About E Squared Investment Offerings
E Squared offers a range of capital solutions tailored to different stages of business growth.
We provide venture capital funding for start-ups and pre-seed ventures, growth equity for scalable and mature businesses, a fund of funds strategy to support aligned investment partners, and targeted grants and support for social enterprises driving meaningful impact.
Each offering is designed to advance both financial returns and long-term social value.
Our Investment Approach
We deploy long-term capital across a diversified set of strategies, spanning early-stage innovation, growth investing, established cash-generative businesses, fund investments, and social entrepreneurship. We invest with discipline and a partnership-led mindset, focused on commercial return, durable value creation and measurable impact over time.
Pre-Seed
We back founders at idea or prototype stage, helping them test assumptions, refine the business model, and prepare for first customers. Our capital and guidance focus on building the right foundations early: clarity of purpose, product–market fit, and a credible plan to scale.
Seed and Growth
We partner with companies that are gaining traction and ready to scale. At this stage we help sharpen strategy, strengthen teams, and build robust systems and governance. Our goal is sustainable, disciplined growth – not growth at any cost.
Established Businesses
We invest in established, cash-generative businesses with clear competitive advantages and room to grow. Working alongside management, we support strategic expansion, operational improvement, and succession planning, always with a long-term, partnership-oriented mindset.
Social Entrepreneurship
We support mission-driven entrepreneurs and organisations that pursue measurable social impact alongside financial sustainability. Our role is to provide patient capital, governance support, and access to networks so they can build durable models that create long-lasting change.
Fund of Funds
We also invest in funds whose expertise complements our own. By partnering with experienced fund managers, we broaden our reach, diversify exposure across sectors and stages, and bring additional resources and networks to the entrepreneurs we support.
Investment Offerings
Supporting high-growth businesses, early-stage ventures and social enterprises to generate financial and social returns across all sectors.
Startup Founder Pitch
A low-touch programme providing startup and growth capital to Allan Gray Fellows who have built early-stage ventures alongside full-time work.
Capital is deployed against clear milestones to test commercial viability and execution. Strong performers may be considered for follow on investment within the broader E Squared portfolio.
Pathways
Accelerates startups from concept refinement to commercial revenue through a bespoke offering with no start or end date. Available to Allan Gray Fellows only.
E Squared Ventures
Seed and growth-stage funding for high-growth, scalable businesses, as well as management buy-ins, consortium-backed acquisitions and search-fund style transactions to acquire stakes in high growth and established/mature businesses. Includes post-investment support. Available to Allan Gray Fellows only.
E Squared Co-investment
High-growth investment mandate focused on Series A and later-stage businesses that are majority BEE owned.
3 Capital Ventures
3 Capital Ventures (3CV) is the first institutional investor for early-stage, post-revenue B2B startups in South Africa.
Social Entrepreneurship: Programme-Related Investments
Grant funding to Social Enterprises registered as Public Benefit Organisations (PBOs) to pilot innovative programmes that foster youth entrepreneurship.
Social Entrepreneurship: Venture Philanthropy
Supports hybrid social enterprises tackling social challenges by providing blended finance, including recoverable grants, equity, debt, and quasi-equity into the for-profit entity, alongside strategic non-financial support.
Fund of Funds
Supports emerging and established fund managers that demonstrate strong return potential alongside a commitment to social impact.