1395 Top startups in Southern Africa for July 2026

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

Cell C is a mobile provider in South Africa, offering a wide range of services and mobile and data deals.

Yoco empowers 100,000 small businesses in South Africa to accept payments seamlessly in-store, online, and on-the-go.

Ozow is the future of payment as we know it. An oh-so (or Ozow) easy, automated and ultra-secure pay-by-bank solution that helps customers pay in just a few seconds, merchants can initiate Ozow payments through a variety of payment platforms, such as SMS, eCommerce, eBilling, QR Code, and instore Point-of-Sale (POS). Through Ozow’s precise and secure system (that reduces the risk of charge-backs), merchants get real-time payments with instant transaction notifications and automated bank reconciliations. As no card is required for payment, their products are also more widely available, resulting in fewer abandoned carts, increased sales, and more happy customers. Furthermore, merchants enjoy transaction fees as low as 1,5%, with no monthly costs, setup fees, or minimum charges, enabling them to save their money. As an added bonus, merchants processing up to R1m per month can use Ozow for free in their first year, no strings attached. Ozow is committed to financial inclusion on a continent where many people are disenfranchised by a lack of payments options. Furthermore, Ozow is committed to making it affordable for smaller businesses to take their trade to a wider audience, and to ensure that if traditional payment methods are unavailable, merchants don’t suffer. Ozow is bringing commerce to a wider audience, promoting financial inclusion, and innovating for our customers. Paying with us is Ozow easy, Ozow fast and Ozow trusted!

Luno makes it safe and easy to buy, store and learn about cryptocurrencies in South Africa.

Peach Payments provides payment solutions to online and mobile businesses enabling them to easily accept payments from consumers across the globe and especially from those in the emerging markets. Our specific focus is on Africa and the BRIC countries where the local infrastructure requires a unique and tailored approach to online payments.

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

Yoco is an African technology company. We create opportunities for entrepreneurs and small businesses to get paid, run and grow their business through a single platform. Our growing product ecosystem includes payments (offline and online), lending and business software. Today Yoco processes US$ billions annually for over 300,000 small businesses.

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.

Carry1st is a full-stack publisher of social games and interactive content with a focus on frontier markets like Africa. Founded in 2018 by Cordel Robbin-Coker, Lucy Hoffman, and Tino Mundangepfupfu, Carry1st employs a team of 29 people across 14 countries hailing from top companies like Carlyle, King, Jumia, Rovio, Socialpoint, and Wargaming. It has raised over $10m to date including a recent $7m Series A headlined by Riot Games, Konvoy Ventures, Raine, and Akatsuki. Carry1st will use the funding to launch and scale its existing portfolio, secure new partnerships with global gaming studios, and expand its team.

HyperionDev is one of the largest online coding bootcamps out there. It was founded in 2012, as a small grassroots movement of Computer Science students working towards a single goal: to build and deliver better technical education for anyone who wanted to learn digital literacy and programming skills. Today, we're backed by Facebook & Google and serve over 150,000 registered students in over 35 countries.

JOBJACK is an online platform bridging the gap between job seekers and job providers by creating access and automating the entire entry-level recruitment process.

Cell C is a mobile provider in South Africa, offering a wide range of services and mobile and data deals.

Yoco empowers 100,000 small businesses in South Africa to accept payments seamlessly in-store, online, and on-the-go.

Yoco is an African technology company. We create opportunities for entrepreneurs and small businesses to get paid, run and grow their business through a single platform. Our growing product ecosystem includes payments (offline and online), lending and business software. Today Yoco processes US$ billions annually for over 300,000 small businesses.

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.

VECTRA is a technology-driven diversified industrial company serving attractive global markets, including automotive systems, electronic devices, aerospace and defense, industrial and medical. Its business platforms use technology to address customers' complex applications and demanding requirements.

Cell C is a mobile provider in South Africa, offering a wide range of services and mobile and data deals.

Promasidor manufactures and supplies seasonings and processed foods in 36 countries throughout Africa. It produces and sells powdered beverages, flavor seasonings, powdered milk, cereals, and other food products. Promasidor mainly operates in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Algeria, and Angola. Promasidor was founded in 1979 by Robert Rose.

TEAM AF (formerly A Reason To Feel) is a South African–Japanese creative digital agency and app design studio founded in 2024. Based in Pretoria, the firm delivers services across: App & product design UX / UI design communication Brand identity & digital marketing Social content creation & influencer campaigns No-code/AI app development Digital strategy and financial planning for tech solutions

TFGLabs is the group’s technology division that is spearheading its digital transformation.

Provider of an online learning platform for parents. The company conducts online tutorials and courses targeted at parents and families helping them improve the behavior of their children.