About E Squared Investments
E Squared Investments is a venture capital firm founded in 2007. It is primarily based out of Sandton, South Africa. As of Jul 2025, E Squared Investments is an active investor, having invested in 16 companies, with 1 new investment in the last 12 months. It primarily invests in Seed round in South Africa based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Enterprise Applications to Consumer and Food and Agriculture Tech. Most recently it participated in the $***** Seed round of Altera Biosciences Overall, E Squared Investments portfolio has seen 1 acquisition, namely Kandua. A lot of funds co-invest with E Squared Investments, with names like Kalon Venture Partners sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. E Squared Investments has team of 24 people including 4 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Seed & Unattributed
Portfolio Acquisitions
Deals in last 12 months
E Squared Investments' List of Top Investments
E Squared Investments has a portfolio of 16 companies. Their most notable investments are in Kandua and WeThinkCode_.Their portfolio spans across South Africa and United States. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, Consumer, Food and Agriculture Tech and 13 other sectors, across stages such as Seed, Unattributed stages. Here is the list of top investments by E Squared Investments:
1. Go-Metro
Operator of public transportation providing fixed-route bus and paratransit services. The organization offers fixed-route bus services to the public. It also provides shared-ride paratransit service that is ADA-accessible. The entity is governed by a board of trustees.
Key facts about Go-Metro
- Founded Year: 1973
- Location: Cincinnati (United States)
- Stage: Series A
- Total Funding till date: $12.4M
- Employee Count: 185 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: Futuregrowth, U.S. Department of Transportation and 8 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Grant (prize money), Aug 19, 2025, $*****
2. KHULA
Provider of an online marketplace for agriculture and food businesses. Its platform enables farmers to list their products for sale and consumers to place orders from preferred producers and suppliers. It also provides a platform for delivery service providers to register and deliver orders. It allows farmers to buy farm inputs and its mobile application is available for the Android platform.
Key facts about KHULA
- Founded Year: 2016
- Location: Johannesburg (South Africa)
- Stage: Series A
- Total Funding till date: $9.44M
- Employee Count: 65 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: Absa Group, AECI and 4 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series A, Mar 04, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
3. Kandua
Online lead generation platform for home improvement services. Users can state their requirements on the platform to receive quotes from registered service providers from which the users can book the suitable service provider. They can browse through the profiles of the service providers & initiate offline communication to avail services. The list of services mentioned in the platform includes renovation, plumbing, painting, handyman, pool refurbishing, CCTV installation, and more.
Key facts about Kandua
- Founded Year: 2014
- Location: Johannesburg (South Africa)
- Stage: Acquired
- Employee Count: 43 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: Knife Capital, Catalyst Fund and 5 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Seed, Jul 19, 2021, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
4. GoMetro
SaaS-based transit planning solutions for public transport operators. The platform offers solutions like fleet management, journey planning, fleet optimization, data collection, and more. Features includes integrated with the existing system for optimum journey planning, dispatch management, digital twin enabled traffic interventions, and more. The company offers solutions for transit authorities, public transit agencies, and more.
Key facts about GoMetro
- Founded Year: 2011
- Location: Cape Town (South Africa)
- Stage: Series A
- Total Funding till date: $12.4M
- Employee Count: 5 as on Mar 31, 2025
- Investors: Futuregrowth, Europa and 7 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series A, Nov 29, 2023, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
5. WeThinkCode_
Provider of software developer training and placement services. It recruits young people with high aptitude, offering intensive, market-relevant training. The curriculum focuses on backend development skills and work-readiness competencies. Graduates are placed in jobs with reputable businesses. The program aims to address technical skills shortages and youth unemployment. A key focus is supporting youth from low-income backgrounds throughout the entire process, from selection to placement.
