South Africa is a beautiful country and is also one of the continent's leaders in terms of economic capability. With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that there are some top startups in South Africa. South African startups have a number of advantages compared to some of their counterparts on the continent, which allows them to grow and experience success.
South Africa experiences strong VC funding in the region and despite experiencing a large downturn from $1 Billion total VC funding in 2021, to $500 Million in 2022- this is largely due to external economic factors which have impacted most economies. This is after years of consistent growth in the ecosystem.
There are also a number of startup development programs being implemented by government agencies. One such example is the National Youth Development Agency grant which gives young entrepreneurs the chance to access financial and non-financial support for their early-stage businesses.
1. NFTfi
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Cape Town, South Africa
Size: 1-10
Founders: Jonathan Gabler, Stephen Young
NFTfi is a South African startup that was founded in 2020 and is currently based in Cape Town. The company works in the blockchain market and has created a peer-to-peer platform for the holders of NFTs using permissionless smart contract infrastructure to connect lenders and borrowers.
The startup has been quite successful in raising startup funding since being founded, with a round of funding in November 2021 netting the company $5 Million. It is unclear whether the business has further plans for funding.
2. Naked Insurance
Year Founded: 2016
HQ: Johannesburg, South Africa
Size: 11-50
Founders: Alex Thomson, Sumarie Greybe
Naked Insurance is a South African startup that was founded in 2016 and is currently based in Johannesburg. The company works in the insurance market and provides quick 90-second quotes for a range of insurance products, using AI to reduce the charges to customers.
The business has been incredibly successful in raising startup funding since being founded, with a total of $17 Million being raised by the company's most recent funding round. This was a Series B that took place in February 2023.
3. Adumo
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: Bryanston, South Africa
Size: 101-250
Founders: Paul Kent
Adumo is a South African startup that was founded in 2019 and is currently based in Bryanston, South Africa. The company works in the FinTech market and helps businesses and consumers with the processing of payments, to create a better financial ecosystem within the country.
This South African startup has been successful in raising startup funding, with a total of $25.9 Million being raised across two funding rounds. It is likely that the business will seek further funding in the future.
4. Porcupine Union
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Johannesburg, South Africa
Size: 51-100
Founders: Unavailable
Porcupine Union is a South African startup that was founded in 2020 and is currently based in Johannesburg. The company works in the consultancy space and provides a range of services for its customers, from IT infrastructure to branding, culture improvements and better decision making.
Despite the growth seen in the business, it has not yet publicly sought any startup funding. It is unclear whether the business has plans to raise startup funding in the near future.
5. Ukheshe Technologies
Year Founded: 2018
HQ: Johannesburg, South Africa
Size: 101-250
Founders: Clayton Hayward, Jason Penton, Mike Smits, Paul Carter-Brown
Ukheshe Technologies is a South African startup that was founded in 2018 and is currently based in Johannesburg. The company operates in the FinTech market and provides technology solutions for a single API that allows their customers to take a range of payments and integrate their technology with other solutions.
This startup has been incredibly successful in raising startup funding since being founded. In total, the company has managed to raise a total of $42 Million in startup funding, with future funding looking likely.
6. ARC Business Process Outsourcing
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: Cape Town, South Africa
Size: 51-100
Founders: Anya Strydom, Farah Lippert
Arc Business Process Outsourcing is a South African startup that is based in Cape Town and was founded in 2019. The company provides outsourcing services for sales and customer service to businesses in the European Union. They offer reduced costs for their tasks and better efficiencies.
Despite the growth of the business in the last few years, it has not yet raised any outside funding to further its expansion. It's unclear whether the team will seek funding in the immediate future.
7. Sendmarc
Year Founded: 2018
HQ: Gauteng, South Africa
Size: 11-50
Founders: Keith Thompson, Sacha Matulovich, Sam Hutchinson
Sendmarc is a startup in South Africa that was founded in 2018 and is currently based in Gauteng, South Africa. The company works in the cybersecurity industry and eliminates the organisational risk of imposters by making sure that every email sent is by the real person and eliminates the risk of phishing attacks.
