Company lists · Data refreshed September 2026

Top 25 Venture backed startups based in South Africa

RevenueBase identified 106 company matches for venture backed startups associated with South Africa as of September 2026 and tracks 381 professional contacts across them, including 132 with verified work emails. Cape Town is the largest hub.

This list covers company matches for venture backed startups associated with South Africa, found by RevenueBase SmartSearch using the meaning of business descriptions in its company graph at Exact. Ranked by professionals tracked, largest first. Rows show recorded descriptions where available, Exact search membership and the snapshot date. Data refreshed September 22, 2026.

Published by RevenueBase, a B2B data infrastructure company. This list was built with RevenueBase SmartSearch, 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 RevenueBase SmartSearch · Exact Recorded Sep 22, 2026 How this list was built
106Companies
381Contacts tracked
132Verified emails
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The 25 largest venture backed startups based in South Africa

Ranked by team size
Top 25 of 106 company matches for venture backed startups based in South Africa, ordered by professional contacts tracked in RevenueBase, largest first. Recorded Sep 22, 2026. The RevenueBase SmartSearch column shows Exact match membership in this saved search. Click a contact count to view that company's people. Totals use company locations recorded by RevenueBase; the displayed preview is a smaller selection.
#CompanyRevenueBase SmartSearchHeadquartersEmployeesContacts
1Exact matchStellenbosch, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 2026201-50026 contacts →

Exact match

“Alphawave, an established investment group, specializes in early- and growth-stage ventures, enabling the best in their field to build successful global tech businesses.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
2Exact matchCape Town, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-1018 contacts →

Exact match

“Knife Capital is an independent growth equity investment firm focusing on innovation-driven ventures with proven traction.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
3Exact matchCape Town, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 2026201-50018 contacts →

Exact match

Recorded description not available.

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
4Exact matchCape Town, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-1014 contacts →

Exact match

“LOCAL INNOVATION.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
5Exact matchJohannesburg, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-1013 contacts →

Exact match

“FiTech Ventures is involved in helping innovative tech startups reach their full potential.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
6Exact matchJohannesburg, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-1012 contacts →

Exact match

“Jozi Angels is an angel network based in Johannesburg, South Africa.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
7Exact matchCape Town, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 202611-5010 contacts →

Exact match

“The Branson Centre is a venture studio that is changing business for good.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
8Exact matchJohannesburg, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-109 contacts →

Exact match

“We are a female-led investment firm addressing the funding gap for early-stage businesses in Africa, with a focus on gender inclusive tech businesses in Southern Africa.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
9Exact matchMidrand, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 202611-509 contacts →

Exact match

“From coal mining to the silver screen and all things in between, Talent 10 Holdings does venture capital like no one else.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
10Exact matchCape Town, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-109 contacts →

Exact match

“Alphacode Venture Partners is a leading, independent Africa focused venture capital firm run by experienced investors funding early-stage fintech and industry adjacent technology…”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
11Exact matchJohannesburg And Cape Town, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-108 contacts →

Exact match

“E4E Africa supports early stage ventures in South Africa from very early stage to scale up.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
12Exact matchCape Town, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-108 contacts →

Exact match

“4Di Capital is a Cape Town-based venture capital fund management firm focused on early-stage technology investments in sub-Saharan Africa.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
13Exact matchCape Town, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-108 contacts →

Exact match

“It is our mission to build businesses that are original and world changing.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
14Exact matchCape Town, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-107 contacts →

Exact match

“Newtown Partners is the family office of successful startup entrepreneurs Llew Claasen and Vinny Lingham.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
15Exact matchCape Town, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-106 contacts →

Exact match

“Venturen (founded in 2016) is a venture builder and strategic partner that empowers problem-solvers.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
16Exact matchCape Town, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-106 contacts →

Exact match

“SAAD Investment Holdings (SAAD) was established in 2006 as the investment arm of the Tree of Life group.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
17Exact matchCape Town, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-105 contacts →

Exact match

“The Lone Bull Group is a South African private equity and venture capital funding firm.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
18Exact matchCape Town, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-105 contacts →

Exact match

“Founded in 1997, Rational Expectations is an investment company based in the heart of Cape Town.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
19Exact matchCape Town, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-105 contacts →

Exact match

“Raba is an investment partnership focused on partnering with entrepreneurs in emerging technology ecosystems.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
20Exact matchCape Town, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-104 contacts →

