Endeavor South Africa has announced the final close of its Harvest Fund III at R230-million, bringing together institutional investors and founder capital to back later-stage technology companies across South Africa and the broader continent.
The rules-based co-investment vehicle invests alongside qualified lead investors, with the bulk of its capital allocated to series-B and later-stage companies. It reached final close after a first close of R190-million in October 2024.
The fund has already deployed capital into a number of high-growth businesses, including GoTyme Bank, Onafriq, Entersekt and Plentify, Endeavor said. It is supported by a pipeline of about 40 Endeavor companies in South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya that are currently raising capital, drawn from a broader portfolio of 144 businesses.
New and existing investors include FirstRand, the SA SME Fund, Standard Bank and Allan Gray, alongside a growing group of South African founders and operators. Among them are Barry Swartzberg, co-founder of Discovery and chair of Endeavor South Africa, and Tyme Group co-founders Coenraad Jonker and Tjaart van der Walt.
“The strongest venture ecosystems are built when successful founders reinvest their capital, experience and networks into the next generation,” said Van der Walt, who also sits on the Endeavor South Africa board, in a statement on Tuesday. “This combination of entrepreneurial insight and institutional capital creates a powerful multiplier effect for both companies and the broader ecosystem.”
‘Exits matter’
Endeavor South Africa CEO Alison Collier said local founders typically lacked global networks and coordinated peer support more than they lacked capital. “Harvest Fund III is designed to close that gap and help more companies reach meaningful scale, leveraging the Endeavor founder-led network,” she said.
The model has shown results. Endeavor South Africa said the 17 companies in its earlier Harvest Fund II portfolio grew revenue at 49% annually and employment at 24% a year between 2020 and 2025, raising more than R27-billion in capital over the same period.
Read: VC’s centre of gravity is shifting – and South Africa is in the frame
SA SME Fund CEO Ketso Gordhan said in the statement that the new fund mattered as much for what it signalled about exits as for the capital it deployed. “As the market matures, exits matter more than ever. They validate the asset class, recycle capital and build long-term confidence in venture investing,” he said. — (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media
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