The business has been incredibly successful in raising startup funding since being founded, with a total of $7 Million being raised. This funding was achieved with the support of nine investors.
8. OfferZen
Year Founded: 2015
HQ: Cape Town, South Africa
Size: 101-250
Founders: Brett Jones, Malan Joubert, Philip Joubert
OfferZen is a South African startup that was founded in 2015 and is currently based in Cape Town. The company has developed an improved job marketplace for companies to connect with talented developers. The company has operations in multiple different countries and has rapidly expanded in recent years.
The business has had a lot of success in raising outside funding, with the company raising a total of $5.1 Million during its Series A funding round. This funding round was completed in December 2021.
9. Carry1st
Year Founded: 2018
HQ: Cape Town, South Africa
Size: 51-100
Founders: Cordel Robbin-Coker, Lucy Hoffman, Tinotenda Mundangepfupfu
Carry1st is a South African startup that was founded in 2018 and is currently based in the city of Cape Town. The company operates in the gaming market and is behind the development and publishing of a range of fun mobile games. They aim to tap into the potential of the fastest growing gaming market, in Africa.
The company has been incredibly successful in raising startup funding since being founded. The startup's most recent funding round in January 2023 netted it $27 Million to fuel expansion into other markets.
10. KAS Africa
Year Founded: 2015
HQ: Midrand, South Africa
Size: 101-250
Founders: Unavailable
KAS Africa is a South African startup that was founded in 2015 and is currently based in Midrand. The company operates in the healthcare sector and develops and manufactures a range of products for personal, home, baby and oral care. Their products aim to make Africa a healthier place overall.
The business has gone through a single round of startup funding since being founded, with this round netting the company $10 Million from TRT Investments in April 2021 for further expansion.
11. Flow
Year Founded: 2017
HQ: Johannesburg, South Africa
Size: 11-50
Founders: Daniel Levy, Gil Sperling, Jonathan Liebmann
Flow is a South African startup that was founded in 2017 and is currently based in Joahnnesburg. The company operates in the PropTech market and helps real estate agents and developers to improve their social media marketing and get them seen online using a range of effective tools provided by the business.
Flow has been successful in raising startup funding, with the business raising a total of $4.5 Million during its Pre-Series A round in January 2023. This funding will be used to fuel further expansion.
12. Planet42
Year Founded: 2017
HQ: Gauteng, South Africa
Size: 51-100
Founders: Eerik Oja, Marten Orgna
Planet42 is a South African startup that was founded in 2017 and is based in the city of Gauteng. The company works in the transportation sector and has created an easier way for people in Africa to lease a vehicle, then at any point during the lease, the customer is able to buy the vehicle outright, with the price decreasing each month.
The company has been hugely successful in raising startup funding, with the company raising a mammoth $100 Million in funding during its most recent funding round. This is to meet the aim of providing one million cars across the world.
13. Dragonfly Aerospace
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Stellenbosch, South Africa
Size: 101-250
Founders: Bryan Dean, Kannas Wild, Rikus Cronje
Dragonfly Aerospace is a South African startup that was founded in 2020 and is currently based in Stellenbosch. The company operates in the aerospace sector and provides a range of services for commercial satellites. They develop a range of tools and products to build these satellites and are at the forefront of the South African space race.
Despite the large amount of money in the aerospace sector, the company has not yet publicly sought any additional funding. It is unclear if the company has immediate plans to find funding.
14. Carscan
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: Johannesburg, South Africa
Size: 1-10
Founders: Chander Prakash, Obins Choudhary
Carscan is a South African startup that was founded in 2019 and is currently based in Johannesburg. The company operates in the automotive sector and has created a solution that allows for quicker and more convenient health checks on vehicles through the use of a single scan from the user's smartphone.
The business has gone through a single startup funding round since being founded, raising a total of ZAR 20 Million from a total of six investors. It is currently clear if the company has immediate plans to raise further funding.
