Company lists · Data refreshed September 2026

Top 25 Startup incubators based in South Africa

Name: Startup incubators based in South Africa
Creator: RevenueBase
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Compiled by the RevenueBase Data Team Data refreshed Sep 22, 2026 213 companies tracked

RevenueBase identified 213 startup incubators headquartered in South Africa as of September 2026 and tracks 1,541 professional contacts across them, including 296 with verified work emails. Cape Town is the largest hub.

This list covers startup incubators headquartered in South Africa, matched on what each company actually does as described in its own words. Ranked by team size, largest first. Every row shows the company's own description, its RevenueBase Smart Search rating, and when it was last checked. Data refreshed September 22, 2026.

Published by RevenueBase, a B2B data infrastructure company. This list was built with RevenueBase Smart Search, the natural-language company search RevenueBase customers use to build their own targeted lists and unlock verified emails and direct dials at the companies on them. How these lists are built and judged.

How to read this list HQ checked on every row RevenueBase Smart Search rating on every row Refreshed Sep 22, 2026 86% judged on-target in blind review

213Companies

1,541Contacts tracked

296Verified emails

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The 25 largest startup incubators based in South Africa

Ranked by team size

Top 25 of 213 startup incubators based in South Africa, ranked by team size, largest first. Data refreshed Sep 22, 2026. RevenueBase Smart Search rates how each company's information relates to startup incubators: strong evidence (its own description names it), partial (names part of it), indirect (matched on the rest of its profile rather than the description shown). Click a contact count to view that company's people.
#	Company	RevenueBase Smart Search	Headquarters	Employees	Contacts
1	Mlab Southern Africa	Indirect evidence	City Of Tshwane, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	n/a	167 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “When our youth are empowered with the right skills to innovate and create solutions, they unlock the opportunities for new businesses that will drive our economies forward.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
2	Black Umbrellas	Indirect evidence	Johannesburg, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	11-50	86 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “Black Umbrellas is an enterprise and supplier development incubation organisation that partners with entrepreneurs, investors and communities, to drive an inclusive economic…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
3	Tshimologong Precinct	Indirect evidence	Johannesburg, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	11-50	79 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “Tshimologong Precinct is a hub in the heart of Braamfontein where innovation and creativity meet to give birth to new digital beginnings.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
4	Property Point	Indirect evidence	Johannesburg, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	11-50	48 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “Property Point’s Incubation Programme was initiated as part of Growthpoint Properties’ enterprise development programme.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
5	22 On Sloane	Partial evidence	Sandton, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	11-50	47 contacts →
	Partial evidence “22 On Sloane is the largest startup campus and entrepreneurship hub in Africa.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
6	Chemin	Partial evidence	Johannesburg, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	51-200	42 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Chemin is a business incubator in the Chemical Manufacturing Sector.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
7	Civitas Network	Indirect evidence	Johannesburg, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	11-50	39 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “We believe honest entrepreneurs are a force for good in the world.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
8	E Squared Investments	Indirect evidence	Sandton City, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	11-50	37 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “A South African Impact Investor providing funding and end-to-end business support to high-growth businesses, early-stage founders and social enterprises focused on youth…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
9	Lepharo Incubation Programme NPC	Indirect evidence	Springs, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	11-50	34 contacts →
	Indirect evidence Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
10	Softstart BTI	Partial evidence	Johannesburg, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	11-50	31 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Softstart Business and Technology Incubator (Softstart BTI) was the result of a merger between the Softstart Trust and the Bodibeng Technology Incubator (BTI), effective 1st of…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
11	Botlhale Village	Indirect evidence	City Of Tshwane, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	11-50	30 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “At Botlhale Village, we harness the power of ICT to unlock innovative solutions and drive meaningful change within the community.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
12	The Cortex HUB	Partial evidence	East London, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	11-50	30 contacts →
	Partial evidence “The Cortex Hub is an ICT business incubator which aims to create global players through leading research and development and an incubation platform that will activate, nurture and…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
13	Smartxchange	Partial evidence	Durban, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	11-50	29 contacts →
	Partial evidence “ICT Hub and Small Business Incubator located in Durban, KZN, South Africa” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
14	WIBC	Partial evidence	Midrand, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	11-50	20 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Wouldn't It be Cool (WIBC: pronounced WIB- SEE) is an open innovation Idea & business incubator.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
15	Ramp Group PTY LTD	Indirect evidence	Cape Town, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	201-500	18 contacts →
	Indirect evidence Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
16	Awethu Project Holdings	Partial evidence	Johannesburg, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	1-10	18 contacts →
	Partial evidence “The Awethu Project, now Awethu Project Holdings (APH), was started in 2009 in the belief that there is exceptional, but under-developed entrepreneurial potential in emerging…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
17	GONXT	Strong evidence	Johannesburg, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	11-50	16 contacts →
	Strong evidence “A startup and incubator, currently working on retail and CPG value chain disruption platforms” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
18	Botshabelo Digital HUB	Indirect evidence	Botshabelo, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	51-200	14 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “Botshabelo Digital is a non-profit organization that provides an incubation program lasting for a period of up to three years.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
19	Endeavor South Africa	Indirect evidence	Johannesburg, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	1-10	14 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “We select Endeavor Entrepreneurs by searching the globe, identifying founders with the greatest growth potential, and inviting them to participate in our proprietary international…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
20	V & S Innovation	Partial evidence	Mount Edgecombe, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	1-10	13 contacts →
	Partial evidence “In an age where innovation is key to successfully growing your business, starting a new venture or disrupting the status quo, you need a business partner that has experienced it…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
21	Jozi Angels	Indirect evidence	Johannesburg, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	1-10	12 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “Jozi Angels is an angel network based in Johannesburg, South Africa.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
22	Gwconnect	Partial evidence	Pretoria, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	11-50	11 contacts →
	Partial evidence “What has started in 2014 as a “Graduate World Connect” service, linking university and college students in the employment world, has grown into a talent incubation environment…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
23	Branson Centre Of Entrepreneurship SA	Indirect evidence	Cape Town, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	11-50	10 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “The Branson Centre is a venture studio that is changing business for good.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
24	The School Of Entrepreneurship	Indirect evidence	Africa, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	1-10	9 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “At the School of Entrepreneurship, we believe the answer lies in entrepreneurship and boosting it among our unemployed, youth and our population as a whole.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
25	Launchlab	Partial evidence	Stellenbosch, South AfricaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026	1-10	9 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Stellenbosch University LaunchLab is Africa’s leading University Business Incubator supporting the Stellenbosch University entrepreneurial community to grow impactful…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026

