StartupBlink

480 Top startups in Johannesburg for August 2026

We rank Naked Insurance, VALR and Sendmarc in Johannesburg along with 477 other startups based on an algorithm that scores startups based on total investment, employee count, and quarterly website traffic. Johannesburg startup ecosystem ranks #122 globally and #2 in South Africa.

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Top Unicorn Startups in Johannesburg for 2026

TymeBank is the only unicorn in Johannesburg raising more than USD 1.5B. It is the undefined ranked unicorn in Southern Africa.
1st
TymeBank logo
TymeBankSB Score: 632

TymeBank, a South African investment company, is 100% black-owned and operated. Offering innovative financial solutions, TymeBank empowers customers with fully digital banking services.

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Website
www.tymebank.co.za
Employee range
1,001 – 5,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)

Total amount:1

Best Startups in Johannesburg for 2026

1st
Naked Insurance logo
Naked InsuranceSB Score: 525

Naked Insurance is the new generation: effortless, transparent and sincere. Naked Insurance offers short-term retail insurance products.

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Website
www.naked.insure
Employee range
101 – 250
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$69.5M
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
2nd
VALR logo
VALRSB Score: 517

VALR.com is a digital asset trading platform where you can buy, sell, store and transfer cryptocurrencies seamlessly and securely. We offer one of the widest selections of digital assets. We‘re helping to build a financial system that recognises the oneness of humanity.

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Website
www.valr.com
Employee range
51 – 100
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$55M
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
3rd
Sendmarc logo
SendmarcSB Score: 448

Duoduoyun is an Android cloud virtualization technology company, whose products mainly include cloud mobile phones, cloud gaming solutions and cloud security office solutions. Among them, the cloud mobile phone adopts the ARM architecture, which is the main product of the current multi-cloud, allowing users to have a virtual mobile phone that runs in the cloud and can be remotely controlled to transfer the computing power of the mobile phone to the cloud.

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Website
sendmarc.com
Employee range
101 – 250
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$15.7M
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
4th
Rentoza logo
RentozaSB Score: 424

Rentoza is a subscription-based online electronics and appliance store. Rentoza makes critical technology accessible and affordable to users, particularly when traditional methods of purchasing technology are unavailable. Rentoza focuses on developing alternative methods of accessing devices that are essential in people's daily lives.

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Website
rentoza.co.za
Employee range
101 – 250
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$10.6M
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
5th
Wetility logo
WetilitySB Score: 417

Wetility's flagship product is a comprehensive digital solar energy management system that allows users to regulate power usage remotely. The system is marketed as the "360 Wetility Experience" and consists of rooftop PV installation or solar panels.

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Website
www.wetility.energy
Employee range
51 – 100
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$37.1M
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
6th
AURA logo
AURASB Score: 401

AURA is a South African cloud-based market place that enables anyone to access the closest vetted private security and medical response unit to their location, anywhere, anytime using a connected device. AURA's operations are based in South Africa, Kenya and the United Kingdom.

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Website
www.aura.services
Employee range
51 – 100
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$20M
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
7th
Howler logo
HowlerSB Score: 397

Howler provides event organisers with a robust tech platform to streamline event planning, promotion, and management, ensuring flawless guest experiences. Create unforgettable moments with Howler's seamless solution for all your event needs.

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Website
www.howler.co.za
Employee range
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
8th
PAIX logo
PAIXSB Score: 395

PAIX data centres is a Pan-African provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral colocation data centre services and is headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. PAIX is the acronym for “Pan African Internet Exchange data centres”. PAIX was founded in 2016 by a team of data centre, telecom industry and investment professionals with a track record in the African market. In its data centre operations, PAIX aims to offer a leading global quality service level to its national and international customer base across the African continent.

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Website
www.paix.io
Employee range
51 – 100
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$50M
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
9th
The Invigilator logo
The InvigilatorSB Score: 393

The Invigilator is an application designed to support educational institutions in maintaining academic integrity during online assessments. It offers features such as facial recognition for student verification, video monitoring to detect suspicious behavior, and audio recording to identify unauthorized assistance. The app also includes screen monitoring to track on-screen activity, GPS detection to confirm the student's location, and plagiarism detection to ensure the originality of submitted work. Additionally, it provides customizable photographic evidence requests and verification codes to link students to specific assessments. It is compatible with both mobile and desktop devices, operates offline, and is designed to function effectively on entry-level smartphones with low data usage. These features aim to create a controlled and monitored environment for non-venue-based assessments.

