Fund managers, who are backing startups, SMEs and other business ventures that banks don’t ordinarily touch, are expecting a bumper year in 2021 after Covid-19 disrupted most of the fundraising initiatives last year. The private equity and venture capital industry, which in South Africa was given life by wealthy individuals, including Mark Shuttleworth, former FNB CEO Michael Jordaan and Patrice Motsepe, has over the years grown to billions of rands, reducing its dependency on “super angel investors”.