The best startups in South Africa are some of the most innovative companies on the continent. With South Africa’s economic power and wealth, the startup ecosystem has been able to grow and thrive. These startups have access to venture capital funding and a supportive government, allowing them to grow and scale quickly.
To identify the best startups in South Africa, we conducted thorough research and analysis. We reviewed multiple sources and consulted with experts to better understand the market and the most promising companies. We evaluated the startups based on their growth rate, solutions, current funding, team expertise, market potential, and scalability.
Through our analysis, we discovered the most promising startups in South Africa that are changing the game in their respective industries. Here is our list of the best startups in South Africa.
Xceed
Founded: 1994
Founder: Mattia Franco
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Total funding: €4.8M
Sector: Business Process Outsourcing
Xceed is a company that wants to make life more exciting by hosting music events and connecting people. They have operations in over 20 countries and get 10 million people to attend their events every month.
The Xceed App helps partygoers find upcoming events in their city or while travelling, making it easy to buy tickets and reserve bottle service. Xceed Nightgraph is a platform that helps clubs attract specific types of customers and increase their profits by selling and promoting online and through mobile devices.
Lastly, Xceed helps the nightlife industry by providing real-time analytics and connecting businesses and customers. In 2018, Xceed was recognized as one of the fastest-growing tech startups in Europe.
Sendmarc
Founded: 2018
Founder: Keith Thompson, Sacha Matulovich, Sam Hutchinson
Location: Gauteng, South Africa
Total funding: $ 7 million
Sector: Email protection
Sendmarc is a company based in South Africa that helps to keep people safe from cyber-attacks. They were created in 2018 and are located in Gauteng. They focus on stopping bad people from sending fake emails that could trick you into doing something terrible.
They have been very successful in raising money from investors. So far, nine people have given them a total of $7 million to help make sure they can keep doing their important work.
Sendmarc is essential because they help protect people from cyber-attacks, which are becoming more and more common in our connected world. Thanks to their work, people can feel safer when they use email.
Pride Life
Founded: 2015
Founder: Cabby Magongwa
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Total funding: $100k
Sector: Insurance Brokerage
Pride Life Insurance is a brokerage that helps people find the right life insurance policy to suit their needs. They have a team of experienced insurance brokers who work closely with clients to understand their unique circumstances and help them decide which policy is best for them.
One of the benefits of working with a brokerage like Pride Life Insurance is that they can help you navigate the often-complex world of life insurance. With so many different types of policies available, it can be overwhelming to try and choose the right one. But with the help of an experienced broker, you can be confident that you’re making the best decision for yourself and your loved ones.
Pride Life Insurance Brokers can also provide their clients access to a wide range of insurance providers. This means that they can compare policies from different companies and find the one that gives the best coverage at the most affordable price. By doing this, they can save their clients both time and money while still ensuring they have the protection they need.
JUMO
Founded: 2015
Founder: Andrew Watkins-Ball
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Total funding: $2.7 Million
Sector: Fintech
JUMO is a financial technology company founded in South Africa in 2014. The company’s mission is to provide financial inclusion and access to credit to underserved and underbanked populations in emerging markets, including South Africa.
JUMO operates a platform that uses machine learning algorithms to analyze data and provide financial services to individuals and small businesses. The platform is designed to be accessible through mobile phones, which are widely used in South Africa.
Through its platform, JUMO offers a range of financial products and services, including loans, savings, and insurance. The company partners with financial institutions, mobile network operators, and other organizations to deliver these services.
JUMO has received a number of awards and recognition for its work, including being named a “Technology Pioneer” by the World Economic Forum in 2018. In South Africa, JUMO has significantly expanded access to financial services for underserved populations. By leveraging technology and partnerships, the company has reached millions of people with limited access to credit and other financial products.
Vox
Founded: 1998
Founder: Neels Fourie
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Total funding: $73.1 Million
Sector: Media & Entertainment market
Vox Telecom is a company in South Africa that provides telecommunications services to both individuals and businesses. They offer various types of internet access, including fixed-line, wireless, and satellite, with different speed options and plans that either limit or don’t limit the amount of data you can use.
They also offer other services like managed WiFi, voice and data services for mobile phones, SIM cards, and long-distance phone calls through the internet. They have their network infrastructure, including a large fibre-optic network covering 18,000 square kilometres.
In addition to internet and phone services, Vox Telecom provides other services like visual communications, security, backup services, SMS solutions, and cloud computing. It used to be a publicly-traded company, but it became privately owned after being bought out by Lereko Metier Capital Growth Fund and Investec Bank.
