South African VC firm HAVAÍC has announced the third close of its third, US$50 million fund, and with new and follow-on investments in SAPay, Entersekt, Sportable, and Talk360 is on course to complete up to 15 investments in Africa-born technology startups with global potential.
HAVAÍC is a leading African VC investment manager that invests in and supports early-stage, high-growth African-born technology businesses to achieve local and international success.
Headquartered in Cape Town, HAVAÍC’s track record for scaling African-born startups internationally is evident by the reach of its portfolio companies, which serve over 20 million customers in 190 countries worldwide.
Fund 3 has now secured over US$30 million in commitments following the entry of South African impact investor E Squared Investments. Established by Allan Gray in 2007, E Squared channels catalytic capital in support of responsible entrepreneurship and inclusive economic growth in South Africa.
“HAVAÍC’s track record of backing African innovation that translates into sustainable, real-world outcomes strongly reflects our investment philosophy,” said Pyi Maung, chief investment officer at E Squared. “Their combination of capital and strategic support enables Africa-born startups to scale responsibly and access global markets, which aligns closely with E Squared’s focus on long-term value creation. We look forward to being a part of their continued impact through our investment in Fund 3.”
E Squared joins existing cornerstone investors Fireball Capital, Universum Wealth, the SA SME Fund, and Sanlam Multi-Manager. Sanlam Multi-Manager’s 2024 investment, ahead of Fund 3’s second close in July 2025, marked the group’s first allocation to South Africa’s VC industry and a notable step for institutional participation in this burgeoning asset class.
To date, Fund 3 has deployed US$10 million in eight companies. Recent investments include SAPay, the Johannesburg-based fintech digitising minibus taxi fares, and Stellenbosch-born fraud-prevention fintech Entersekt.
Recent follow-on investments include doubling down on sports data and analytics platform Sportable and international calling app Talk360. Earlier Fund 3 investments saw pan-African payments platform NjiaPay and fast-growing livestock trading platform SwiftVEE join HAVAÍC’s 23-strong portfolio of African technology startups. Earlier follow-on investments include RNR App, RapidDeploy, hearX Group, and AURA.
“We look forward to accelerating our portfolio’s impact with the support of E Squared’s investment and doubling down on our strategy to grow local innovation by unlocking international markets. As evidenced by our portfolio companies’ growth and enduring positive returns, the African VC industry has the talent, technology, and opportunities to catalyse sustainable job creation and social empowerment on the continent. This is where investors with a strong appetite for creating impact should be deploying their capital,” said Ian Lessem, managing partner at HAVAÍC.
