Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA) revealed that ICT-focused start ups continued to attract the major funding of venture capital for the third consecutive capital in a third consecutive year. According to the 2025 SAVCA VC Industry Survey, Southern African technology start-ups account for 65.9 % of deal value, nearly two-thirds of total investment and three times more than the next closest sector. The data put forward indicates that the venture capital sector in the southern African region ended last year with R13.35 billion in active investments across 1,325 deals. The survey went on to state, the top-performing subsectors within ICT were software (20%), fintech (15.9%), and online markets (7.6%).
“Behind these numbers lies the story of a maturing market, more sophisticated capital deployment, and deeper investor networks,” said Nicola Gubb, the interim executive director of SAVCA. “There is also an encouraging shift toward early-growth stage funding, especially Series A, which speaks to a growing confidence in scalable local innovation.” Series A funding climbed to 42.5% of all deals — more than double the proportion recorded in 2023 — indicating a shift toward early-growth capital. The study revealed that regional hubs, particularly the Western Cape and Gauteng, remain vital, with notable growth coming from beyond SA’s borders. It also highlighted encouraging signals in critical areas such as health tech, which rose to 20% of deal value, its highest share since 2015. Renewed investor interest in life sciences, biotechnology, and medical devices drove this shift.
South Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have had a unique opportunity laid at the feet. Investment in private tech companies if it is used correctly could bear financial fruit though the creation of jobs with a focus on skills training. It depends on how governments in the region utilize their power and authority in the region to enable this opportunity. The main purpose of these investments is to expand focus in artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things, satellite connectivity, robotics, the progress of medical sciences etc. South Africa could be the key, centre and gateway to unlocking this potential. Health tech would be a significant factor to improve protection against diseases such as Covid, cancer (if possible), HIV/Aids etc as well as improving biological immunity. This is the path of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
Companies Cassava Technology run by CEO Strive Masiyiwa and United States Tech corporation Nvidia had agreed on a joint venture to construct the Artificial Intelligence (AI) factory that is being built in South Africa.
The facility is a result of a landmark collaboration between Cassava Technologies, led by Strive Masiyiwa, and American chipmaker Nvidia, one of the world’s most valuable technology firms. The project has already received its first delivery of Nvidia’s high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs), which are essential for AI computation. Cassava Technologies plans to install 3,000 of these GPUs in its South African facility by June. Over the next four years, the company aims to expand the initiative by deploying another 9,000 GPUs across additional hubs in Kenya, Nigeria, Morocco, and Egypt. Masiyiwa, who co-chaired the 2025 Global AI Summit on Africa held in Kigali, emphasized the importance of the initiative. He said the partnership with Nvidia brings the computational strength required to foster homegrown AI innovation and digital self-reliance on the continent.
He also noted that the AI factory is not just a facility—it represents a critical digital infrastructure necessary for Africa’s role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Strive Masiyiwa a Zimbabwean national represents the next generation of Southern African entrepreneurs who could potentially shape the region’s future. Governments across the SADC region need to support the initiative. The same goes for the reast of the continent. Masiyiwa’s high performance Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) will be manufactured across Africa. This means there should be an upsurge in skills training and the creation of jobs. GPUs are the key to unlocking AI, robotics and digital coding on an equal footing with the western world. The spread of this technology across all corners of Africa as well as improvement in medical technology should improve overall livelihood capacity across the continent. South Africa once more could be a pivot for this. It will depend also on how Pretoria approaches and utilizes these opportunities to its advantage.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Government of National Unity (GNU) need to clean up their act and push forward with improving digital infrastructure. Africa and the world are on a steady path to new horizons, can Ramaphosa harness that for the country?
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
