In a tough economic environment where capital is scarce, we continue to back responsible entrepreneurs who build sustainable, high-impact businesses that create opportunity and resilience in South Africa.
We have released our 2025 Impact Report. The report outlines the organisation’s work in backing responsible entrepreneurs, supporting portfolio resilience and contributing to economic inclusion through a long-term investment model.
Supporting responsible entrepreneurship
The report positions our work within our long-term mandate to support entrepreneurs who build commercially resilient businesses while widening access to opportunity. Our integrated model supports founders throughout the entrepreneurial journey. This includes pre-seed programmes, early-stage business investment, co-investment, fund partnerships, social entrepreneurship and venture philanthropy.
The report records 37,756 jobs created, supported and benefited since inception. We treat this as one reported outcome. At the same time, we continue strengthening how we measure longer-term impact, with a meaningful contribution to lives that improve over time.
The report reflects the practical demands of supporting entrepreneurs through uncertainty. Entrepreneurs continue to build in an environment where capital remains scarce, and the margin for error is limited. That reality reinforces the importance of patient, long-term support. Our focus is on helping founders build sustainable businesses that can continue trading through difficult cycles, grow into the demands of scale and widen access to opportunity.
Financial performance versus social impact
Financial performance and social impact reinforce one another. Businesses that achieve financial sustainability are better positioned to create jobs, serve customers, support suppliers and contribute to stronger communities.
Our responsibility is to support responsible entrepreneurship with purpose and discipline while strengthening the systems needed to advance this mandate over the long term.
Our support spans the full entrepreneurial journey. We back high-growth ventures founded by Allan Gray Fellows. We extend this reach through fund managers and their underlying investee companies and deepen impact-first work through social entrepreneurship and venture philanthropy.
Since inception, we have invested approximately R1.34 billion across 227 businesses at different growth stages, including R316 million during 2025. The report places these figures alongside the quality of businesses supported, the durability of outcomes and the discipline with which impact is measured over time.
Portfolio growth and transformation
The portfolio shows clear signs of maturity. There has been a record of 16% fair market value growth, together with R31 million in realised returns from partially exited investments during the year. These indicators sit alongside ongoing work that helps businesses survive, adapt and continue building within a challenging early-stage market.
During 2025, 92% of investment value went to black beneficiaries, while 62% of investment value supported black-women-owned businesses. These figures reflect deliberate choices about where opportunities are sourced, how businesses receive support and how value is created over time.
The report also notes that 42 ventures have surpassed R2 million in revenue. In addition, four businesses have exceeded R400 million in revenue or R2 billion in market value. These milestones highlight the importance of support beyond funding. That support includes practical guidance, access to networks, governance and post-investment value creation.
Looking ahead
There is a need to deepen post-investment value creation and improve impact measurement. There is also a need to build partnerships that support responsible capital, capability and opportunity throughout South Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
As we move towards 2030, the report highlights work that remains ongoing.
This includes:
- Supporting responsible entrepreneurship through capital and capability.
- Strengthening the systems that enable this support.
- Measuring impact with greater discipline over time.
Responsible entrepreneurship will remain central for building resilient businesses, expanding opportunity and delivering sustainable economic impact across South Africa.
Gladwyn Leeuw | Chief Executive Officer | E Squared Investments | mail me |
