PROFILE AIONS CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY
Aions:
The startup accelerator South Africa needs
MITCHAN ADAMS
Starting a business is tough, and in South Africa, 50 % of startups fail within two years, and 80 % within five years. Key factors include lack of funding, mentorship and diversity. Mitchan Adams, founder and CEO of Aions Creative Technology, is changing these odds by helping startups not just survive, but thrive.
The company, founded by Adams in 2022, is a local venture builder and business incubator with two clear goals: to help scale local startups into sustainable businesses and improve B-BBEE practices within corporate South Africa. By fostering this growth, he believes South Africa can create the jobs it desperately needs to combat high unemployment.
The name Aions is inspired by the Greek word Aeon, meaning‘ age’ or‘ life-force’, and the Finnish verb for intention. It reflects his vision of a self-sustaining cycle where the businesses Aions incubates are paired with corporates seeking B-BBEE recipients. With the right mentorship and funding, these small businesses will grow rapidly, creating jobs and contributing to the South African economy.
... he is helping small businesses overcome common challenges and reach their full potential.
A journey of innovation and leadership
His career began in IT, eventually leading him into the fintech sector where he co-founded Ozow Payments in 2014. The vision for Ozow was to create Southern Africa’ s largest alternative
payments platform. Under his leadership, the company expanded from just three founders to over 100 employees, with offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town. In just seven years, the Ozow’ s valuation grew from zero to hundreds of millions in USD, culminating in a $ 48 million Series B investment round led by Tencent in 2021. After this, Adams chose to exit the day-today operations, focusing on his new venture with Aions.
Empowering the next generation of startups
To date, the company has incubated and invested in nine startups, including Coco Brands, Scooter, Level Finance, Tubby’ s Kitchen, Credipple, Delivery Ka Speed, Space Salad, The Awareness Company, and Welo. These businesses are already making their mark in various industries, and Adams is committed to expanding the programme further in the coming years.
“ The ultimate opportunity is to create sustainable businesses, which will then provide sustainable jobs, which will create the future customers for South African businesses,” Adams explains.“ And that’ s a win for everyone.”
Through Aions Creative Technology, he is helping small businesses overcome common challenges and reach their full potential. With his mentorship and innovative approach, Adams is proving that with the right resources and support, the future of South African startups is not only possible – it’ s promising. ■
122 SA PROFILE www. saprofilemagazine. co. za