# Top 35 Education Startup Investors in South Africa in May 2026 ## Vumela Fund - Type: VC Fund - Location: Hyde Park, Newtownabbey, United Kingdom - Relevant deals: 4 - Stages: Seed, Debt Financing - Focus: Education, Software, Primary Education Vumela was established in 2009 by FNB Business Banking and Edge Growth. The objective was to create an innovative model for the development of a sustainable and a financially and operationally independent investment business which invests in high growth small, medium and micro size enterprises with good economic and impact returns.Vumela wascapitalised in 2010. Within the first four years, we’d invested R90 million into eight high growth SMEs, and created a total of 400 jobs. They launched their second fund in 2015, after a further investment of R100 million from FirstRand and R127 million from the Jobs Fund. Within the first year of launching this second fund, we’ve committed R43 million to five investments that are expected to create over 1800 new jobs.The first fund of its kind in South Africa, Vumela’s main goals are to invest in and develop entrepreneurial companies in order to help alleviate poverty in South Africa by creating jobs, and to generate a return for its beneficiaries: the Shalamuka Foundation and the FirstRand Group. ## AngelHub Ventures - Type: VC Fund - Location: Stellenbosch, NA - South Africa, South Africa - Relevant deals: 4 - Stages: Seed, Series A - Focus: Software, Information Technology, Education Operating out of Stellenbosch in South Africa and backed by two family offices Angelhub Ventures's team is passionate about early stage investments in (South) Africa. Being entrepreneurial ourselves, we thoroughly understand the challenges and changes our founders face – which is why we back them in any way we can. Most importantly, we believein building great businesses and we are in it for the long haul. ## Investisseurs & Partenaires - Type: VC Fund - Location: Paris, Ile-de-France, France - Relevant deals: 2 - Stages: Seed, Series A - Focus: Financial Services, Health Care, Food and Beverage Investisseurs et Partenaires ## Knife Capital - Type: VC Fund - Location: Cape Town, NA - South Africa, South Africa - Relevant deals: 2 - Stages: Series A, Seed - Focus: Software, Information Technology, Manufacturing /*! elementor - v3.9.1 - 14-12-2022 */ .elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading ## Kepple Africa Ventures - Type: VC Fund - Location: Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan - Relevant deals: 2 - Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed - Focus: Financial Services, FinTech, Software Kepple Africa Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm. ## Proparco - Type: VC Fund - Location: Paris, Ile-de-France, France - Relevant deals: 2 - Stages: Debt Financing, Series B - Focus: Financial Services, Finance, Energy Proparco is devoted to private sector funding in the sustainable development sector. ## Norrsken Foundation - Type: VC Fund - Location: Stockholm, Stockholms Lan, Sweden - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed - Focus: Financial Services, Health Care, FinTech Norrsken Foundation is non-profit organization solving problems such as poverty, famine, environmental issues and mental health. ## FINCA Ventures - Type: VC Fund - Location: Washington, District of Columbia, United States - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Series A, Pre-Seed - Focus: Financial Services, Education, Agriculture FINCA Ventures is an impact investing initiative of FINCA International that provides patient capital and support to early-stage social enterprises. ## Raba Partnership - Type: VC Fund - Location: Cape Town, NA - South Africa, South Africa - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Series A, Pre-Seed - Focus: Financial Services, FinTech, Finance The Raba Partnership, Raba Capital, Raba ## Edge Growth - Type: VC Fund - Location: Johannesburg, NA - South Africa, South Africa - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Debt Financing - Focus: Software, Education, Accounting We are SME Development Solutionists, co-creating innovative solutions that combat business growth constraints. ## Enygma Ventures - Type: VC Fund - Location: Cape Town, NA - South Africa, South Africa - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed - Focus: Financial Services, Lending, Education Enygma Ventures is an investment fund for female entrepreneurs and women founders, focused on Southern Africa or SADC. Unlike traditional private equity, venture capital, and banks our team is full of award winning entrepreneurs who understand the same struggles you face first hand. ## iHub - Type: VC Fund - Location: Nairobi, Nairobi Area, Kenya - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed - Focus: Education, E-Learning, EdTech iHub is a globally recognized organization that is