NFTfi
Founded: 2020
Founders: Jonathan Gabler, Stephen Young
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Total funding: $5.9 million
Sector: Collateralized lending marketplace
NFTfi is a startup in South Africa created in 2020 and located in Cape Town. The company specializes in the blockchain market and has developed a platform that allows owners of NFTs to borrow and lend money using smart contracts that are open to anyone.
NFTfi has successfully raised funds since its inception, and in November 2021, it raised $5 million in a funding round. It is not clear whether the company intends to raise more funds in the future.
Simply put, NFTfi is a company that helps people who own NFTs to lend and borrow money using smart contracts. They have raised a lot of money since they started and might raise more in the future.
Sellerplex
Founded: 2018
Founders: Nate Jinsburg
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Total funding: No funding yet
Sector: Financial Services
SellerPlex is a company that helps other businesses to be more successful and profitable. They do this by working with business owners to improve their financial records and prepare their businesses for sale.
They also help to optimize the business for maximum profit, and they can help to set up systems that allow the business owner to step away from the day-to-day operations of the company.
By working with SellerPlex, business owners can focus on the most important parts of their business and their life. The SellerPlex team has a lot of experience and knowledge, and they use this to help other companies achieve their goals. They can help to make the process of selling a business much easier and more profitable.
Centbee
Founded: 2016
Founders: Angus Brown and Lorien Gamaroff
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Total funding: $ 1.27 Million
Sector: Financial Technology and Cryptocurrency
Centbee is a payment service company that helps people transfer money and buy digital items through its easy-to-use app. The startup is based in Gauteng, South Africa, and was created in 2017 by Angus Brown and Lorien Gamaroff. They specialize in merchant payments, cross-border remittances, and other cryptocurrency-related services.
The company aims to “Bring Bitcoin to Africa” and uses blockchain technology to make financial services more efficient. Their app allows users to transfer money to family and friends, buy digital items, and shop at their favourite retailers, all in one place. They offer a cryptocurrency cold wallet through their app for users to store and transfer their cryptocurrency.
Centbee has raised $1.3 million in three fundraising rounds and is a gold member of AlphaCode, which supports disruptive and scalable fintech companies. They prefer using Bitcoin SV, the only blockchain that adheres to the original Bitcoin design and protocol and was the first BSV startup to be put in the South African regulatory sandbox.
The company’s cross-border remittance app, Minit Money, allows ex-pats in South Africa to transfer money to their home countries in Africa at a minimal cost. The money is cleared in the receiver’s bank or mobile money account within minutes after registration via the mobile app. Centbee’s co-CEOs, Gamaroff and Brown, have blockchain and payments and banking expertise, respectively.
Planet42
Founded: 2017
Founders: Eerik Oja, Marten Orgna
Location: Gauteng, South Africa
Total funding: $100 million
Sector: Transportation
Planet42 is a South African startup that was established in 2017 and is located in the city of Gauteng. This company focuses on the transportation sector and aims to provide a simpler way for African people to lease a vehicle. Additionally, they offer the option for customers to purchase the vehicle outright at any point during the lease, with the price decreasing each month.
The company has successfully raised startup funding, with the most recent funding round raising an impressive $100 million. This funding will allow Planet42 to work towards its goal of providing one million cars worldwide.
Go1
Founded: 2015
Founders: Chris Eigeland, Andrew Barnes, Chris Hood, Vu Tran
Location: Sandton, South Africa
Total funding: $383.7 Million
Sector: E-Learning
Go1 is an eLearning startup that provides digital learning solutions for the entire workforce.
The company’s origins date back to Australia, where its founders started a web development company in their garage. In 2015, Go1 was accepted into the prestigious Y-Combinator accelerator program, which helped trigger its expansion worldwide. Today, the company has offices in the United States, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Malaysia.
Go1’s products include the Go1 Content Hub, Go1 Connect, and Go1 Platform. The Go1 Content Hub is the world’s most extensive digital learning library, with over 200 providers hosting their content in one place. This makes it easy for customers to find the right content and learn immediately. The Go1 Content Hub also offers pre-curated playlists to help build learning programs.
Go1 also offers small businesses, startups, enterprises, and government solutions. The company works with content creators to manage and distribute their content more effectively through Go1 Connect, simplifying content delivery for eLearning creators of all sizes.
Yoco
Founded: 2015
Founders: Katlego Maphai
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Total funding: $107 million
Sector: Fintech
Yoco is a South African startup that provides a range of payment solutions for small businesses. The company was founded in 2015 by four entrepreneurs, Katlego Maphai, Bradley Wattrus, Lungisa Matshoba, and Carl Wazen, who noticed that many small businesses in South Africa needed help to accept electronic payments. They created Yoco to solve this problem, intending to make it easier and more affordable for small businesses to accept card payments.