Key facts about WeThinkCode_
- Founded Year: 2015
- Location: Johannesburg (South Africa)
- Stage: Seed
- Total Funding till date: $612K
- Investors: Google.org and E Squared Investments
- Latest Funding Round: Grant (prize money), Aug 11, 2025, $*****
E Squared Investments' Year-on-Year Investment Trends
E Squared Investments has invested in 16 companies over the last 6 years, with an average of 2 new investments annually in the last 5 years. In 2025, it made 4 investments. Its most recent first time investment was in Altera Biosciences and most recent follow-on round was in KHULA.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2025 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2023 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
2022 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
2021 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
2020 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
E Squared Investments' Investments by Stage
E Squared Investments has made 15 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $1.54M and 1 investment in Unattributed stage with an average round size of $1M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Seed | 15 |
Unattributed | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
E Squared Investments' Investments by Sector
E Squared Investments has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Enterprise Applications, Consumer, Gig Economy, Travel and Hospitality and Auto Tech. Notably, it has invested in 9 Tech companies, 8 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 6 Consumer (B2C) companies and at least 5 companies focusing on Software.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Enterprise Applications | 5 |
Consumer | 4 |
Gig Economy | 2 |
Travel and Hospitality | 2 |
Auto Tech | 1 |
Others | 12 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
E Squared Investments' Investments by Geography
E Squared Investments has made most investments in South Africa (12), followed by United States where it has made 3 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
South Africa | 12 |
United States | 3 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
E Squared Investments' recent investments
E Squared Investments has not made any investment in 2026 so far.Here are the most recent investments by E Squared Investments:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jul 30, 2025 | South Africa | Seed | 5610 | ||
Jun 03, 2025 | - | Seed | 5639 | - | |
Mar 04, 2025 | South Africa | Series A | 3925 | [+2] | |
Jan 14, 2025 | South Africa | Seed | 3519 | [+4] | |
Dec 14, 2023 | South Africa | Seed | 8688 | - |
Acquired companies in E Squared Investments' Portfolio
1 company from E Squared Investments' portfolio has been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Kandua in May 2024 by Santam for $*****.Here are E Squared Investments' portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
May 27, 2024 | Jul 19, 2021 | Seed | 4051 |
Team profile of E Squared Investments
E Squared Investments has a team of 24 members including 4 Partners, 5 Venture Partners and 4 Principals located in South Africa and Kenya. E Squared Investments' team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Here is a list of top team members in E Squared Investments:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | - | - | - | |
Partner | Johannesburg | - | - | |
Partner | Johannesburg | - | - | |
Partner | Thika | - | - | |
Venture Partner | Johannesburg | - | - | |
Venture Partner | Pretoria | - | - | |
Venture Partner | Tshwane | - | - | |
Venture Partner | Johannesburg | - | - | |
Venture Partner | Durban | - | - | |
Principal | Johannesburg | - | - | |
Principal | Johannesburg | - | - |
Co-investors of E Squared Investments
Over the past 6 years, 44 investors have co-invested in E Squared Investments's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before E Squared Investments: U.S. Department of Transportation, FEMA and 14 others have invested in rounds before E Squared Investments. There is 1 company where U.S. Department of Transportation has invested before E Squared Investments and 1 company where FEMA has invested before E Squared Investments.
- Top Co-investors of E Squared Investments: 18 investors entered a company along with E Squared Investments. These include investors like Kalon Venture Partners (2 companies).
- Invested after E Squared Investments: A total of 10 investors have invested in E Squared Investments's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Zenobe (2 companies), Futuregrowth (2 companies) and 4 Decades Capital (2 companies).
Recent News related to E Squared Investments
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E Squared Invests R316 Million in South African Startups in 2025StartUp Mag South Africa•Jul 10, 2026•E Squared Investments
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Norfund and E Squared back Nafasi Water Technologies to scale Southern Africa’s water infrastructureInnovation-village•Apr 23, 2026•Norfund, E Squared Investments
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HAVAÍC Raises Over $30 Million for African Innovation Fund IIIInnovation-village•Feb 17, 2026•E Squared Investments, HAVAIC
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Altera Biosciences secures $1.6M to pioneer universal donor cell therapy in AfricaInnovation-village•Jul 30, 2025•E Squared Investments, ONEBIO, Altera Biosciences
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Khula Raises R126 Million To Strengthen SA AgriTech PositionTechFinancials•Mar 03, 2025•KHULA, Absa Bank Botswana, AECI, E Squared Investments
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The Awareness Company Secures $1.6 Million in Seed Funding to Drive AI-Powered Operational Sustainabilityjoburgetc.com•Jan 14, 2025•Awareness Company, Next176, Catalyst Fund, E Squared Investments and 4 others
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SA SME Fund, TIA and E Squared Launch R300m Seed Fund of FundsAfricaglobalfunds•Oct 21, 2024•E Squared Investments, SA SME Fund
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GoMetro, a startup based in South Africa, has raised $11.5 million in a Series A fundingTechgist Africa•Dec 13, 2023•GoMetro, Hlayisani Capital, Tritech Global, Kalon Venture Partners and 5 others