deeply steeped in the local tech innovation culture. It is fair to say that the iHub has been both the main catalyst for regional tech acceleration and a role model for tech hubs across emerging markets. We are nurturing the best innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem; one that constantlychallenges and influences technology; one that can be replicated across the continent, as we believe that African innovation will play a critical role in shaping future technology globally. ## elea Foundation for Ethics in Globalization - Type: VC Fund - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Series A - Focus: E-Commerce, Health Care, Logistics elea Foundation for Ethics in Globalization ## Sustainable Ocean Alliance - Type: VC Fund - Location: San Francisco, California, United States - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed - Focus: Sustainability, CleanTech, Marine Technology SOA develops leaders, cultivates ideas, and accelerates solutions to the biggest problems facing our ocean through the Leadership and Accelerator programs ## Oli Farago - Type: Angel - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Equity Crowdfunding, Series A - Focus: Real Estate, Software, Financial Services Oli Farago Founder & CEO at Coyote Software. He attended Culford School during 1996-2002. ## African Infrastructure Investment Managers - Type: VC Fund - Location: Cape Town, NA - South Africa, South Africa - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Private Equity, Debt Financing - Focus: Solar, Energy, SaaS African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) develops and manages private equity infrastructure funds designed to invest long-term institutional unlisted equity in African infrastructure projects. ## LoftyInc Capital Management - Type: VC Fund - Location: Carmel, California, United States - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A - Focus: FinTech, Financial Services, Software LoftyInc Capital Management empowers Afropreneurs to build a prosperous and equitable future in Africa. We deliver value to both founders and investors......... ## The A to Z Impact Foundation - Type: VC Fund - Relevant deals: 1 - Focus: B2B, Nutrition, Food and Beverage They provide more than just capital. They leverage their resources and networks to empower their partners to do great work. They are prepared to take calculated risks to yield high rewards. They fund projects that may take longer than a lifetime to complete. They are committed to sharing their experiences. ## Educas - Type: VC Fund - Location: London, England, United Kingdom - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed - Focus: Education, Non Profit, Environmental Consulting Educas is a global investment firm focused on the education sector. Educas has two platforms: an international premium K-12 group of 42 schools educating over 31,000 students from Nursery to Grade 12 and a tertiary platform launched in 2017. ## Iyinoluwa Aboyeji - Type: Angel - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A - Focus: Information Technology, FinTech, B2B Iyinoluwa Aboyeji is the Founder and former CEO of HOF portfolio company Flutterwave, a business building payments technology and infrastructure to connect Africa to the global economy. Under his leadership, the company has become one of the fastest growing payments technology businesses of all-time, processing over $2B across over 50Mtransactions, and attracted significant investment from experienced players in the space, including Y Combinator (investors in Stripe), Greycroft (investors in Braintree), Greenvisor Capital (led by the Former CEO of Visa), and Mastercard.Previously, Iyinoluwa Co-Founded Andela, Africa's largest engineering organization with over 1000 software engineers that has received investment from Mark Zuckerberg and Google Ventures.Iyinoluwa holds a B.A. in Legal Studies from the University of Waterloo, and sits on the board of several institutions including Paris’ Share Africa Project, Rainbow Educational Services Limited, and Filmo Realty. He served as the Deputy Director General for Madam Oby Ezekwesili’s 2019 Presidential Campaign, is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, a Forbes 30 under 30 honoree, and a member of Nigeria's Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council. ## Bas Hochstenbach - Type: Angel - Location: Cape Town, NA - South Africa, South Africa - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Angel, Seed - Focus: B2C, Shopping, Software Bas Hochstenbach is the Co-Founder of Conservation Club. He attended Leiden University. ## Global Founders Capital - Type: VC Fund - Location: Berlin, Berlin, Germany - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Series A, Pre-Seed - Focus: Financial Services, Software, FinTech Over the past two decades, GFC have backed over five hundred entrepreneurs