Exact match

“We invest globally across all stages, from seed to listed shares, with a focus on marketplace and software businesses.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
21Exact matchJohannesburg, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-104 contacts →

Exact match

“Kalon Venture Partners invests in and builds a portfolio of high growth technology companies, with innovative business models, geared to existing and emerging institutions and…”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
22Exact matchCape Town, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-104 contacts →

Exact match

“Enygma Ventures is a unique purpose driven investment fund, led by award winning entrepreneurs with 40 years of combined experience growing and scaling businesses in Africa, US &…”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
23Exact matchJohannesburg, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-103 contacts →

Exact match

“Serving the underserved and representing the underrepresented, our aim is to bridge the funding and support gap for early stage tech entrepreneurs.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
24Exact matchCape Town, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-103 contacts →

Exact match

“Lighthouse Ventures is a team of experienced high growth venture partners who are passionate about impact and innovation in the venture investment space.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase
25Exact matchSandton, South AfricaHQ recorded Sep 22, 20261-103 contacts →

Exact match

“Empowerment Capital is a pioneering South African VC firm.”

Recorded in the RevenueBase company graph · Sep 22, 2026 · View company records in RevenueBase

Showing 25 of 106 venture backed startups based in South Africa

See the full list, filter by size, metro and specialty, and access 132 tracked professional contacts with verified work emails. Direct dials are available where recorded.

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Venture backed startups based in South Africa at a glance

As of Sep 22, 2026
34.6%Verified-email coverage
3.6Average contacts per company
1-10Median size (employees)
40.6%Largest-city concentration · Cape Town
Sep 22, 2026Page data refreshed

Companies by employee count

1-10
90
11-50
12
51-200
2
201-500
2

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 106 companies.

How this list was built

The recorded descriptions help you assess these company matches. Check a company’s website for its current services and locations.

Source
The RevenueBase company graph: 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts resolved from primary sources, queried with RevenueBase SmartSearch, the natural-language company search available to every RevenueBase user.
What qualifies
Company records associated with South Africa whose business descriptions match “venture backed startups” by meaning at the Exact setting. Descriptions are compiled in the RevenueBase company graph from public websites, profiles and company information where available; they are not guaranteed quotations from the company's website.
RevenueBase SmartSearch
Describe a niche company in your own words to find businesses by meaning. Exact, Similar, Related and Broad control the breadth of RevenueBase SmartSearch. This saved list uses Exact. Each row's Exact match badge shows inclusion in that search, not an individual score or a service-quality judgment.
Public preview
The public preview omits records without a verified work email. Where headquarters information is recorded, preview rows are also filtered to this page’s location. Dataset totals and geographic summaries describe the full matched records before these preview filters.
Match quality
RevenueBase's August 25, 2026 study assessed 4,198 description/company pairs across matching settings. The publisher reports 86% good or better at Exact. This evaluates the method across queries; it does not audit this individual list. Recorded company descriptions, where available, help you judge each match yourself. Read the full methodology: how the lists are built and what the study measures.
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 displayed company carries at least one verified work email. RevenueBase tracks 132 professional contacts with verified work emails across the full matched dataset. 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.
Record context
Company records and descriptions can change. Check the company's website for its current services and locations.

Frequently asked

What is RevenueBase SmartSearch?

RevenueBase SmartSearch finds niche companies by the meaning of their business descriptions in the RevenueBase company graph. Exact, Similar, Related and Broad control how closely companies must fit your description. This list uses Exact for “venture backed startups”; each Exact match badge shows search membership, not an individual similarity or quality score.

How many venture backed startups are there based in South Africa?

RevenueBase identified 106 company matches for venture backed startups associated with South Africa as of September 2026, using the meaning of business descriptions at Exact. This is the recorded matched set in the RevenueBase company graph.

What is the largest company on this list?

Alphawave Group tops the displayed preview by professional contacts tracked in RevenueBase. Recorded headquarters appear in the company rows.

Which city has the most venture backed startups?

Cape Town leads with 43 company records, followed by Johannesburg (27) and Sandton (5).

How do I get contact information for these companies?

A free RevenueBase account lets you run this exact search and work limited free results with 500 credits to start. Upgrading provides access to the 132 professional contacts with verified work emails tracked across these 106 companies; direct dials are available where recorded.

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 SmartSearch, 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.