Endeavor South Africa has announced the close of Harvest Fund III at R230 million. This venture fund brings together both entrepreneurs and institutional investors focused on backing and scaling the next generation of high-growth technology businesses across South Africa – and paying their successes forward.
Harvest Fund III is a rules-based co-investment fund that invests alongside qualified lead investors, with the bulk of capital allocated to Series B and later-stage companies. The fund builds on the momentum of Harvest Fund II, and reflects growing confidence in the sector.
Harvest Fund III reached its final close following a first close of R190 million in October 2024. The fund has already deployed capital into a number of high-growth companies, including GoTyme Bank, Onafriq, Entersekt and Plentify, and is supported by a strong pipeline of approximately 40 Endeavor companies in South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya that are currently raising capital for a portfolio of 144 businesses.
New and existing investors include Firstrand, the SA SME Fund, Standard Bank, and Allan Gray, alongside a growing group of experienced South African founders and operators, including Barry Swartzberg (co-founder of Discovery) and Coenraad Jonker and Tjaart van der Walt (Tyme Group co-founders).
“Harvest Fund III reflects what Endeavor has always believed: the strongest venture ecosystems are built when successful founders reinvest their capital, experience and networks into the next generation,” says Tjaart van der Walt, co-founder and Director of Tyme Group and Endeavor South Africa board member. “This combination of entrepreneurial insight and institutional capital creates a powerful multiplier effect for both companies and the broader ecosystem.”
Harvest Fund III is designed to go beyond capital, leveraging Endeavor’s global network to support companies with mentorship, market access, talent and strategic guidance as they scale.
“South Africa has world-class founders, talent and innovation, who are building businesses to solve challenges that exist in the mass market. What is often missing are global networks and coordinated support ‘from one experienced founder to another’ to back and scale entrepreneurs,” says Alison Collier, CEO of Endeavor South Africa. “Harvest Fund III is designed to close that gap and help more companies reach meaningful scale, leveraging the Endeavor founder-led network.”
The impact of this model is already visible. Endeavor South Africa’s Harvest Fund II’s portfolio of 17 companies have delivered strong growth in both revenue and employment, with revenue increasing at 49% annually and employment growing at 24% per year between 2020 and 2025, alongside raising more than R27 billion in capital over the same period.
The fund is also structured to reinforce long-term ecosystem sustainability, with returns feeding back into future company-building and ecosystem investment.
Ketso Gordhan, CEO of the SA SME Fund, says: “Harvest Fund III is important because it backs businesses that have already been rigorously selected and supported, while also helping deepen South Africa’s scale-up economy. As the market matures, exits matter more than ever. They validate the asset class, recycle capital, and build long-term confidence in venture investing.”
The participation of South Africa’s major financial institutions reflects increasing alignment between traditional finance and the venture ecosystem, particularly as exits and liquidity begin to accelerate both locally and globally.
A key focus of Harvest Fund III is enabling more companies to achieve scale and successful exits, strengthening South Africa’s venture capital cycle and positioning local businesses to compete globally.
“Harvest Fund III is about championing and investing in South Africa’s global success stories, and ultimately into exits that recycle not only capital but experienced founding teams and confidence back into the ecosystem,” says Barry Swartzberg, investor in the Harvest Funds, Endeavor South Africa chair and co-founder of Discovery.
With global venture capital increasingly shifting towards high-growth markets outside traditional hubs, Endeavor South Africa believes Harvest Fund III is well positioned to support the next generation of founders scaling across borders.