RevenueBase Smart Search

RevenueBase Smart Search assesses information from a company’s LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website, and other publicly available sources. It uses that information to rate how closely the company relates to this list’s category: startup incubators. Every row carries its rating and the description the rating was read from, so each one can be checked rather than taken on trust.

Strong evidence: The company's own public description of its business names startup incubators.
Partial evidence: Its own public description names part of startup incubators, so it works in or next to the category without describing itself that way.
Indirect evidence: The description shown does not name startup incubators. The match rests on the rest of the company's public profile rather than the one sentence quoted here, so this is the rating to check first.

RevenueBase Smart Search is how these lists are built: RevenueBase's data engine and AI assemble the companies that match a category defined in a user's own words, so a list can be about what companies actually do rather than about whichever industry code they were filed under.

Showing 25 of 213 startup incubators based in South Africa

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Startup incubators based in South Africa at a glance

As of Sep 22, 2026

19.2%Verified-email coverage

7.2Average contacts per company

1-10Median size (employees)

29.1%Largest-city concentration · Cape Town

Sep 22, 2026Page data refreshed

Companies by employee count

1-10

144

11-50

51-200

201-500

501-1,000

1,001-5,000

10001+

Email recency for this list is measured worldwide rather than for South Africa, so it is reported there. Company counts and contact totals on this page are exact for South Africa, over 213 companies.

How this list was built

Company categories are rarely black and white. RevenueBase reads each company's own description of its business to decide whether it belongs among startup incubators, so some rows will be adjacent to the category rather than pure plays. The description and RevenueBase Smart Search rating on every row are there so you can check each match yourself.

Source: The RevenueBase company graph: 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts resolved from primary sources, queried with RevenueBase Smart Search, the natural-language company search available to every RevenueBase user.
What qualifies: Companies headquartered in South Africa whose own description of what they do matches “startup incubators”. Matching reads each company's description, not its industry code or its name.
RevenueBase Smart Search: RevenueBase Smart Search is how this list is assembled and how each row is rated. RevenueBase's data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to a category defined in a user's own words. Each row is rated strong evidence (its own description names startup incubators), partial evidence (it names part of the category) or indirect evidence (the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile). The description supporting each rating is quoted on the row.
What we exclude: Companies whose own description does not clearly place them among startup incubators, and records with no verified work email. Companies headquartered outside South Africa are excluded even when they keep an office there.
Match quality: In blind human judging of this matching method, 86% of matched companies were on target. Expect roughly 1 in 7 rows to be adjacent to the category rather than a pure play. Every row shows the company's own description and its RevenueBase Smart Search rating so you can judge each match yourself. Read the full methodology: how the lists are built, how the judging worked, and what the figure means.
Ranking: Team size, largest first: companies are ordered by the number of professionals RevenueBase tracks at each one. Employee ranges shown are reported bands, for context.
Verification: Every listed company carries at least one verified work email, 296 across the full list. Contacts re-verify on a rolling cadence, and each contact's own verification date is shown inside RevenueBase.
Refresh: This page's figures were pulled from the company graph on September 22, 2026. Lists refresh periodically as the graph is re-checked.
Corrections: Wrong category, wrong headquarters, or a company that has closed? Use “Report an issue” on any row. Reports go to the RevenueBase Data Team and feed back into the company graph.

Startup incubators by metro

Startup incubators in Cape Town62
Startup incubators in Johannesburg39

Frequently asked

What is RevenueBase Smart Search?

RevenueBase Smart Search is how RevenueBase decides which companies belong on this list and how strongly each one fits. Its data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to the category the list is about. Each row is rated strong evidence when the company's own description names startup incubators, partial evidence when it names part of the category, and indirect evidence when the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile.

How many startup incubators are there based in South Africa?

RevenueBase identified 213 startup incubators headquartered in South Africa as of September 2026, matched on each company's own description of what it does rather than its industry code.

What is the largest company on this list?

Mlab Southern Africa, headquartered in City Of Tshwane, tops this list with the largest team on record.

Which city has the most startup incubators?

Cape Town leads with 62 headquartered companies, followed by Johannesburg (39) and Pretoria (11).

How do I get contact information for these companies?

A free RevenueBase account lets you run this exact search and work the top results, verified emails and direct dials included. Upgrading unlocks all 296 verified decision-maker contacts tracked across these 213 companies.

How current is this list?

The list refreshes periodically as the company graph is re-checked. This page's figures were pulled on September 22, 2026.

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About this data

RevenueBase is a B2B data infrastructure company. Its company graph covers 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts, with emails verified on a rolling cadence rather than scraped once and left to decay. These company lists are generated directly from that graph with RevenueBase Smart Search, the same natural-language company search every RevenueBase user has: describe a market in plain words, get the companies that match, and add verified emails and direct dials for the people at them. It is the same data that powers RevenueBase's B2B data products, and a free account includes 500 credits to start. How these lists are built and judged.