In the heart of South Africa’s tech ecosystem, a silent revolution is unfolding.
The EPF Tech Fund, launched in 2016, has become the hidden power behind the country’s most promising startups, fuelling innovation and impact on an unprecedented scale.
Born out of a simple yet powerful idea — to bridge the gap between groundbreaking ideas and real-world execution — the EPF Tech Fund began as a bold experiment. What if South Africa’s brightest young minds had access to the capital, mentorship, and networks they needed to turn ideas into thriving businesses?
That question sparked a movement. Led by Joanna Govender, the fund has grown into a tech investment powerhouse, deploying more than R300m into high-potential startups that are rewriting the future of African innovation.
But this isn’t your typical investment vehicle. The EPF Tech Fund isn’t just writing cheques; it’s writing South Africa’s tech future. The fund specifically targets startups that blend profit with purpose, seeking out companies that tackle Africa’s toughest challenges while scaling globally.
“We back high-growth, high-impact businesses that deliver both financial returns and real socioeconomic value,” said Govender.
We’re not just backing companies, we’re building an ecosystem
— Joanna Govender, EPF Tech Fund
The impact speaks for itself. The EPF Tech Fund has supported 17 thriving startups, created thousands of jobs and delivered cutting-edge solutions across fintech, artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT) , and more.
Let’s focus on three EPF Tech Fund-backed startups making waves:
- PayPoint: A fintech disruptor revolutionising cashless payments. Their tap-and-go technology, now available in 100,000+ retail locations, is streamlining transactions from banking to event management.
- SmartView: An AI-powered analytics powerhouse that’s turning heads on the global stage, winning spots at the Irish Tech Challenge and GCIP CleanTech Competition. Their IoT-driven solutions power operations for Virgin Active SA, Heineken, PepsiCo, and Group Bimbo.
- VisioSoft: A leader in industrial IoT and firmware development, optimising efficiency by 40% for manufacturers. Their latest breakthrough? Automated defect detection for large-scale production, pushing the company’s valuation past R75m.
The EPF Tech Fund isn’t just about investment; it’s about ecosystem-building.
By providing startups with early-stage funding, industry mentorship and access to game-changing partnerships, EPF ensures that South Africa’s next wave of entrepreneurs has the support they need to thrive.
Walk into EPF Tech Fund’s Illovo offices in Johannesburg and you’ll find more than an investment hub: it’s a mini tech university, buzzing with young developers crafting solutions for water scarcity, energy efficiency, healthcare and more.
“We’re not just backing companies,” Govender says. “We’re building an ecosystem.”
The results speak volumes. It has created more than 5,000 jobs and more than 12,000 lives have been touched by its solutions.
The fund has also addressed socioeconomic challenges through innovative solutions that deal with township microenterprise development, training youth in tech, solving challenges in water, energy, unemployment and education.
With the care and concern of a parent, the EPF Tech Fund has ensured the success of many start-ups — a true measure of the entity.
Globally acclaimed actor Sidney Poitier wrote in his 2000 autobiography The Measure of a Man, wrote: “Of all my father's teachings, the most enduring was the one about the true measure of a man. That true measure was how well he provided for his children, and it stuck with me as if it were etched in my brain.”
No doubt when it comes to supporting start-ups, the EPF Tech Fund measures up.
What’s next? It is planning to scale to R600m and beyond. The fund is raising another R300m to turbocharge South Africa’s next tech wave. “This capital will help startups scale faster, enter new markets and strengthen our tech industry,” Govender said.
With game-changing startups, thousands of jobs and solutions for Africa’s toughest challenges, the EPF Tech Fund isn’t just investing in tech, it’s investing in South Africa’s future and a vibrant economy. And that’s a legacy worth building.
To revisit Poitier’s words, for EPF Tech Fund that measure isn’t just about a family of developers and entrepreneurs, it’s about an entire generation of South African innovators.
The EPF Tech Fund is building a future where technology lifts communities, creates jobs and solves Africa’s pressing challenges.
If impact is the true measure of a corporate, EPF Tech Fund’s legacy is already etched, not just in brains but also in the startups scaling new heights, the young coders rewriting possibilities and a tech ecosystem thriving because of the vision behind the fund.
• Lourie is the founder and editor of TechFinancials
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