In a climate where African venture capital has shifted from “growth at all costs” to a hunt for sustainable exits, Cape Town-based Havaíc has secured a third close for its African Innovation Fund 3 (AIF3). The firm announced today that it has surpassed $30m in commitments, moving closer to its final $50m target.
The latest capital injection comes from E Squared Investments, joining a roster of hard-hitting institutional backers including Sanlam Multi-Manager, Fireball Capital, and the government-backed SA SME Fund.
While the broader African tech ecosystem has spent the last two years navigating a “funding winter,” Havaíc’s ability to draw in local institutional money — traditionally cautious about venture — signals a maturing of the asset class in South Africa.
The Numbers
- Fund Target: $50m
- Current Commitments: $30m+
- Deployment to Date: $10m across eight companies
- Final Close Target: August 2026
- Total Portfolio: 22 companies across three funds
Moving Beyond the “Hype” Phase
Havaíc’s strategy remains focused on post-revenue, early-stage (Seed to Series B) startups. Unlike funds that bet on pre-revenue ideas, Havaíc requires “born-in-Africa” businesses to demonstrate local product-market fit before providing the capital to scale into international markets.
“Our due diligence showed that Havaíc has an extensive track record of successfully investing in the local tech space,” says Sanan Pillay, head of private markets at Sanlam Multi-Manager. The entry of Sanlam — one of South Africa’s largest financial services groups — marks a significant pivot. It is one of the firm’s first-ever allocations to the domestic VC industry, suggesting that institutional LPs (Limited Partners) are finally finding the risk-return profile of tech companies acceptable.
The Proof of Concept: Exits
What is likely loosening the purse strings of institutional investors is Havaíc’s recent track record of liquidity — a rarity in a market often criticised for being “paper-rich but cash-poor.”
Over the past 12 months, the firm has seen two notable exits:
- RapidDeploy: The safety-tech startup, backed by Havaíc in 2022, was acquired by the US-listed Motorola Solutions in early 2025.
- hearX: The health-tech group merged with US hearing-aid maker Eargo to form LXE Hearing, following a $100m capital raise.
These exits validate the “global-from-day-one” thesis. RapidDeploy, for instance, operates out of Cape Town but powers 911 response centres across the United States.
Where the Money is Going
Since its launch in 2023, Fund 3 has already deployed $10m. The portfolio is becoming increasingly fintech and data-heavy, reflecting the sub-sectors where African B2B startups have found the most traction.
Key investments include:
- SAPay: A $1m investment in a platform digitising payments for the South African taxi industry.
- Entersekt: A veteran in the authentication and mobile security space.
- Sportable: A sports data analytics firm currently expanding in the UK and US markets.
- SwiftVEE: A livestock trading platform aimed at digitising agricultural supply chains.
As Havaíc marches toward its final close in August 2026, the challenge will be maintaining this exit momentum. While the firm has proven it can pick winners that appeal to American acquirers, the broader African VC landscape still faces hurdles in secondary markets and local IPO paths.
For now, the focus is on the remaining $20m and the final seven spots in the fund’s 15-company target. In an era of disciplined capital, Havaíc is betting that “boring” fundamentals — revenue, international scalability, and institutional-grade management — will be what defines the next decade of African tech.