South Africa has become something of a fintech powerhouse. Over the past decade, a generation of founders has reimagined payments, credit and digital banking with world-class sophistication. Start-ups like Yoco, Stitch and Ozow have helped modernise commerce and showcase local ingenuity on the global stage.
Yet for all its momentum, fintech has also become the country’s comfort zone, a narrow lane of innovation in an economy that urgently needs broader horizons.
Jonathan Oppenheimer, businessman and Chair of theSouth Africa Future Trust, puts it plainly: “It’s not a question of moving away from Fintech. It’s adding to and crowding in additional investments.”
It’s a crucial distinction. Oppenheimer isn’t suggesting that South Africa has over-invested in fintech; rather, that the same creativity, ambition and investor appetite should extend into other sectors. While capital continues to chase payment solutions, vast opportunities remain underdeveloped in agritech, climate technology (green tech), health innovation, manufacturing modernisation, mobility, and education. Each of these areas holds the potential to solve structural challenges at home while creating globally scalable businesses.
But the hurdles to diversification run deep. Oppenheimer argues that one of South Africa’s biggest challenges lies in how permissive - or not - the business environment is.
“When you start looking at South Africa, we have a very noble intent in our government and our country’s purpose and how we settle ourselves up. But the practical application of that makes us a lot less competitive to a lot of other countries in the world,” he says.
He adds that “there is a real tension between regulation, which requires long periods of pre-planning, and nimbleness”, warning that excessive bureaucracy discourages both domestic and foreign capital. In countries where entrepreneurs can register and launch a business within a day, he notes, innovation flourishes faster and risk feels lower.
Still, amid these constraints, South Africa continues to produce founders of rare grit and innovation. Oppenheimer says the South Africa Future Trust looks for people who combine bold ideas with relentless execution:
“We’re looking for people who have a dream but have the discipline and determination to get up every single day when that dream is failing and continue to fight for it.”
He believes that resilience is the real differentiator. “Having a dream is not enough, we’re looking for people who have that dream and then have the determination to make that dream real," he says.
That combination of a more enabling system on one side and founders with discipline on the other, may be exactly what’s needed to carry South Africa beyond fintech and into its next era of innovation.
The Push to Broaden South Africa’s Innovation Base
Innovation is considered to be a key driver for economic development in South Africa. It is also a critical tool for addressing deep-seated challenges such as unemployment, inequality and poverty. Yet, the country’s innovation ecosystem - while rich in talent - still operates largely in silos and has yet to extend its reach into marginalised communities and the informal economy.
The local fintech sector has been a standout success story, helping to tackle systemic problems through advances in payments, access to credit and digital inclusion. The sector now accounts for around 20% of all fintech startups across Africa, a remarkable achievement.
However, the country urgently needs to replicate that success across a broader set of industries. The next wave of innovation should target:
Agritech to boost climate resilience and food security
Healthtech to expand access in underserved areas
Green energy and mobility to accelerate the shift to sustainability
Manufacturing technologies and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven productivity tools to reignite South Africa’s industrial base
As Oppenheimer notes, “The goal is not substitution, but expansion — doing everything we’re doing in Fintech, and more.”
One area in which South African startup founders should look to innovate is manufacturing. According to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), manufacturing output decreased by 2.2% in March 2025 compared to February. Quarter-on-quarter figures paint a similarly stark picture, with a 2.3% contraction in the first quarter of 2025. The industrial slowdown underscores the urgent need for new approaches that blend technology and production.
In aninterview with Startup.Africa, Karabo Makete, Investment Principal at AIONS Ventures, said digital transformation on its own is not enough to deliver lasting economic value without a strong industrial foundation.
“There is, of course, a middle ground where you can leverage technologies to solve real-world problems,” she says. “But I do feel that there’s still a gap that needs to be closed. It's not sustainable for everyone to just focus on the new technologies.”
Why Regulation and Red Tape Are Holding Startups Back
South Africa remains one of the continent’s most active start-up environments, yet the absence of a dedicated Startup Act continues to hold the ecosystem back. By contrast, countries such as Nigeria, Tunisia and Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) haveenacted Startup Acts to create more supportive regulatory frameworks for innovation.
Others have gone further. Cabo Verde’s "Empresa no Dia" (Company in a Day) initiative allows entrepreneurs to register a company in a single day through a one-stop portal. Such policies drastically reduce administrative barriers, encourage experimentation, and attract new investment.
In South Africa, however, entrepreneurs often face layers of bureaucracy to establish their businesses and protect intellectual property. While Oppenheimer acknowledges that the government’s intent is noble, he stresses that the practical barriers are stifling innovation:
“There’s a real tension between regulation, which requires long periods of pre-planning, and nimbleness.”
This slow pace affects not only the diversity of innovation but also investor confidence. When founders and investors must wait years for approvals or licences, risk compounds and momentum stalls.
Introducing a Startup Act, aligned with the goals of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030, could provide the clarity and agility South Africa’s innovation economy needs. By cutting red tape, simplifying compliance, and fast-tracking new ventures, such legislation could unlock a new era of growth.
The South Africa Future Trust and the Power of Ecosystem Support
The South Africa Future Trust (SAFT), established in 2020 by the Oppenheimer family, is a public benefit organisation designed to support small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs). It operates not as a traditional funder but as an ecosystem enabler, providing platforms for collaboration, advocacy and capacity building.
As Oppenheimer explained in the interview, the SA Future Trust’s mission is to “create a better life for South Africa” by focusing on SME development and entrepreneurship.
The Trust works to help SMEs integrate, share knowledge and advocate collectively for a more supportive business environment. It also assists entrepreneurs in making their operations more efficient - whether through optimised business models or collaborative initiatives that amplify their impact.
“We’re providing a platform for small businesses and entrepreneurs to act together in identifying what they need to happen in South Africa to be successful and to make their businesses more efficient. Whether that’s through an optimised operating model or acting collectively to champion and advocate for a better environment for business,” explains Johnathan.
This approach mirrors a broader shift in ecosystem building — from mere funding to long-term enablement. Organisations such as WomHub, one of SAFT’s partners, follow a similar philosophy: combining access to capital with mentorship, operational guidance and community support. The goal is not simply to help businesses survive, but to ensure they grow sustainably and contribute meaningfully to South Africa’s economic fabric.
Building a Braver Kind of Entrepreneurship in South Africa
South Africa’s fintech success story has proven that local founders can innovate at a world-class level. The challenge now is to take that energy beyond finance and into the frontier sectors that will define the country’s next decade of growth.
Oppenheimer’s message to entrepreneurs and investors alike is clear: South Africa has the talent and the ideas, what it needs is conviction, discipline and an environment that rewards boldness.
For South Africa to move from fintech to frontier tech, it must cultivate both the systemic freedom to innovate and the personal resilience to persist. The future will belong to founders who build not just apps, but industries — entrepreneurs who dream big, fail fast, learn quickly and keep building anyway.
If the country can pair that determination with a more enabling regulatory environment, South Africa’s innovation story won’t end with fintech. It will begin with it.
“The more successful small businesses in South Africa can become, and we can help that, the more jobs they create, the greater impact they have on the future of South Africa, and the more impact they will have on what Africa looks like 10, 20, 30, 40 years from now,” concludes Oppenheimer.
Lungile is the Digital Editor for Startup.Africa, with a knack for storytelling, technology and innovative ideas. Working with Startup.Africa, she takes simple ideas and turns them into amazing stories.
Lungile Msomi
Lungile Msomi
Lungile Msomi
