Investors are increasingly looking for opportunities outside the US. (built from GenAI)
South Africa is firmly on the list when venture capital firms look for investment opportunities, with two “unicorns” worth more than $1 billion calling the country home.
According to Endeavor South Africa, the country is attracting solid international investment, enabling it to produce technology companies worth billions of dollars in fintech. digital Payments, HealthTech, Gaming, Enterprise software and green technologies.
This comes as investors move away from focusing on traditional tech hubs in the US in search of the next great opportunity.
A decade ago, most companies worth more than $1 billion were founded in the US. Today, more than half is built outside of it, says Endeavor South Africa, a non-profit that invests in and supports high-growth entrepreneurs.
Endeavor South Africa says capital is diversifying geographically and investors are looking for strong capital risk-Adjusted returns to markets were previously viewed as peripheral. “South Africa has increasingly become part of this dynamic,” it says.
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Kenya leads the way when it comes to value of deals in 2025. (Source: Partech Partners' Africa Tech Venture Capital Report)
The founders of unicorn companies GoTyme Bank (formerly TymeBank) and digital insurance company Pineapple were among 10 entrepreneurs selected to join Endeavor's global network of founders, investors and advisors at the organization's latest international selection panel held in Stellenbosch, South Africa late last year.
Endeavor South Africa says Pineapple's inclusion “reflects the growing global relevance of South Africa's scale-up economy and the potential of businesses emerging from the region”, while GoTyme Bank demonstrates that South African entrepreneurs can successfully scale across continents and compete globally.
Endeavor South Africa, which helped create 5 156 new jobs between 2021 and 2025 through its portfolio of companies, recently closed its Harvest Fund III. Investors include FirstRand, Standard Bank and Allan Gray as well as veteran founder-turned-investor Barry Swartzberg, co-founder of Discovery and Tyme Group co-founders Coenraad Jonker and Tjart van der Walt.
According to Partech Partners' 2025 Africa Tech Venture Capital Report, South Africa secured the second highest funding amount across the continent for 2025 with $715 million, behind Kenya's $1 037 million.
Data from the global venture capital firm shows that South Africa's overall deal-making rate increased by 27% compared to 2024, while total deals and volume increased by 25% year-on-year, reaching $4.1 billion across 570 deals, an increase of 7% year-on-year.
“South Africa has topped the equity deal count, making 2025 the first year since 2017 in which South Africa leads in both equity funding and equity deal activity in Africa, underscoring a new depth and maturity stage of its equity ecosystem,” says Partech Partners.
South Africa led the equity market by securing funding of $643 million in 2025. (Source: Partech Partners' Africa Tech Venture Capital Report)
Its data shows that in 2025, South Africa secured $643 million in funding (up 40% year-on-year) with 85 deals. Deals increased 27% year-over-year.
Meanwhile, according to the Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA), the ICT sector continued to attract the lion's share of capital in 2024, accounting for 65.9% of deal value, with software and online markets the top performing sub-sectors. SAVCA represents over 170 members who manage over R237 billion of funds.
Partech Partners says African tech funding picked up pace in 2025 after falling to $3.5 billion in 2023 and then to $3.3 billion the following year, down from a six-year high of $6.5 billion in 2022. Kenya, South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria accounted for 72% of the total funding, compared to 69% in 2024, confirming the persistence of a hub-driven ecosystem across the continent.
“Capital is increasingly following execution, not geography,” says Alison Collier, CEO of Endeavor South Africa. “In saturated tech hubs, competition for talent is intense, valuations are inflated, and customer acquisition costs are punishing. Increasingly, investors are finding strong risk-adjusted results in markets previously viewed as peripheral.”
“The evidence is already there,” says Collier. “The question is no longer whether emerging ecosystems can produce world-class companies. The question is how quickly these companies will reshape global markets as investment is driven by performance.”
* The deal is valued in dollars to ensure stability given the recent volatility of the rand due to the war in the Middle East. As of mid-morning the exchange rate is R16.36.