Although Mosima Attorneys focuses mainly on corporate and commercial law, they also have a department which specialises in offering strategic advice to start-up tech companies. The firm works alongside them to get them investor-ready and assists them with mergers and acquisitions. “After gaining much useful experience in commercial law, I realised that the African tech market is becoming more relevant globally, and there is a shortage of lawyers dedicated to their support,” said the firm's director, Thanny Mosima.
With a division focused purely on start-ups, the staff at Mosima Attorneys stay abreast of developments and imminent acts by having the right infrastructure in the firm that gives them regular updates, ensuring that their advice is precise. This well connected firm knows the people where the law is applied and knows where the problems are, so they can tell clients exactly how a particular amendment will affect their businesses and can make them aware of particular pitfalls.
“When I attended the Big 5 Digital Summit hosted as part of the Cape Silicon Initiative, I received first hand insight of some of the challenges that start-ups are facing. When one of the hosts mentioned that ours was the first legal firm to attend in the history of the summit, it gave me perspective on how much more work needs to be done,” Mosima explained.
Mosima Attorneys’ highly specialised team members have already shared valuable knowledge and guidance with a number of tech industry enterprises.
“We have rendered our services to corporates in the e-health and edutech sectors and assisted them with drafting their pitch decks and other related corporate agreements. We also assisted them with negotiating their funding terms, drafted terms and conditions and advised some on the POPIA Act. Our involvement gave some of the corporations great exposure to the venture capitalists that our firm is affiliated with,” said Mosima.
In order to guide start-ups through their growth process, Mosima Attorneys first establishes the impact these companies are aiming to make in society.
Some of the biggest challenges facing start-ups are procurement limitations and visa regulations, but Mosima Attorneys has a way of solving each client’s problems. “After establishing some critical information from the client, we ask them what problem they are trying to solve and how it is making people's lives better. We then establish where the company is on the maturity curve – if we haven't already done that – and then we proceed to tailor make our solution to meet their legal and commercial needs,” Mosima explained.
Mosima Attorneys also offers other services such as competition law advice, employment agreements, IP related issues, corporate commercial advice, regulatory and compliance advice. The team is highly specialised in dealing with IP agreements, licence agreements, IP due diligence, and trademark and copyright issues, and believes their assistance is cost effective even for start-ups.
Their tailored cost engineering system proves that Mosima Attorneys is more than just a legal advisory service. “We are part of their team because we bring more than legal advice to the table. We bring our network of accelerators, investors and venture capitalists who play a role in scaling their business all the way to a successful exit,” Mosima emphasised.
As they look to the future, Mosima Attorneys is committed to expanding their presence, advancing corporate and commercial work, and contributing to the growth of the tech sector in Africa, all while remaining true to their mission as a fully black-owned firm.
To join Africa Legal's mailing list please click here