About Enygma Ventures
Enygma Ventures, an accelerator and incubator program founded in 2019, is based in Cape Town, South Africa. With a presence in 6 countries, it has supported around 17 startups in sectors like Retail, Enterprise Applications. Most notable companies in
its portfolio include Lupiya, PremierCredit and Adbot Technologies. The program is backed by a team of 1 people who primarily support Seed startups based in South Africa. Its latest investment was a $500K Seed round in Adbot Technologies on Nov 08, 2021.
Key Metrics
Founded Year
2019
Location
Cape Town, South Africa
Portfolio Companies
Sectors of Investment
Stages of Investment
Seed
Locations of Investment
Enygma Ventures' List of Top Investments
Enygma Ventures has a portfolio of 17 companies. Their most notable investments are in Lupiya and Job Crystal.Their portfolio spans across South Africa, Zambia, Rwanda and 3 more locations. They have invested in Retail, Enterprise Applications, Consumer and 11 other sectors, across stages such as Seed stage. Here is the list of top investments by Enygma Ventures:
1. Lupiya
Online lending marketplace for consumer and business loans. It offers customers multiple financing products including personal loans, working capital loans, salary advance loans, collateral-backed loans, scheme loans, micro loans, and many more. Users need to apply for funding via its online lending platform, where it connects borrowers with multiple lending partners and upon credit assessment approval, the loan amount is directly transferred to the linked bank or e-wallet account.
Key facts about Lupiya
- Founded Year: 2016
- Location: Lusaka (Zambia)
- Stage: Series A
- Total Funding till date: $20.5M
- Employee Count: 16 as on Jul 01, 2024
- Investors: Kfw, Alitheia IDF and 2 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series A, Feb 17, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Provider of digital financial services including loans, investments, and payments. The company offers personal and business loans with flexible terms. Investment opportunities are available through a peer-to-peer lending platform. A mobile wallet facilitates payments, money transfers, and bill management. Insurance coverage is also offered, tailored to individual needs.
Key facts about PremierCredit
- Founded Year: 2019
- Location: Kitwe (Zambia)
- Stage: Series A
- Total Funding till date: $3.15M
- Employee Count: 27 as on Jul 01, 2024
- Investors: Enygma Ventures and FinTech4U
- Latest Funding Round: Series A, Sep 22, 2023, $*****
AI based automated search campaign management platform. It uses machine learning technologies and artificial intelligence to automate the Google Ads campaign. The automation processes include ad account management, ad placements, ad monitoring, and more. It offers software on subscription based pricing plans.
Key facts about Adbot Technologies
- Founded Year: 2019
- Location: Cape Town (South Africa)
- Stage: Seed
- Total Funding till date: $500K
- Employee Count: 5 as on Jul 01, 2024
- Investors: Tofino Capital and Enygma Ventures
- Latest Funding Round: Seed, Jun 14, 2023, $*****
Key facts about Widenergy Africa
- Founded Year: 2016
- Location: Lusaka (Zambia)
- Stage: Seed
- Employee Count: 34 as on Jul 01, 2024
- Investors: OPES-LCEF, GreenTec Capital Partners and 2 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Conventional Debt, May 17, 2021, $*****

5. Spoon Money
Spoon Money is a stokvel investment firm. The company joins the existing stokvels as a member. The company invests in the stokvels and the stokvels make money on the funds provided by the company.
Key facts about Spoon Money
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Cape Town (South Africa)
- Stage: Seed
- Total Funding till date: $17.8K
- Employee Count: 4 as on Jul 01, 2024
- Investors: Catalyst Fund, Startupbootcamp and 3 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Seed, Sep 2017, $*****
Enygma Ventures' Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Enygma Ventures has invested in 17 companies over the last 6 years, with an average of 1 new investment annually in the last 5 years. Its most recent first time investment was in Adbot Technologies.Enygma Ventures' Investments by Stage
Enygma Ventures has made 9 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $461K.Enygma Ventures' Investments by Sector
Enygma Ventures has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Consumer, Enterprise Applications, FinTech, Financial Services and Business Services. Notably, it has invested in 9 Tech companies, 7 Consumer (B2C) companies, 4 Enterprise (B2B) companies and at least 4 companies focusing on Software.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Consumer | 2 |
Enterprise Applications | 2 |
FinTech | 2 |
Financial Services | 2 |
Business Services | 1 |
Others | 6 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Enygma Ventures' Investments by Geography
Enygma Ventures has made most investments in South Africa (5), followed by Zambia where it has made 2 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
South Africa | 5 |
Zambia | 2 |
Swaziland | 1 |
United Kingdom | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Enygma Ventures' recent investments
Enygma Ventures has not made any investment in 2026 so far.Here are the most recent investments by Enygma Ventures:
Date | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nov 08, 2021 | South Africa | Seed | 2125 | - | |
Jul 15, 2021 | South Africa | Seed | 4751 | - | |
Jul 01, 2021 | South Africa | Seed | 1908 | - | |
May 20, 2021 | South Africa | Seed | 4519 | - | |
Dec 21, 2020 | Zambia | Seed | 7609 | - |
Team profile of Enygma Ventures
Enygma Ventures has a team of 1 member located in South Africa. Enygma Ventures' team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Co-investors of Enygma Ventures
Over the past 6 years, 4 investors have co-invested in Enygma Ventures's portfolio companies. This includes only funds.
- Invested after Enygma Ventures: A total of 4 investors have invested in Enygma Ventures's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Alitheia IDF (1 company) and Inoks Capital (1 company).
Recent News related to Enygma Ventures
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Lupiya raises $8.25 million in Series A to drive financial inclusion in ZambiaTechloy•Sep 18, 2023•Lupiya, Enygma Ventures, Alitheia IDF, Inoks Capital and 1 other
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Cape Town tech startup secures R7-million in fundingVentureburn•Nov 08, 2021•Adbot Technologies, Enygma Ventures
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Cape startup Brown and Ayo awarded R4-million investmentVentureburn•Jul 01, 2021•Enygma Ventures, Brown and Ayo
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Startup Circles secures R2.1-million investmentVentureburn•May 20, 2021•Enygma Ventures, Startup Circles
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Engyma Venture Encourages Female Entrepreneurs to Apply for FundingInnovation-village•Apr 06, 2021•Enygma Ventures
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Edtech start-up Play Sense expands after R8.25m fundingITWeb•Jan 19, 2021•Play Sense, Enygma Ventures
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Zambia micro-lending startup receives $650 000 investmentVentureburn•Dec 22, 2020•PremierCredit, Enygma Ventures, Premiere Credit
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Enygma Ventures makes Last Call for 2020 investment applicationsTech In Africa•Dec 02, 2020•Enygma Ventures
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African food company receives R9.2-million investmentVentureburn•Nov 18, 2020•Black Mamba, Enygma Ventures

