SA’s HAVAÍC makes four investments; announces second close of its third fund worth $50 M
With new and follow-on investments in SAPay, Sportable, NjiaPay, and SwiftVEE, South African venture capital firm HAVAÍC has announced the second close of its third US$50 million fund. With these investments, the firm is on track to complete up to 15 investments in technology startups with global potential that are born in Africa.
Leading African venture capital investment manager HAVAÍC helps high-growth, early-stage technology companies founded in Africa succeed both domestically and globally.
The reach of HAVAÍC’s portfolio companies, which serve over 20 million customers in 190 countries worldwide, demonstrates the organization’s reputation for helping African-born startups grow internationally. HAVAÍC is headquartered in Cape Town. The company is planning 15 more investments after the US$15 million first close of its new fund.
Startups in the seed and Series B stages will receive investments from the African Innovation Fund 3. With additional follow-on allocations from Fireball Capital and the SA SME Fund, the fund has now achieved a second close of US$25 million with assistance from Sanlam Multi-Manager.
The African Innovation Fund 3, which was established in August 2024, is allocating 15 investments in high-growth, impactful, early-stage post-revenue ventures that originated in Africa and have the potential to expand both regionally and internationally. The fund’s most recent investments in SAPay and a subsequent investment in Sportable occur at the second close.
In July, HAVAÍC supported SAPay with a US$1 million investment as part of a larger funding round, serving as the lead investor in the fintech’s first external funding round. The early-stage company is setting the standard for digitalizing payments in the South African taxi industry, increasing financial inclusion and sector efficiency.
Additionally, in July, HAVAÍC, the lead investor in Sportable’s bridge to series B funding round, completed a second US$1 million follow-on investment in the company. In October 2023, the VC made its initial investment in the sports data collection and analytics platform, which fueled their swift global expansion and increased the number of skilled and representative jobs in South Africa.
Following Q1 investments in the rapidly expanding livestock trading platform SwiftVEE and the Pan-African payments platform NjiaPay, HAVAÍC’s portfolio of 22 funds, which serves 22 million customers in 183 countries, is strengthened.
“Welcoming Sanlam Multi-Manager into our Fund 3, along with added commitments from the SA SME Fund and Fireball Capital, is a testament to our track record for not only delivering leading returns by supporting African-born businesses, but also creating meaningful social and economic change through our investments. Together, we can continue supporting our continent’s dynamic tech entrepreneurs and grow African VC to new heights,” said Ian Lessem, managing partner at HAVAÍC.