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Website
invigilator.app
Employee range
11 – 50
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$11M
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
10th
Zulzi logo
ZulziSB Score: 362

Zulzi provides a same-day grocery delivery and pickup service, bringing fresh groceries and everyday essentials.

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Website
zulzi.com
Employee range
51 – 100
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$1.6M
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
11th
LittleFish App logo
LittleFish AppSB Score: 359

Littlefish is a platform designed for banks to accelerate their time to market by 80%. It provides the essential infrastructure and application layers needed for SME banking, enabling financial institutions to streamline operations and enhance service delivery in the rapidly evolving banking sector.

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Website
www.littlefishapp.com
Employee range
11 – 50
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$2.5M
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)

Total amount:223

Most Funded Startups in Johannesburg for 2026

The top three most funded startups in Johannesburg have raised total funding of more than USD 174M. Naked Insurance has 0.26% more funding than VALR.
1st
Naked Insurance logo
Naked InsuranceSB Score: 525

Naked Insurance is the new generation: effortless, transparent and sincere. Naked Insurance offers short-term retail insurance products.

View Full Page
Website
www.naked.insure
Employee range
101 – 250
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$69.5M
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
2nd
VALR logo
VALRSB Score: 517

VALR.com is a digital asset trading platform where you can buy, sell, store and transfer cryptocurrencies seamlessly and securely. We offer one of the widest selections of digital assets. We‘re helping to build a financial system that recognises the oneness of humanity.

View Full Page
Website
www.valr.com
Employee range
51 – 100
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$55M
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
3rd
PAIX logo
PAIXSB Score: 395

PAIX data centres is a Pan-African provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral colocation data centre services and is headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. PAIX is the acronym for “Pan African Internet Exchange data centres”. PAIX was founded in 2016 by a team of data centre, telecom industry and investment professionals with a track record in the African market. In its data centre operations, PAIX aims to offer a leading global quality service level to its national and international customer base across the African continent.

View Full Page
Website
www.paix.io
Employee range
51 – 100
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$50M
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)

Total amount:223

Top Hiring Startups in Johannesburg by Employee Number

The top three hiring startups in Johannesburg have an median employee size that is between [251-500]
1st
Tennovo logo
TennovoSB Score: 163

Tennovo provides consulting and technology services focused on digital transformation and cloud-enabled solutions. The company delivers advisory support and development services, helping clients migrate systems, modernize platforms, and adopt emerging technologies in areas such as cloud integration, digital workflows, and platform engineering. It collaborates with enterprises to design and implement scalable technology solutions aligned with business objectives. The firm also offers managed IT services, cybersecurity support, and ongoing system optimization to help organizations maintain effective infrastructure.

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Website
tennovo.com
Employee range
10,001+
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
2nd
Ukheshe Technologies logo

Ukheshe Technologies is a global, digital-first financial services enabler. The comppany provides an SMME focused digital platform to improve and address financial inclusion within South Africa. Through our technology, and by partnering with banks, telcos, financial services providers, we enable them to pursue financial inclusion for their customers with tailor made payment solutions. Ukheshe Technologies was established in 2018 by Jason Penton and Paul Carter-Brown in Johannesburg, NA - South Africa.

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Website
www.ukheshe.com
Employee range
251 – 500
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$42M
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
3rd
FlySafair logo
FlySafairSB Score: 332

FlySafair identifies as a low-cost carrier. It is a trusted domestic carrier to the springboks. They believe that just because they are low cost, doesn’t mean that they will offer a low-value service.

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Website
flysafair.co.za
Employee range
251 – 500
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
4th
Anylytical Technologies logo

Anylytical Technologies creates software solutions and provides business consulting services. Its goal is to offer solutions that satisfy corporate needs. They want to make software development into a field that resembles a production line. Their solutions demonstrate their enthusiasm for software development. It has the ambition to put together a predetermined set of technological tools and procedures that would be employed to address the majority of its software projects.

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Website
www.anylytical.com
Employee range
251 – 500
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$3.6K
National Rank(South Africa)
Regional Rank(Southern Africa)
Global Rank(Worldwide)

Total amount:480

Explore More Top Startups

Explore the Startup Ecosystem of Johannesburg

National Rank

(South Africa)

2nd

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Regional Rank

(Southern Africa)

2nd

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Global Rank

(WorldWide)

122nd

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Top Cities for Startups in South Africa - Ranked by StartupBlink

StartupBlink ranks the startup ecosystems of more than 100 countries and 1,000 cities. Download our latest Global Startup Ecosystem Report.
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