By SAVCA
Southern Africa’s venture capital (VC) industry continues to demonstrate resilience, adaptability and growing maturity, with investors deploying R2.48 billion ($152.15 million) across more than 200 funding rounds in 2025, while increasingly backing existing portfolio companies through successive growth stages. The industry’s active portfolio has now expanded to 1,529 investments, with assets under management reaching approximately R15.45 billion ($947.85 million).
These are among the key findings from the 2026 SAVCA Venture Capital Industry Survey, released last week at a launch event attended by industry stakeholders at Cape Town’s Mount Nelson Hotel.
“The conversation is evolving,” said Anusha Naidu, SAVCA’s CEO. “We’re moving beyond measuring capital raised and deals completed to see increasing evidence of companies scaling, expanding into new markets, attracting international customers, and building globally relevant technology from Southern Africa.”
The annual survey, which has tracked the performance of the local VC market since 2010, is conducted by SAVCA in partnership with independent research firm VS Nova. Using a bottom-up methodology, participating fund managers submit verified portfolio data, which is then aggregated and analysed to identify trends across investment activity, sectors, stages of funding and broader ecosystem development. The latest edition reports on activity during the 2025 calendar year.
According to Stephen Lamprecht, Founder of VS Nova, this year’s findings point to significant consolidation of capital – a signal that the industry is gearing up for exits. “While capital deployment was lower than last year’s record levels, investment activity remains historically strong and considerably higher than pre-COVID levels. What we’re seeing is a concentration of capital towards fewer deals and more follow-on investment rounds, which reflects what is happening globally as investors support businesses towards larger growth milestones and eventual exits.”
The survey recorded 212 deals across 91 companies during 2025, compared with 222 deals across 110 companies the previous year, highlighting a growing trend towards syndicated investment activity, including capital from additional investors participating in the same funding rounds. On average, companies received 2.3 funding rounds during the year.
Technology-enabled businesses continued to dominate investment activity, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all deals. FinTech emerged as the leading category, while ICT security and AgriTech also attracted strong investor interest.
“To some observers, ICT may appear over-concentrated, but it reflects where most developed VC markets invest at an early stage,” said Lamprecht. “These businesses have the ability to scale rapidly and participate in the digitisation of the global economy.”
The survey also reflects the increasingly international nature of Southern African VC. International co-investors remain active participants in local funding rounds, while a growing proportion of investments involve businesses with operations or structures extending beyond Southern Africa’s borders.
Overall, the data suggests an ecosystem that is steadily progressing towards greater sophistication. VC investors continue to play an active role beyond providing funding, supporting portfolio companies through strategic guidance, governance, introductions to future investors and broader growth enablement.
The industry’s contribution to economic development also remains evident. More than 71% of portfolio companies reported employment growth following investment, with one new job created for every 3.2 existing positions. The survey further found improvements in transformation metrics, including stronger B-BBEE credentials, higher female CEO representation and greater female and black founder diversity among participating fund managers.
Exit data provides further evidence of a maturing asset class. During 2025, investors reported 10 exits, six of which were profitable. These profitable exits returned R281.2 million ($17.25 million) to investors on R99.3 million ($6.09 million) invested into the same transactions, demonstrating the sector’s ability to recycle capital and generate realised returns.
“The sustained exits that we’ve been able to demonstrate in the asset class are very convincing – and very exciting,” said Naidu. “The ability to show recycling of capital through fundamental exits and realised returns is consistent with more mature markets internationally and very positive for Southern Africa.
“Our SA exits are not isolated success stories, and we demonstrate consistency and confidence in the asset class,” she concluded. “This is an important milestone for our ecosystem, but we also need to remind ourselves that there’s still work to be done. This means thinking about where we want the ecosystem to be in five years’ time and how we ensure that Southern Africa remains a destination of choice for entrepreneurial talent and investment capital.”
