Endeavor South Africa Quarter 1 Newsletter 2025
Endeavor South Africa Newsletter Q1 2025
Dear Friends of Endeavor,
Even when we see something coming, it can still catch us off guard. Risk theory calls this the realm of unknown unknowns—those events we can’t predict, don’t model for, and often overlook. And yet, they shape our world in profound ways. Public markets feel this in real time—Trump’s growing influence, the spectre of tariffs, and the ripple effects on inflation and confidence in U.S. assets. In private markets, the limitations of traditional risk models open space for innovation, resilience, and outsized opportunity. It’s in the ambiguity that game-changing ventures are born and where bold founders shape the future. So, how did Q1 shape up face of so many unknowns?
This quarter, we welcomed Barry Swartzberg, Co-founder and Head of Strategy & New Venture Creation at Discovery as our new Chairman, and comes with ‘Founder DNA.’ Barry is no stranger to Endeavor and has served on our Board for the past 10 years, has been a panellist on numerous Endeavor International Selection panels, and is an active mentor, both locally and globally. Click here for this wonderful Q&A with Barry. We also welcome the newest Board Member, Pieter de Villiers, co-founder of Clickatell, who brings a wealth of experience as a founder.
We extend both a warm welcome to our newest Local Scale-Up joiners: Melon Mobile, CTRLFleet, Sio Valley Technologies, and Float, and also celebrate DealXs exit to Morningstar. This is a wonderful milestone and full-circle event for co-founder Llewellyn Watson, Congratulations to him and the team!
We continue to strengthen internal alignment across the network, with recent staff retreats for EX Selection in Turkey and Marketing in Madrid, where approximately 100 team members from over 35 markets came together to connect and align. Alongside a series of connect sessions across our organization—spanning 600 staff and more than 300 Board members—we are collectively emerging with the Endeavor Vision 2035: to be the Global Network of Trust.
Externally, we look forward to the upcoming Catalyst Day on the 14th May in London where our very own Tjaart van der Walt (Endeavor Board member, co-founder Tyme) will be a guest speaker sharing Tyme’s story alongside Sergio Furo (Creditas founder and CEO) and Harry Stebbings from 20VC and the 20 minute podcast. We will also be hosting a private Catalyst South African Diaspora event as we continue to build the SA-UK arc. More about Catalyst Fund V here.
In Global news, we look forward to the next International Selection Panels (ISPs) taking place in Poland in June, Cambridge in September finishing the year with the largest ISP taking place in Stellenbosch 13- 15th December, which will be held at a newly renovated Spier. Please mark your calendars and join us for this high octane global event which is the pinnacle of the Endeavor journey and will be a wonderful showcase for both South Africa and the South African high-growth entrepreneur ecosystem.
Local Endeavor Events & Network News
Barry Swartzberg is appointed Chairman of Endeavor SA Read More.
Clickatell’s visionary founder Pieter de Villiers joins the Endeavor SA Board. Read More.
DealX is acquired by Morningstar. Congratulations to Llewellyn Watson and Tim Liddle, Co-founders of DealX on this important exit! Read More.
Entrepreneur News
TymeBank Expands to Indonesia.
TymeBank Expands to Indonesia with GoTyme Bank, bringing financial inclusion to 180 million underserved consumers with their tech-driven model Read more.
TymeBank’s Growth Milestone.
TymeBank adds 6,500 new customers daily, surpasses 10.7M total, joins SA’s Top 100 Brands with a R3B valuation. Read more.
TymeBank names Charmaine Padayachy CCO.
Longtime Endeavor mentor, Investment Committee member, and former ARC Deal Executive, Charmaine Padayachy brings deep expertise to her new leadership role at TymeBank. Read More
Yoco celebrates their 10 year anniversary.
Marking a decade of impact, Yoco unveils its most significant product update yet—crafted to drive small business success.
SPARK Schools Leadership Transition.
Stacey Brewer steps into Chair role as Earl Sampson becomes Group CEO, marking a bold new chapter for SPARK’s growth. Read more.
Carry1st Expands Gaming in MENA.
Carry1st partners with Stellar Gate Games to expand Blood Strike MENA, unlocking access for 380M+ gamers with local payment solutions. Read more.
MEA’s AI Revolution: Endeavor Entrepreneurs Leading the Charge!
CLEVVA‘s Ryan and Dayne Falkenberg, along with Aerobotics‘ Benji Meltzer and James Paterson, are featured in AI Magazine’s Top 10 AI Companies. Read more.
FlexClub’s new mobility solution is live.
Tinashe Ruzane of FlexClub, with co-founders Idan Jaan and Howard Sommerfeld, introduces South Africa’s first Pay-As-You-Go car subscription model. Read more.
Local Scale Up News
Welcome to the latest joiners in our pipeline:
- Calvin Collett, founder and CEO of Melon Mobile — a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) and South Africa’s first fully customisable and truly digital mobile network. Read More.
- Trevor Siu and Jean-Paul Nageri — co-founders of Sio Valley Technologies, innovators behind KaFresh, which extends produce shelf life and tackles food waste and food security. Read more.
- Alex Forsyth-Thompson, Founder and CEO of Float — Africa’s first card-linked instalment platform that’s disrupting traditional BNPL. Read more.
- Renko Bergh and Wichard Sullwald, Co-founders of CtrlFleet — a fleet management platform helping logistics businesses digitise operations, reduce downtime, and drive efficiency through automation. Read more.
Yebo Fresh is acquired by Smollan. Read More.
Boost Technology partners with Mastercard to Empower MSMEs. Read More.
Talk360’s Bold Plan: 7 Million Customers by 2025, listen to the podcast here.
Global Endeavor Events & Entrepreneur News
Meet the 2025 Endeavor Outliers from South Africa! These founders are scaling at an extraordinary pace – and need to deliver 3yr CAGR of >50% & Revenue >$50m/yr or >100% 3yr cagr & Revenue >$10m/yr or Valued at >$1B to qualify. Read more.
Endeavor Catalyst’s 2024 Annual Report is out. Read the full report and explore the global trends shaping venture capital in 2025 here.
Endeavor, 30 years on Endeavor has helped 80+ companies become $1B unicorns. Our Selection Triangle focuses on three key factors: the entrepreneur’s leadership, the business’s scalability, and the timing for growth. Read more
Other cool stuff to double click on
- ICEYE: A deep-tech company from Poland going head-to-head with global giants in space. Read here
- On Money Unplugged with Chris Hill, Linda shares her journey before co-founding Endeavor, how a “crazy” idea turned into a global movement, and what she’s learned from decades of working with high-impact entrepreneurs. ▶️ YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eqtA777V.
- Headway EdTech, a game-changing edtech company with Ukrainian roots, has achieved a historic first: acceptance into the Endeavor global network.
- Meet the newest Endeavor Entrepreneurs selected at our 102nd in-person International Selection Panel (ISP) in Dubai.
- The Philippine tech sector has tripled in the last decade. What’s driving this momentum? Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/eiqqwC3z
Closing the quarter
So, how has Q1 shaped up? In a word: chaotically-coherent. Amid the noise, signals have emerged – if you’re squinting hard enough or maybe just lucky. As ever, the challenge (and opportunity) lies in holding conviction lightly and curiosity tightly. Until next quarter, may your unknowns be benign and your variance favourably skewed. We wish you a steady year ahead and hope to see you at an event soon!
Warm regards,
Alison Collier, Endeavor South Africa MD.