South Africa Sees Rise in VC Exits

South Africa’s venture capital industry has spent years fielding the same concern from institutional investors: where are the exits. Two new studies suggest the industry finally has an answer, and it is a good one.

The broader study, “South African Venture Capital: Exit and Performance Analysis,” tracked 226 realised exits reported by local VC fund managers between 2009 and 2026. It found that capital-weighted realised returns ranged from 2.01x to 2.45x invested capital, a range the researchers say is broadly comparable to what mature venture markets in the US, UK, Europe and India have historically produced.

A companion piece, the “Exit Case Studies Analysis,” dug deeper into 18 backed exits between 2014 and 2026. The median gross internal rate of return came in at 54%, with a median money-on-invested-capital multiple of 3.5x and a median exit valuation of roughly R1.6 billion.

Recent deals back up the numbers. Mastercard’s pending purchase of BVNK, Motorola Solutions acquiring RapidDeploy, Nedbank buying iKhokha, Lesaka’s acquisition of Adumo, Ticketmaster taking Quicket, and Optasia’s R23.5 billion JSE listing have all landed in the past two years, spanning international M&A, domestic M&A, secondary sales and now public listings, the four exit routes the report identifies as active in the local market.

Ketso Gordhan, CEO of the SA SME Fund, framed the findings as proof that a long-standing gap in South Africa’s venture story is closing. “South Africa has long had entrepreneurial talent, credible founders and strong technology capability. What has been less visible is the proof that investors can realise meaningful returns from backing these companies,” he said, adding that the exit market is “no longer theoretical.”

Fintech dominates the exit list, unsurprising given the country’s deep financial services base and the appetite of banks, telcos and retailers to acquire digital capability. The report notes that more than half of Africa’s top 20 fintech exits since 2019 have involved South African companies.

Karl Westvig, Retail Capital’s founder, pointed to what happens after an exit as the real payoff. “The real value of an exit is what happens the day after. Capital gets recycled, and founders and teams walk away with proof it can be done here,” he said, noting that many of those founders go on to become angels, operators or mentors themselves.

For SAVCA, the numbers matter most to the institutions still on the sidelines. CEO Anusha Naidu said demonstrating realised exits is fundamental to developing any private capital market, and that the studies give pension funds, family offices and development finance institutions real evidence to weigh as they consider allocating to venture capital.

Alison Collier, managing director of Endeavor South Africa, said the pattern shows local scale-ups have stopped building only for the domestic market. The companies in the study solved real problems, scaled efficiently with technology and expanded regionally or globally, a combination that makes them attractive to both acquirers and investors.

Collier noted the opportunity now is to build on this momentum. South Africa has the entrepreneurial talent, market opportunities, corporate depth and investment capability to produce many more globally relevant scale-ups.

The SA SME Fund’s new fundraise is a significant development in the industry, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out. One thing is certain, however: the venture capital industry in South Africa is finally starting to gain traction.

Ketso Gordhan said the industry’s growth is not just about the numbers, but also about the potential for financial inclusion and job creation. As the industry continues to mature, it is likely that we will see more companies like GoTymeBank, iKhokha, and Retail Capital, which have already made significant contributions to the economy, such as financing without venture capital.