Allan-Gray backed venture capital (VC) firm, E Squared Investments (E Squared), has crossed the R1 billion milestone in total funding to startups since its inception in 2007.
Strong Focus on Black Women-Owned Businesses and Job Creation
According to a recent report, the firm has invested R1.02 billion across 177 businesses through a mix of grant and direct investments. In 2024 alone, E Squared’s investments totalled R369.7 million. Notably, 46% of that amount supported black women-owned businesses, and over 32 000 jobs have been created to date.
“Our progress across all investment portfolios reaffirms our core belief that responsible entrepreneurship drives sustainable economic development, transformation and social change,” said CEO Gladwyn Leeuw.
The company has disbursed R736.2 million to Series A rounds and R109.5 million to pre-seed investments. Additionally, R654.5 million and R179 million were directed to social enterprise initiatives.
The VC firm’s pre-seed portfolio has also shown significant achievements, with 15 new ventures added and 12 businesses advanced through both incubator and accelerator stages. Since 2007, the pre-seed arm has disbursed R6.5 million, supported 18 businesses, and onboarded a total of 59 ventures.
“Looking ahead to 2025, we will focus on scaling our operations to accelerate the pace at which our ventures achieve investment readiness for seed funding,” stated the firm. “We plan to collaborate with like-minded accelerators that share our values and vision, ensuring our pipeline continues to produce innovative, socially impactful businesses.”
Seed and Growth Portfolio Powers Market-Ready Startups
The seed and growth portfolio, which supports established ventures with proven market traction and high growth potential, has disbursed R544.8 million in total - R259.9 million of which was invested in 2024 alone. To date, the portfolio included 21 investments, with 17 active startups currently supported.
Looking ahead, E Squared plans to deepen its focus on sustainable growth and enhance its inclusive investment strategy. “We aim to expand on our sector agnostic approach to increase the diversity of this portfolio and further entrench its stability, harness emerging opportunities, and maintain our agile, responsive framework.”
Lungile is the Digital Editor for TechAfrica, with a knack for storytelling, technology and innovative ideas. Working with TechAfrica, she takes simple ideas and turns them into amazing stories.
Lungile Msomi