15. Yebo Fresh
Year Founded: 2018
HQ: Cape Town, South Africa
Size: 11-50
Founders: Jessica Boonstra
Yebo Fresh is a South African startup that was founded in 2018 and is currently based in the city of Cape Town. The company aims to improve the local economy in South Africa by building and providing e-commerce infrastructure for small businesses in a variety of townships across the country, improving their sales capability.
This company has been successful in raising startup funding, with the company's most recent funding round taking place in January 2023. This funding round netted $4.5 Million to the business.
16. AURA
Year Founded: 2017
HQ: Johannesburg, South Africa
Size: 51-100
Founders: Adam Pantanowitz, Pyan Green, Warren Myers
Aura is a South African startup that was founded in 2017 and is currently based in Johannesburg. The company aims to democratize the access to emergency response services for people across the globe, operating in South Africa, Kenya and the UK. People are able to access security and medical response units rapidly and safely.
The company has been successful in raising startup funding since being founded. The company's most recent funding round netted the team $4 Million to help further develop the business.
17. Stitch
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: Cape Town, South Africa
Size: 11-50
Founders: Kiaan Pillay, Natalie Cuthbert, Priyen Pillay
Stitch is a South African startup that was founded in 2019 and is currently based in Cape Town. The company operates in the FinTech market and is the first API in the country that allows users to tokenize their financial accounts, enabling them to make one-click payments, which are more convenient.
The business has been very successful in securing startup funding since being founded. With the startup raising $21 Million in February 2022 so it could further improve on the infrastructure of its APIs.
18. Lift Airline
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Cape Town, South Africa
Size: 101-250
Founders: Gidon Novick
Lift is a South African startup that was founded in 2020 and is currently based in Cape Town. The company operates in the travel market and provides convenient, flexible and reasonably priced travel to a range of destinations for people in the country. They're making it easier for South Africans to have experiences abroad.
Despite the capital-expense involved in running an airline, the business has not yet publicly sought any outside startup funding. It is unclear whether the business has plans to raise funding in the near future.
19. IoT.nxt
Year Founded: 2015
HQ: Centurion, South Africa
Size: 51-100
Founders: Bertus Jacobs, Nico Steyn, Terje Moen
IoT.nxt is a South African startup that was founded in 2015 and is currently based in Centurion. The company operates in the IoT market and provides a range of solutions to reduce overheads and increase safety across a variety of industries, such as telecoms, utilities and more.
The business has been incredibly successful in raising startup funding since being founded, with the company raising a total of $7.7 Million to further its global expansion plans. The business clearly has a strong model for success.
20. Jem
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Cape Town, South Africa
Size: 11-50
Founders: Alex Platt, Caroline van der Merwe, Nick Platt, Simon Ellis
Jem is a South African startup that was founded in 2020 and is currently based in Cape Town. The company works in the HR market and has provided a solution that allows employers to send crucial documentation such as payslips, instant employee documentation and early access to pay, all through the use of WhatsApp.
The business has seen success in raising startup funding, with a total of $2.5 Million being raised from a total of six investors. It's unclear if the startup has immediate plans for additional funding.
21. FoondaMate
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Cape Town, South Africa
Size: 1-10
Founders: Dacod Magagula, Tao Laine Boyle
Foondamate is a South African startup that was founded in 2020 and is currently based in Cape Town. The company has developed an AI chatbot platform that allows students to ask a variety of questions relating to their schoolwork. They then get answers rapidly and can improve their studies.
The business has taken part in a single round of startup funding since being founded, with the EdTech company raising $2 Million in funding from a total of eight investors during its Seed Round.
FAQs
How Many Startups Are There in South Africa?
There are currently more than 600 tech startups in South Africa.
What is the Average Investment in South African Startups?
The average Seed Round in South Africa is worth $333,000 and the average Series A is worth $1.1 Million.
What Startup Industries Are The Strongest in South Africa?
The strongest startup industries in South Africa are Education, Transportation and FinTech.
