A new impact capital vehicle aims to bridge the financing gap facing green SMEs while supporting South Africa’s transition to a low-carbon economy.
Aséli Impact Capital is a permanent investment vehicle established by the Anglo American Foundation in partnership with Cape Town-based venture capital and deep-tech incubator Savant and advisory firm Krutham to provide patient, flexible financing to early-stage green economy businesses.
The initiative was soft-launched in December last year, when it made its first two investments, and is now inviting applications from companies seeking funding of between R5m and R10m.
Aséli is also seeking to raise an additional $25m (R414m) to expand its investment capacity and provide technical support to the businesses it backs.
“South Africa has challenges. We need jobs to keep jobs. We need a thriving SME sector,” said Michael Mapstone, CEO of the Anglo American Foundation.
“There are some amazing businesses out there, and they often hit a wall,” Mapstone added, explaining that many businesses are either too big for grants or too small for venture and mainstream capital.
The big impact is actually to prove a point to the markets that you can do something different, and you can diversify the way you fund SMEs into the future
— Michael Mapstone, Anglo American Foundation CEO
“The system lets down these incredible businesses time and time again, and if we let down businesses, we don’t fulfil the opportunity around creating jobs, particularly for South Africa’s youth.”
Mapstone said Aséli aims to address the “missing middle” in SME financing by operating as a permanent capital vehicle, unlike traditional funds or blended finance structures that are often limited in scope and duration.
The vehicle’s returns are recycled into new investments, allowing it to grow alongside the businesses it supports.
“It’s designed to become the starting point for a new way of thinking about how we invest in South Africa’s future, particularly in the green economy,” he said.
“The big impact is actually to prove a point to the markets that you can do something different, and you can diversify the way you fund SMEs into the future,” he said, encouraging other funders to follow suit. “From our perspective, the more of it, the better.”
Aséli is seeking SMEs across a broad spectrum of the green economy, from agtech and crop-based manufacturing to solar and other renewable technologies.
Mapstone said that while the vehicle is open to a wide range of sectors, it prioritises stability and steady growth over high-risk, flashy ventures. “[Funded SMEs are] not going to be big unicorns; they’re going to be steady, stable, sustainable businesses creating inclusive jobs, particularly for young people, and that really contribute to their community.”
Businesses can pay down their revenue-based preference shares over time at an affordable rate, which means they are able to scale rapidly and pay down their financing in a manner that makes sense for the business
— Kate Turner-Smith, Savant co-founder and partner
While Anglo American restructures its South African portfolio, Mapstone clarified that the foundation remains active in the country.
“Anglo has always been committed to South Africa, whether that’s the business or the foundation. So, this isn’t a restatement — this is simply business as usual. This is what we do to support South Africa,” he said.
Kate Turner-Smith, co-founder and partner at Savant, explained that many green and hardware businesses struggle to access the type of capital they need to scale, which is why the Aséli concept was developed.
“Venture capital is not interested in slow-growing businesses. Banks are not interested in businesses that don’t have security. These companies, particularly in the green sector, really need capital expenditure to expand and working capital to build operations, and that form of financing just wasn’t really available.”
She added that the vehicle was deliberately designed to be equity-like but more flexible. “Businesses can pay down their revenue-based preference shares over time at an affordable rate, which means they are able to scale rapidly and pay down their financing in a manner that makes sense for the business.”
The launch of Aséli comes as South Africa pursues Vision 2030, aiming for a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy, with initiatives like the Just Energy Transition (JET) targeting a shift from coal to cleaner energy while supporting coal-reliant workers.
One of the two green SMEs funded by Aséli so far is Ditto, an oat milk–based gelato and chocolate company from Cape Town, and this investment has partly fuelled a full-scale factory to help the company expand its operations.
Renato Marchesini, Ditto’s co-founder, described the investment as “a match made in heaven from both perspectives,” noting that Aséli acts as a partner rather than a traditional investor.
“They’re not coming in telling us what to do,” he said. “It’s more like, how can we help you? We’ve been fundraising for a long time, so to see that side of the funding ecosystem is amazing,” highlighting how rare it is to find investors who take this kind of collaborative approach.
