SA’s HAVAC announces third close of $50 M third fund, makes four investments

With new and follow-on investments in SAPay, Entersekt, Sportable, and Talk360, South African venture capital firm HAVAÍC has announced the third 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 its portfolio companies, which serve over 20 million customers in 190 countries worldwide, demonstrates HAVAÑC’s track record of scaling African-born startups internationally. The company is headquartered in Cape Town.

Since South African impact investor E Squared Investments entered the market, Fund 3 has now secured commitments totaling more than US$30 million. In 2007, Allan Gray founded E Squared, which uses catalytic capital to promote inclusive economic growth and responsible entrepreneurship 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.”

The SA SME Fund, Universum Wealth, Fireball Capital, and Sanlam Multi-Manager are among the current cornerstone investors that E Squared has joined. A significant step for institutional involvement in this emerging asset class, Sanlam Multi-Manager’s 2024 investment was the group’s first allocation to South Africa’s venture capital sector, ahead of Fund 3’s second close in July 2025.

Fund 3 has invested US$10 million in eight businesses so far. SAPay, a Johannesburg-based fintech that is digitizing minibus taxi fares, and Entersekt, a fraud-prevention fintech founded in Stellenbosch, are examples of recent investments.

Investments in sports data and analytics platforms have doubled recently. Talk360 is a sports and international phone app. NjiaPay, a pan-African payments platform, and a rapidly expanding livestock trading platform were earlier Fund 3 investments. HAVAÍC now has 23 African tech startups in its portfolio, including SwiftVEE. RNR App, RapidDeploy, hearX Group, and AURA are examples of earlier follow-on investments.

“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.