Edge Growth hits R350M first close on venture debt fund for African scale-ups

Edge Growth has launched the Edge Impact Fund (EIF) with a first close of R350 million (US$21.9 million), aimed at tech-enabled companies that need growth capital without handing over more equity. The fund took more than three years to put together. Two South African financial institutions anchored it, which matters more than the headline number: Edge Growth’s earlier vehicles leaned on corporate enterprise and supplier development (ESD) money, and this one pulled in institutional investors inst