South Africa’s first, specialised, private equity clean technology fund, Evolution One Fund (“Evolution One”), has reached its Final Closing milestone having raised ZAR700 million ($US94 million) in capital from local and foreign investors, including supranational and sovereign wealth funds. This capital will be dedicated to equity investments into a suite of clean technology projects and enterprises including new energy and environment focussed technologies located in South Africa and across Southern African Development Community (“SADC”) countries.

Not enough is known of the exact nature of, scope, impediments, and opportunities and associated data regarding VC activity in South Africa, to this end SAVCA is launching a survey on VC fund managers and their investment activity in South Africa. With an aim to a. Begin to inform an understanding of the structural strengths and weaknesses of the South African VC system; b. Provide strategic guidance for VC Funds, TIA and other government interventions in the space (including the VC/SME tax incentives that have recently been promulgated); and c. Provide empirical data for South African inventors, institutional and other, on the VC industry.

Despite a decrease of 2.6 percent in the volume of funds in the South African private equity sector from 2008 to 2009, the funds under management (excluding undrawn commitments) still reflected a healthy balance of R107 billion as at 31 December 2009.