Yoco offers a range of products and services, including card readers, point-of-sale software, and business management tools. Their compact and mobile card readers make it easy for small businesses to accept payments anywhere, anytime. The point-of-sale software is user-friendly and easy to set up, allowing small businesses to manage sales and inventory easily. The business management tools provide insights into sales and customer data, helping small businesses make informed decisions about their operations.
The company has successfully raised funding, with investors including Partech, Velocity Capital, and Quona Capital. Yoco has partnered with well-known companies, including Visa and Mastercard, to expand their offerings and reach more customers.
Yoco has significantly impacted small businesses in South Africa, helping them grow and thrive in a competitive market. The company has been recognized for its innovation and impact, winning numerous awards and accolades, including being named one of the top 100 fintech companies in the world by KPMG.
OfferZen
Founded: 2015
Founders: Brett Jones
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Total funding: $ 5.07 million
Sector: Tech Talent
OfferZen is a job marketplace for job seekers and employers. Though its headquarter is in Cape Town, OfferZen connects companies with talented developers across Europe and Africa, helping them hire the best candidates for their needs.
The company’s success is evidenced by its impressive statistics. Every week, over 2,000 companies reach out directly to more than 1,000 job-seeking developers across Europe and Africa through OfferZen. The company boasts a community of over 100,000 developers in more than 80 cities on the platform.
The company raised $5.1 million in a Series A funding round completed in December 2021, and this funding helped the startup to expand and improve in diverse ways.
Linum Labs
Founded: 2016
Founders: Devon Krantz, Paul Kohlhaas
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Total funding: No funding has been announced yet.
Sector: Software development
Linum Labs is a cutting-edge software studio focusing on blockchain architecture, training, consulting, development, and community building. Founded in 2016, Linum Labs is headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, and has a team of blockchain experts dedicated to changing the world with forward-thinking methodologies and blockchain technology.
The startup offers an array of services, including the following services are offered by a company specializing in blockchain technology: Dapps and DAOs, smart contracts, token engineering, NFT creation, web and mobile development, UI and UX design, branding, front-end development, product design, design for blockchain, iconography and graphic design, user research, smart contract pre-auditing, testing and simulations, systems architecture, and blockchain training. and graphic design, user research, smart contract pre-auditing, testing and simulations, systems architecture, and blockchain training.
Linum Labs has been instrumental in pushing the boundaries of blockchain technology and developing innovative solutions that have impacted various industries positively.
Takealot
Founded: 2011
Founders: Kim Reid
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Total funding: $231.1 Million
Sector: E-Commerce, retail
Takealot is a well-known e-commerce startup in South Africa that was founded in 2011. The company’s mission is to become Africa’s most customer-centric online shopping destination. Takealot offers its customers a wide range of products and services, including electronics, fashion, appliances, books, beauty products, and much more.
One of the reasons why Takealot is considered one of the best startups in South Africa is its ability to raise significant funding. The company has raised a total of $211,962,955.00 in funding, which is an impressive feat for a startup. This funding has allowed the company to expand its operations and improve customer service.
Takealot was also recognized as one of South Africa’s favourite online stores.
Jem
Founded: 2020
Founders: Alex Platt, Caroline van der Merwe, Nick Platt, Simon Ellis
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Total funding: $2.5 Million
Sector: Human resources
Jem is a new company in South Africa that started in 2020 and is located in Cape Town. The company helps businesses with their HR needs, like sending essential documents to their employees through WhatsApp. This includes things like pay slips, other essential employee documents, and even early access to pay.
By using WhatsApp, Jem makes it easier and faster for employers to communicate with their employees. This is important for companies with employees in different locations or working remotely. With Jem, employees can access their important documents and information through their phones, which is convenient for them and saves time for the employer.
Jem has already received $2.5 million in funding from six investors, which is a good sign that the company is doing well. Jem may need additional financing in the near future, but this initial investment will help them grow and improve their service.
Overall, Jem is a startup making it easier for businesses in South Africa to handle their HR needs. Using WhatsApp, they can provide a quick and easy way for employers to communicate with their employees and share important information. With their recent funding, Jem is well-positioned to continue to grow and help even more businesses.
Aerobotics
Founded: 2014
Founders: James Paterson and Benjamin Meltzer
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Total finding:$ 27.1 Million
Sector: Agrictech
Aerobotics is a South African startup founded in 2014 and based in Cape Town. The company specializes in using artificial intelligence (AI) and drone technology to help farmers optimize their crop yields and reduce waste.
The startup’s platform provides farmers detailed crop information, including growth rates, yields, and pest and disease infestations. Farmers can use this information to make data-driven decisions on managing their crops, such as adjusting irrigation schedules or applying pesticides only where needed.
