We believe that investing in an inclusive and sustainable future means backing ground-breaking businesses with revolutionary ideas that can transform our world for the better. We collaborate with corporate organisations, funding institutions and impact investors who dare to venture new frontiers and invest in innovative SMEs that will shape our tomorrow.
We provide innovative end-to-end venture capital, corporate venturing and fund management solutions that provide investors with the best of both worlds: solid financial returns combined with significant social impact. We use developmental and transformational capital as the vehicle for impact investment which in turn comes with varying legislative and compliance benefits creating all round value for our investors.
Our funds do not only provide small businesses with access to early-stage business finance, but also dedicated post-investment support to navigate business challenges together and maximise growth and impact for SMEs.
We specialise in venture impact funding for early-stage businesses showing high growth potential that support positive social, environmental and economic change. This type of funding yields a financial return and a social return for investors, whether in alignment with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors, UN sustainability goals, transformation and diversity and inclusion objectives, or a combination of all three. It’s the game-changer that advocates for a sustainable and balanced blend of both purpose and profit.
Transformation funding is instrumental in removing many of the obstacles on the road to ensuring black wealth creation and inclusive economic growth. This type of funding encompasses several sustainable solutions, including standalone ESD funding, funding for organisations to achieve black ownership and ring-fenced ESD funds to provide easy and cost-effective solutions delivering huge impact.
Managing multiple SME funds with varying mandates is a core aspect of our business. Our portfolio includes the Vumela ESD Fund, the ASISA ESD Fund, the Action ESD Fund, the SAB Thrive Fund, the Abadali EEIP Fund, and the Ignite Fund.
These funds have one thing in common – they were all established to support the growth and development of high potential SMEs in South Africa.
These SME funds have been made possible through the use of developmental and ESD funding from corporate investors, which enables us to provide financing to small businesses that do not always meet the criteria for conventional funding. This is a critical part of our mission to drive economic growth and job creation in the country.
With over R2bn in assets under management within these SME Funds, we have already deployed almost R1.5bn to hundreds of small businesses across our portfolio, making us a leading venture capital and SME funder in South Africa. By investing in these SMEs, we help unlock their potential and support them to become sustainable and successful enterprises that can make a significant contribution to the economy.
This social venture capital fund was pioneered with FirstRand Group investments to facilitate their SME development and was the first fund of its kind in South Africa.
This B-BBEE investment fund is an SME development solution, created on behalf of The Association for Savings and Investment South Africa, to benefit both investors and SMEs.
This fund is Edge Growth’s in-house SME development solution, designed to help Corporates overcome obstacles to taking action towards SME development, such as a limited budget or supply chain.
This supplier development and transformation fund was established for South African Breweries (SAB) to provide equity funding to their suppliers, enabling majority black ownership, innovation and accelerated growth.
This fund forms part of J.P. Morgan’s Equity Equivalent Investment Programme and is designed to extend debt financing on flexible terms to selected, eligible black enterprises, mainly operating in the industrial and green economy sectors of the South African economy.
The Ignite Fund offers SMEs access to a variety of funding options (mostly short and medium term) ranging from R50k to R5m, which are typically not available through traditional banks. It provides financial solutions such as interest-free loans (in some instances), capital for purchase orders, working capital, operational expenditure, small capex, and expansion capital.
Additionally, Ignite incorporates SME-specific risk profiling and pricing to ensure affordability and supports businesses post-investment to help them scale independently.
Fund Management with Edge Growth is led by our Edge Ventures team, a passionate collective of progressive investment professionals committed to accelerating growth and driving innovation. We created the blueprint for SME funds by partnering with FNB Business to pioneer the Vumela Fund, the first fund of its kind in South Africa. Our visionary approach to unlocking funding for SME growth combined with our unrivalled expertise in fund management is why our clients choose to partner with us.
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