# Development Bank of Southern Africa

> Development Bank of Southern Africa is a VC fund backing Transportation and Electric Vehicle. See 6 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Midrand, South Africa
- Total investments: 6
- Last investment: Jun 2026
- Lead investor: 50%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dbsa
- Website: http://www.dbsa.org

Development Bank of Southern Africa is a VC fund in Midrand focused on Transportation and Electric Vehicle. The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) is a state owned entity with the purpose of accelerating sustainable socio-economic development and improve the quality of life of the people of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) by driving financial and non-financial investments in the social and economic infrastructure sectors.-Social infrastructure: Infrastructure aimed at addressing backlogs and expediting the delivery of essential social services to support sustainable living conditions and a better quality of life within communities - Economic infrastructure: Infrastructure aimed at addressing capacity constraints and bottlenecks in order to optimise economic growth potentialThe DBSA has prioritised water, energy, transport and ICT as its key focus areas.

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Debt Financing | $75M–$753M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Transportation | 2 | 33% |
| Electric Vehicle | 2 | 33% |
| Apps | 1 | 17% |
| Solar | 1 | 17% |
| Energy | 1 | 17% |

15 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Debt Financing | 4 | 67% |
| Seed | 1 | 17% |
| Venture - Series Unknown | 1 | 17% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| South Africa | 3 | 50% |
| Angola | 1 | 17% |
| Senegal | 1 | 17% |
| Mauritius | 1 | 17% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Zimi Charge | Zimi Charge enables to charge sustainably using our mobile app and network of stations. | $3.1M | Venture - Series Unknown | Jun 04, 2026 |  |
| Lobito Atlantic Railway | Lobito Atlantic Railway supports mining companies, freight operators and regional traders. | $753M | Debt Financing | Dec 17, 2025 |  |
| Red Rocket South Africa | Red Rocket is a renewable energy integrated power plant (IPP) that designs, develops, and distributes clean energy. |  | Debt Financing | Sep 30, 2025 |  |
| Zero Carbon Charge | Zero Carbon Charge is a South African firm pioneering a nationwide network of off-grid, ultra-fast electric vehicle (EV) charging stations powered solely by renewable energy, principally solar, and supplemented by battery storage. | $5.6M | Seed | May 26, 2025 |  |
| BNDE | BNDE is a bank that is dedicated to the economic development of Senegal. | $74.9M | Debt Financing | Apr 26, 2024 |  |
| SMILE Telecoms Holdings | SMILE Telecoms is a broadband provider company. Founded in 2007, Smile Telecoms says it has more than 300 million potential customers in Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and the DR Congo. Internet penetration in all four of Smile’s markets is still low so increasing the availability of speedy mobile connections can help more people go online, especiallywhen combined with increased smartphone ownership. | $315M | Debt Financing | Sep 08, 2015 |  |

6 of 6 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Absa group (Bank)](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/absa-bank) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [African Export-Import Bank](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/african-export-import-bank) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Diamond Bank](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/diamond-bank) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Ecobank](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ecobank-transnational) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Industrial Development Corporation](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/industrial-development-corporation) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Keyo Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/keyo-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## Similar investors

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### Similar stage
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### Similar country
- [Launch Africa](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/launch-africa) — VC Fund
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## Featured in investor lists
- [Energy Investors in South Africa](https://shizune.co/investors/energy-investors-south-africa)
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- [Impact Investors in South Africa](https://shizune.co/investors/impact-investors-south-africa)

## FAQ

### What does Development Bank of Southern Africa invest in?

Development Bank of Southern Africa invests primarily in Transportation, Electric Vehicle and Apps startups, most often at Debt Financing and Seed stage. Most of the 6 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in South Africa. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What is Development Bank of Southern Africa's check size?

Development Bank of Southern Africa typically joins rounds of $75M–$753M at Debt Financing. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Development Bank of Southern Africa participates in.

### When did Development Bank of Southern Africa last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Development Bank of Southern Africa closed in Jun 2026. Shizune tracks 6 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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