worldwide, e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, Slack, and Away Travel. ## Twinkl - Type: VC Fund - Location: Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed - Focus: Education, MOOC, EdTech Twinkl is a provider of teacher-created lesson planning, teaching, and assessment materials such as online educational games, augmented reality and so much more. It has over 525,000 resources and new content gets added every day. It was founded in 2010. ## Naspers Foundry - Type: VC Fund - Location: Cape Town, NA - South Africa, South Africa - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Series B, Series A - Focus: Financial Services, Insurance, Information Technology Naspers Foundry is a global internet group and invests in technology-based companies. The company believes in the power of local backed by global scale and they look for opportunities to address big societal needs in markets where they see the greatest growth potential. ## Olugbenga Agboola - Type: Angel - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed - Focus: FinTech, Financial Services, Internet Olugbenga Agboola is the Co-Founder and CEO of Flutterwave. He previously worked at Africa Fintech Foundry as a Senior Entrepreneur In Residence. Olugbenga Agboola attended MIT Sloan School of Management. ## LocalGlobe - Type: VC Fund - Location: London, England, United Kingdom - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Series A - Focus: Software, Financial Services, E-Commerce Seeding ambitious founders at places like @citymapper, @improbableio,@teamkano, @moo, @songkick,@seedcamp, @transferwise and @zoopla since 1999. Who's next? ## Oikocredit International - Type: VC Fund - Location: Amersfoort, Utrecht, The Netherlands - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Debt Financing, Series B - Focus: Financial Services, Finance, FinTech Oikocredit is guided by the principle of empowering people. Their experience proves that the most effective and sustainable means of assisting those in need is providing an opportunity to help themselves. ## Oakley Capital - Type: VC Fund - Location: London, England, United Kingdom - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Private Equity, Secondary Market, Seed - Focus: Internet, Consulting, Real Estate Oakley Capital partners with ambitious founders and management teams to build successful businesses across three sectors: technology, consumer, education. ## Odunayo Eweniyi - Type: Angel - Location: Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Angel - Focus: EdTech, Facebook, Education Odunayo Eweniyi is the Co-founder and COO at Piggybank and PushCV. Odunayo is a Co-Founder and General Partner at FirstCheck Africa and a Board Member at Village Capital. She was also a Writer atTechCabal. Odunayo attended SOAS University of London, freeCodeCamp, and Covenant University. ## Launch Africa - Type: VC Fund - Location: Ebène, Plaines Wilhems, Mauritius - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed - Focus: Financial Services, FinTech, Information Technology Launch Africa is a leading Pan-African VC fund solving the significant funding gap in the Seed and pre-Series A investment landscape in Africa. ## Hlayisani Growth Fund - Type: VC Fund - Location: Fourways, NA - South Africa, South Africa - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed - Focus: Education, Apps, SaaS Hlayisani Growth Fund is focussed on mid-market, high growth private equity investments focussed on South Africa with an allowance for Sub-Saharan Africa and East African countries. ## Alan Rutledge - Type: Angel - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed, Series B - Focus: Financial Services, FinTech, Software Alan Rutledge ## KNF Ventures - Type: VC Fund - Location: Cape Town, NA - South Africa, South Africa - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Series A - Focus: SaaS, EBooks, EdTech was a SARS-approved section 12J Venture Capital Company ## Oppenheimer Generations Foundation - Type: VC Fund - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed - Focus: Education Oppenheimer Generations Foundation is a long-term supporter of the AL group, with catalytic, early-stage funding round. ## Kalon Venture Partners - Type: VC Fund - Location: Johannesburg, NA - South Africa, South Africa - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Series A - Focus: Apps, Mobile Apps, Software A growing number of South Africans are investing in venture capital companies that operate under Section 12J of the Income Tax Act. Contact us now. # About Shizune Shizune.co is an investor database. Core features: - 48,091 startup investors (angels, VCs, accelerators, and others) - Email, phone, LinkedIn (for intros), socials, and other contact data - Updated daily from public funding news - CSV and Excel export The User can access the full database FOR FREE after signing up: shizune.co