a structural change Global venture capital is on the upswing, with investors increasingly turning to emerging markets as performance in traditional tech hubs remains subdued.
The best risk-adjusted returns are no longer concentrated in a handful of established ecosystems – and this is not a philosophical shift, it is a performance-driven shift.
In saturated tech hubs, competition for talent is intense, valuations have soared and customer acquisition costs are punishing. Increasingly, investors are finding strong risk-adjusted results in markets previously viewed as peripheral.
Endeavor is seeing this trend across its global network. Founders in markets like Poland, Turkey, Greece, Latin America, the Middle East and across Africa are building capital-efficient, globally ambitious companies that are shaped by local constraints that demand discipline from day one. Capital is increasingly following performance, not geography.
This change was evident in December 2025 when South Africa hosted an international Endeavor event in Stellenbosch with its network of global founders, investors and business leaders. Fifteen companies from 11 countries were evaluated, with 10 entrepreneurs selected to join Endeavor's global community, including founders of unicorn companies – privately held businesses valued at more than US$1 billion – such as GoTyme Bank (formerly TymeBank), Mercado Libre, Careem, Go1 and InstaDeep.
correcting imbalance
Those selected also include Pineapple, a South African insur-tech company that is rethinking insurance for digitally native consumers. Its inclusion reflects the growing global relevance of South Africa's growing economy and the potential of businesses emerging from the region.
The broader context is important. The region spanning Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East is home to more than 60% of the world's population and nearly 40% of global GDP, yet has historically received a disproportionately small share of global venture funding. That imbalance is beginning to be corrected.
Reading: At last, South Africa is fixing its biggest VC hurdle
A decade ago, most unicorns were founded in the US. Today more than half has been built outside it, following which capital has begun to arrive.
South Africa has increasingly become part of this movement. The country has attracted meaningful international investment, created multibillion-dollar technology companies, and developed depth in fintech, digital payments, health-tech, gaming, enterprise software, and green technologies.
Companies like GoTyme Bank demonstrate that South African entrepreneurs can successfully span continents and compete globally.
Today's most competitive entrepreneurs are not bound by a postcode. They design for cross-border markets from the start, leveraging distributed teams and serving global customers, no matter where they are headquartered.
What stood out most at the Stellenbosch gathering was the shared ambition among the founders from Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Kenya, Mexico and Ukraine. Many of them operate in complex environments with limited access to capital and volatile currencies, demanding flexibility and disciplined capital allocation.
That flexibility, coupled with ambition, is becoming one of the defining advantages of this generation of entrepreneurs.
As capital continues to diversify geographically, markets like South Africa are positioned to benefit, provided founders build scale and investors identify where performance is emerging.
The evidence already exists. The question is no longer whether emerging ecosystems can produce world-class companies, but rather how quickly these companies will reshape global markets as investment follows performance.
Reading: VC funding in South Africa runs counter to international trends
With venture capital increasingly distributed rather than concentrated, 2026 could mark a turning point in the way global investors allocate capital. South Africa is ready.
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