Edge Growth
For intermediaries that support and enable impact investing, including arrangers, accelerators, incubators, government departments, research & consulting firms, policy think-tanks or professional services companies that promote impact investments through thought leadership, project implementations and advisory work.
Overview
Edge Growth is a South African organisation that supports entrepreneurs and SMEs through enterprise and supplier development programmes, fund management and business support services. It collaborates with companies, mentors and industry experts to identify and address common challenges faced by SMEs, such as limited access to markets, skills shortages and difficulties securing appropriate funding.
Its approach involves creating customised solutions tailored to the specific needs of each business, with a particular focus on black owned and early-stage SMEs. Edge Growth manages multiple investment funds designed to provide capital to these businesses and it has deployed more funding to early-stage SMEs than any other non-governmental fund in South Africa. Since its establishment in 2007, Edge Growth has played a role in creating thousands of jobs and supporting significant
revenue growth for the SMEs it works with, helping to strengthen the local business ecosystem.
The problem
South Africa remains one of the most unequal countries in the world, with persistently high levels of poverty and unemployment despite decades of democracy. SMEs can play a critical role in addressing these challenges by creating employment and stimulating economic growth. Many SMEs fail within their first two years due to a lack of support, resources and essential skills. This highlights the urgent need for targeted interventions that can help build sustainable and thriving businesses.
An innovative solution
Edge Growth takes an integrated approach to supporting SMEs, recognising that finance alone is not enough to unlock their growth potential. Rather than offering one-size-fits-all funding, the firm combines tailored financial products with technical assistance and strategic support, helping businesses address common barriers such as skills gaps, limited market access and weak linkages across the value chain. Through partnerships with other companies, Edge Growth designs and manages customised funds aligned to specific acceleration models, ensuring that capital is matched to the real needs and growth trajectories of diverse SMEs.
This holistic model doesn’t just help individual businesses thrive – it strengthens the broader impact investing ecosystem. By providing hands-on support and fostering connections between SMEs, companies and investors, Edge Growth helps build a robust pipeline of investable, high-impact enterprises. Their work advances inclusive economic growth, job creation and environmental sustainability, while promoting diversity and leadership development within the SME sector. Through rigorous impact measurement and a strong emphasis on collaboration, Edge Growth
is driving systemic change in how SMEs are financed and supported in South Africa and beyond.
Delivering impact
Edge Growth uses a bespoke platform called the Growth Tracker to monitor and understand
the impact of its work. This tool supports Edge Growth’s learning journey by capturing key data such as job creation, SME revenue growth, ownership demographics (including black and black women-owned businesses), business maturity and shifts in procurement spending to transformed suppliers. The insights gained help Edge Growth continuously improve how they support SMEs and refine their approach over time.
To date, Edge Growth has supported the creation of over 14,000 new jobs. More than 60% of the SMEs they work with have secured or expanded corporate contracts. These businesses show consistent annual revenue growth of over 20%, with overall business value growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30–40% over the past decade.
Managing risk
Edge Growth manages risk by taking a proactive, strategic approach rooted in adaptability and long-term value creation. Rather than avoiding risk, the company embraces it as an inherent part of operating in fast-changing markets and under economic pressure – particularly in the SME sector. Its 2025 risk management strategy, aligned with its FY24–27 framework, has three core elements: SME development, smarter impact measurement and disciplined cost management. These are reinforced by a commitment to environmental sustainability, social impact and strong governance –
principles that guide decision-making and ensure resilience amid uncertainty.
In practice, Edge Growth mitigates risk by continuously interrogating how to deliver value to SMEs and partners, even as markets shift and funding tightens. Its strategy focuses on strengthening partnerships and attracting investment, including expanding into new African regions with growing demand for SME support. Edge invests in digital tools not for innovation’s sake, but to remain agile and improve service delivery. By using data more intentionally, it turns insights into actionable improvements that enhance both impact and outcomes. Through this integrated, forward-looking approach, Edge Growth balances risk with opportunity to support sustainable SME growth.
Catalysing capital
Edge Growth leverages South Africa’s broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) framework—particularly Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) incentives – to channel capital towards high-impact businesses. By aligning with this regulatory structure, the firm is able to crowd in private and corporate capital in support of inclusive economic growth. In addition, Edge Growth works with a wide range of partners on blended finance models that de-risk investments and catalyse further funding into under-served sectors. Through this approach, portfolio companies benefit not only from capital but also from strategic and operational support, enabling them to achieve strong revenue growth and improve their attractiveness to commercial investors.
Scaling up
Edge Growth’s scaling strategy rests on three key pillars: expanding partnerships to unlock new capital and extend reach across African markets; accelerating digital transformation to improve delivery and efficiency; and strengthening data systems to drive evidence-based decision-making and deepen impact. Together, these priorities enable Edge Growth to scale responsibly while continuing to build a robust, inclusive SME ecosystem.
Edge Growth has built a scalable model by evolving beyond its original incubator approach, which, while effective, was constrained by cost and limited alignment with SME perceptions of value. By working closely with businesses over time, the team developed a more adaptable model focused on tackling core growth barriers and strengthening long term capabilities for sustainable expansion.
To scale impact in a resource-constrained environment, Edge Growth ensures that funder mandates are aligned with SME needs, so that compliance requirements enhance rather than hinder support. Recognising that traditional programmes don’t capture all opportunities, the firm launched Blue Skies, an entrepreneurial division designed to identify and grow high-potential ventures outside existing structures. This unit brings the flexibility, focus and backing needed to turn early-stage ideas into viable, market-ready businesses.
A learning journey
Edge Growth’s journey has been one of continuous learning and adaptation. Along the way, it has built its own systems, pushed for sector-wide standardisation and continually refined how success is measured, most recently through its Impact Centre of Excellence, dedicated to staying at the forefront of impact measurement.
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