Aerobotics has successfully raised funding, with a total of $17 million from investors such as Nedbank and the South African-based venture capital firm 4Di Capital. The startup has won several awards, including the African Startup of the Year at the 2019 Startup Awards. It has expanded its operations to several countries, including the United States, Australia, and Portugal.
In addition to its crop monitoring platform, Aerobotics also offers a tree health monitoring service, which uses AI and drone technology to monitor the health of orchards and forests. This service provides landowners and managers with detailed information on the health of their trees, including identifying diseases and pests that could damage the trees.
Aerobotics is a promising startup using advanced technology to help farmers improve crop yields and reduce waste. Its innovative platform and services have the potential to revolutionize the agriculture industry and help farmers around the world improve their livelihoods.
FoondaMate
Founded: 2020
Founders: Dacod Magagula, Tao Laine Boyle
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Total funding: $ 2 Million
Sector: AI
Foondamate is a startup company based in Cape Town, South Africa, that was created in 2020. The company has designed a platform that utilizes AI chatbots to help students with their schoolwork. This platform allows students to ask questions on various topics related to their schoolwork and get quick answers that help improve their understanding of the subject matter.
Foondamate’s platform is easy to use; students can access it from any device with internet access. The chatbots are designed to be interactive and engaging, providing a personalized learning experience for each student. The platform also offers a range of features to help students, including instant answers to questions, study tips, and practice tests.
Since its founding, Foondamate has received funding from a Seed Round. The company raised $2 million from eight different investors to help support the development and growth of its platform. The company is dedicated to helping students improve their academic performance and achieve their goals. It plans to continue expanding its services to more students across South Africa and beyond.
Pineapple
Founded: 2017
Founders: Matthew Elan Smith, Marnus van Heerden, Ndabenhle Junior Nglube, and Sizwe Ndlovu
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Total funding: $9.1 Million
Sector: Insurtech
Pineapple is a South African startup founded in 2017 and based in Johannesburg. The company offers an innovative insurance solution that allows users to quickly and easily insure their valuables by simply taking a picture and uploading it to the app. The app uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to provide instant insurance quotes, making it hassle-free.
The startup has raised $5.5 million in funding from various investors. In 2018, Pineapple was selected to participate in Google’s Launchpad Accelerator program to help startups scale their businesses. Pineapple was one of only two African startups selected for the program, which gave them access to resources, mentorship, and funding opportunities.
One of the unique features of Pineapple’s insurance platform is that it uses a peer-to-peer model, which means that users can choose who they want to be insured. This creates a sense of trust and transparency in the insurance industry, which is often viewed as opaque and complex. Pineapple also offers a rewards program where users can earn cashback for being safe and not making claims.
Pineapple’s user-friendly platform and innovative approach to insurance have helped to disrupt the traditional insurance industry in South Africa. The startup continues to grow and expand and plans to offer its services in other African countries soon.
H2O Securities
Founded: 2021
Founders: Julius Steyn
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Total funding: $150Million
Sector: Water equipment leasing company
H2O Securities, a startup based in Cape Town, Western Cape, is tackling the challenge of water scarcity using blockchain finance. The company was established in 2021 and has experienced rapid growth.
Julius Steyn, the founder and principal partner, brings 28 years of experience in private equity and investment banking to the company. H2O Securities has three divisions: Blockchain, Leasing, and Water Hero Network.
With innovative solutions, the startup shows excellent potential in addressing a crucial issue affecting many regions globally. The company has an employee range of 11-50.
Yebo Fresh
Founded: 2018
Founders: Jessica Boonstra
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Total funding: $4.5 Million
Sector: E-Commerce
Yebo Fresh is a startup founded in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2018. Their main goal is to help small businesses in different townships nationwide. They build and provide e-commerce infrastructure for these businesses to improve their sales and, in turn, stimulate the local economy.
The company has secured funding from investors through its innovative business model. In their most recent funding round, which happened in January 2023, they raised $4.5 Million to help them further their mission. This shows that investors see potential in the company and believe in its ability to make a positive impact.
Yebo Fresh’s contribution to the local economy is significant. By supporting small businesses in different townships across the country, they help create job opportunities and generate income for communities that may have been previously overlooked. Their e-commerce infrastructure enables businesses to reach more customers and improve their overall sales performance, essential for growth and sustainability.
How We Reviewed The Best Startups in South Africa
We reviewed the best startups in South Africa by doing a lot of research. We checked different sources like reports, news, and databases. We also discussed with experts and investors to learn more about the market and the most promising startups.
Our team considered different factors like their growth rate, solutions, current worth, scalability and team expertise.
The startups listed above are not only driving economic growth in South Africa but are also making a positive impact in Africa through their innovative solutions and initiatives.