This latest progress follows fresh funding from South African impact investor E Squared Investments.

The third iteration of HAVAÍC’s pan-African investment vehicle is designed to back early-stage, revenue-generating technology companies that are building solutions for both local and global markets.

Earlier funding rounds for the fund included cornerstone support from investors such as Fireball Capital, Universum Wealth, the SA SME Fund and Sanlam Multi-Manager.

Pyi Maung, chief investment officer at E Squared, emphasized that the firm’s decision to commit capital reflects a strong alignment in investment philosophy. 

“HAVAÍC’s track record of backing African innovation that translates into sustainable, real-world outcomes strongly reflects our investment philosophy,” Maung said.

“Their combination of capital and strategic support enables Africa-born startups to scale responsibly and access global markets, which aligns closely with E Squared’s focus on long-term value creation,” he added.

To date, HAVAÍC has already put about $10 million to work across eight portfolio companies drawn from the Fund 3 pipeline.

Among these are SAPay, a Johannesburg-based fintech that is digitizing fare payment in South Africa’s ubiquitous minibus taxi sector, and Entersekt, a fraud-prevention technology firm that originated in Stellenbosch.

The firm has also made additional follow-on investments in businesses such as sports data and analytics platform Sportable and international voice-calling service Talk360.

Earlier Fund 3 commitments include stakes in the Pan-African payments platform NjiaPay and livestock trading marketplace SwiftVEE.

HAVAÍC’s broader portfolio, across all funds, includes other follow-on investments in companies like RNR App, RapidDeploy, hearX Group and AURA, underscoring its continued support for scaling ventures.

Ian Lessem, managing partner at HAVAÍC, said the firm intends to leverage the newest backing to accelerate growth across its portfolio.

“We look forward to accelerating our portfolio’s impact with the support of E Squared’s investment and doubling down on our strategy to grow local innovation by unlocking international markets,” Lessem said.

“As evidenced by our portfolio companies’ growth and enduring positive returns, the African VC industry has the talent, technology and opportunities to catalyze sustainable job creation and social empowerment on the continent. This is where investors with a strong appetite for creating impact should be deploying their capital,” he added.

HAVAÍC first launched the African Innovation Fund 3 in August 2024 with a view to backing up to 15 high-growth, post-revenue startups born in Africa.

The fund builds on the firm’s earlier vehicles, helping to scale innovative tech businesses from the continent onto larger regional and global stages.