Youth, Women, Capital and Digital Inclusion in the Pan-African Economy
May 28, 2025
Brand Building Masterclass for Startups
June 29, 2025
As Africa continues to attract significant venture capital funding – US$2.7 billion in 2024 alone, Eswatini remains an untapped destination. While countries like South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt dominate the venture capital landscape, Eswatini must not be left behind.
With Eswatini’s economy projected to grow at an impressive 7.9% in 2025, outpacing both South Africa (forecasted to grow by 1.7% in 2025) and global averages (projected by IMF to fall to 2.8% in 2025 before marginally recovering to 3% in 2026), the country is ripe for investment.
The increasing internet penetration rate of 42% driven by mobile access, alongside a youthful demographic, burgeoning tech culture, and high innovation potential, positions Eswatini as a promising hub for venture capital investments.
African Success Stories: Lessons for Eswatini
In the recent years, Africa has seen inspiring success stories of tech-driven ventures:
- Flutterwave (Nigeria): Raised over $450 million to build cross-border payment infrastructure across Africa.
- M-KOPA (Kenya): Deployed over 3 million solar units and pioneered mobile financing for underserved households.
- mPharma (Ghana): Digitized pharmaceutical supply chains across nine African countries.
- Moniepoint Group (Nigeria): Achieved unicorn status in 2024 with a $1 billion valuation, processing over $22 billion in transactions monthly.
- TymeBank (South Africa): Valued at $1.5 billion in 2024, with a customer base exceeding 15 million across Africa and Southeast Asia.
Eswatini entrepreneurs can draw lessons from these success stories – solving local challenges such as rural fintech and off-grid health while designing scalable solutions for the SADC region. Building partnerships for distribution and funding, alongside government initiatives for investor readiness, will pave the way for transformative growth.
Challenges in Attracting Venture Capital
Despite its potential, Eswatini faces challenges in attracting venture capital. The country’s small population of 1.2 million limits internal scalability, compounded by a lack of early-stage funding structures, an unclear regulatory landscape, and limited exit pathways for investors.
Solutions Eswatini can explore include the following;
- Cross-border scaling: leveraging SADC integration and partnerships to expand reach.
- Seed and Series Venture Capital Fund: a E100 million fund driven by contributions from government (40%), fund of funds (25%), family offices (20%), high net worth individuals (10%), and foreign direct investment (5%).
- Investor Readiness Accelerator: preparing entrepreneurs for funding opportunities through structured programs.
- National Innovation Policy: advocating for policies that enhance business and investor confidence.
Building the Eswatini’s entrepreneurship Ecosystem
Pinaco & Co. is playing its part in building a thriving entreprenuership ecosystem in Eswatini. The company has MoUs with South African equity-based crowdfunding platform, GoGetta and private equity company, Zion Venture Partners (Pty) Ltd and has established a relationship with StartupBlink, a global startup ecosystem map and research hub.
Locally, Pinaco & Co. collaborates with the Youth Enterprise Revolving Fund – Eswatini to co-implement youth entrepreneurship programs like the Umliba Youth Entrepreneurship Conference, supported by entities such as Royal Science and Technology Park, UNDP Eswatini , MTN Eswatini, and FNB Eswatini. In addition, has co-hosted Ibhuma Business Dinner – Eswatini edition, with Bracefield Investment Group.
On July 19, 2025, the company will co-host the Sandton Edition at Aurum Restaurant at The Leonardo, the tallest building in South Africa which stands in the heart of Africa’s richest square mile. Visit https://bracefield.com/events/ for details. The dinner is a B-2-B networking event that brings together C-suite executives entrepreneurs from various sectors in Eswatini and the South African business community to facilitate trade and investments.
Pinaco & Co. is also developing a marketplace called MyConexión, connecting high-growth African startups with local and global investors. This intermediation is expected to contribute to Eswatini government’s aspiration to have of a private sector-led, export-oriented economy.
Building the Knowledge Economy
To enhance Eswatini’s appeal as an investment destination, Pinaco & Co. is championing the publication of the Eswatini Startup Ecosystem Report. The goal is raising awareness of Eswatini ecosystem’s strengths, improve its regional and global rankings, and reshape the narrative around Eswatini as an emerging hub for venture capital.
The company also runs regular webinars and publishes a LinkedIn newsletter, “Eswatini Startup Ecosystem,” which has gained traction with over 30 editions. The next webinar is “Brand Building Masterclass for Startups” scheduled for June 26, 2025. Webinar link.
By addressing the information asymmetry between the suppliers and the demanders of venture capital, Pinaco & Co. is unlocking Eswatini’s entrepreneurial potential.
