SAVCA 2025 Venture Capital Industry Survey (SAVCA)

Summary

• Southern African VC grew 24.4% year-on-year to a record R13.35 billion in active investments across 1,325 deals.p.4
• Total capital made available to startups amounted to R3.29 bn: R2.62 bn in equity deals (of which R1.22 bn was co-investment capital) and R0.67 bn in debt.p.9
• 2024 saw 222 individual rounds, the highest since the first survey in 2010, and the number of entities receiving investment rose 17.0% from 94 to 110.p.10
• ICT accounted for 65.9% of investment by value in 2024, followed by Health at 20.0%.p.11
• Series A took 42.5% of investments in 2024, up from 19.6% in 2023 and the highest proportion in any year.p.15
• Exit activity hit its lowest ever level, with three exits in 2024, down from seven in 2023.p.21
• Independent Funds dominated with 80.8% of deals in 2024.p.24

Key insights

1. The total value of equity deals fell to R2.62 bn in 2024, down 20.2% from R3.28 bn in 2023.p.9
2. Western Cape startups received 52.0% of deals and non-South African investees 14.6%, the highest ever after 2023 (12.8%).p.14
3. International co-investors took part in 59.2% of co-investment deals versus 40.8% local, contributing almost 75.3% of co-investment value.p.26
4. Europe accounts for 36.4% of co-investor deal value, followed by Africa (other) at 13.9% and the UK at 13.4%.p.27
5. Development finance institutions were involved in 7.1% of co-investment deals but 18.1% of deal value.p.28
6. 83.1% of VC deals in 2024 involved equity stakes of 0% to 25%.p.32
7. 72% of responses indicated fund managers have not used venture debt, with amounts used ranging from R13 million to R200 million.p.17
8. Survey respondents raised more than R2.18 bn in 2024, of which R0.73 bn was committed but not yet deployed, and 76.5% raised capital from South Africa.p.30
9. Captive corporate contribution to deals dropped to 5.8% from 19.5% in 2023.p.24