About

Accelerating Africa’s deep-tech and hardware startups with hands-on support, funding, and industry partnerships to drive innovation and market success.

Savant is a leading deep-tech and hardware technology incubator, accelerator, and venture capital firm based in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 2004, Savant has grown into a key platform for supporting African companies tackling the continent’s most pressing challenges through science and engineering innovations. We provide hands-on support, investment, and strategic advisory services to turn breakthrough ideas into scalable businesses. Whether you’re an investor, founder, or corporate partner, our expertise in venture capital, deep tech, and commercialisation ensures that cutting-edge technologies make it to market successfully.

Trusted for our expertise in hardware & science ventures

R200 million+

Raised in capital

R3.5 billion+

Generated in revenue

400+

Jobs created across critical sectors

Three Pillars of Savant

We operate through three interconnected entities:

Foundry

Our incubator, guiding early-stage deep tech startups through MVP development and early traction.

Analytic

Providing due diligence, consulting, and strategic advisory to funders, corporates, and organisations working with startups.

Venture Fund

Investing in high-growth, scalable hardware and deep tech startups, helping them scale from seed to Series A and beyond.

OUR TEAM

We are a diverse team of founders, makers, operators, executors, investors and tech-lovers.

Nick Allen

Managing Partner

Kate Turner-Smith

Partner

Francois Malan

Venture Partner

Thaheer Mullins

Partner

Thabelo Ratshihule

Foundry CEO

David Rabinowitz

Senior Associate

Nivida Wicomb

Centre Manager

Mthobisi Shandu

Associate

Steve Vey

Associate

Michael Rissik

Venture Analyst

Samuel Gumbie

Venture Analyst

Adam Barnard

Venture Analyst