Principals who do the work themselves
- Based
- South Africa; working internationally
- Capacity
- A limited number of engagements each year
06FAQ
Questions we are asked
What does Synaegis do?
Synaegis is a technology consultancy and strategic investor. We advise leadership teams on technology strategy, architecture and AI readiness, and we take investment positions in technology-led businesses.
Do you only work with South African companies?
No. We are based in South Africa and know the market well, but we work with clients and portfolio companies internationally wherever the problem is interesting enough.
What size of engagement do you take on?
Most consulting engagements run from two to twelve weeks with a fixed scope and a fixed price. Interim leadership arrangements run longer and are reviewed quarterly.
What kind of businesses do you invest in?
Post-revenue, early-growth technology or technology-enabled businesses where our operating involvement measurably changes the outcome rather than simply adding a name to the cap table.
Can you both advise and invest in the same company?
Yes, and we often do. Where it happens we declare it up front and structure it transparently, so that everyone at the table understands the position we hold.
07Contact
Start a conversation
Tell us what you are trying to decide. If we are the wrong people for it, we will say so and point you somewhere better.
hello@synaegis.co.za