Ethos Private Equity
VC Fund
Johannesburg, South Africa
Ethos Private Equity is a VC fund in Johannesburg focused on Financial Services and FinTech. Founded in 1984, Ethos has been in the business of private equity for 30 years.They pioneered South African private equity, concluding the first private equity-led acquisitions in the country, and have invested in over 100 companies.Extensive local networks coupled with international reach epitomise their premier franchise.Ethos makeslong-term investments into medium-to-large businesses in South Africa and selectively in sub-Saharan Africa. These investments have consistently outperformed the stock market, delivering strong returns for their investors and stakeholders alike.Ethos is independently owned and managed by their investment professionals. As a management-driven firm, Ethos’ interests are aligned with its stakeholders.Ethos is currently investing Ethos Fund VI. At c.R7bn (US$800m) in commitments, Fund VI is one of the largest pools of third-party capital in Africa.
- Total investments:
- 20
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 30%
- Last fund:
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Ethos Private Equity invests in
Stages Ethos Private Equity invests in
Countries Ethos Private Equity invests in
Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
| See all 9 contacts → | |||
Investment Focus
Industry
- Financial Services 6 (30%)
- FinTech 3 (15%)
- Telecommunications 3 (15%)
- Banking 2 (10%)
- Health Care 2 (10%)
Stage
- Private Equity 14 (70%)
- Series A 2 (10%)
- Series C 2 (10%)
- Venture - Series Unknown 1 (5%)
Country
- South Africa 9 (45%)
- United Arab Emirates 3 (15%)
- United States 2 (10%)
- Morocco 1 (5%)
- Botswana 1 (5%)
Team
| Name | Title | Investments | Links | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mark Bell
Partner
|
Partner | Total investments: 2 | Find email | |
Walter Hirzebruch
Partner
|
Partner | Total investments: 0 | Find email | |
Arshad Essa
Partner
|
Partner | Total investments: 1 | Find email | |
Craig Dreyer
Partner, Chief Financial Officer
|
Partner, Chief Financial Officer | Total investments: 0 | Find email | |
Michael Jensen
Partner
|
Partner | Total investments: 0 | Find email | |
| See all 9 team members → | ||||
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| TymeBank is a subsidiary of the Tyme Group, which focuses on financial technology and banking solutions. TymeBank focuses on providing accessible financial services to the lower-income market. It emphasizes digital banking and minimal fees. Customers can open secure personal and business accounts online, benefiting from low banking charges and highsavings interest rates through their digital platform. | $77.8M / Series C / May 23, 2023 | ||
| Tyme Group is a digital banking group that designs and operates banks for consumers and small businesses in emerging markets. The platform focuses on accessibility and affordability, serving over 15 million customers across various regions. | $77.8M / Series C / May 22, 2023 | ||
| Optasia is a financial technology company. They develop airtime credit and mobile value-added services for mobile operators and financial institutions. They also provide financial solutions that utilize proprietary analytics tools, including micro cash loans, handset loans, credit services for pre-paid utilities, dynamic feed trends, big dataanalytics, and other related services. | $54M / Private Equity / Sep 01, 2019 | ||
| Tyme Group is a digital banking group that designs and operates banks for consumers and small businesses in emerging markets. The platform focuses on accessibility and affordability, serving over 15 million customers across various regions. | $13.5M / Series A / Jun 10, 2019 | ||
| Today, Spinneys Dubai, owned by UAE national Mr Ali Albwardy, has built a strong name for supplying top quality produce and offering a high level of customer service. Yet food standards, safety and freshness have always been at the forefront of the company’s ethos – just one reason why the Spinneys brand is defined as ‘The fresher experience’. Inorder to maintain customer satisfaction, Spinneys constantly monitors shopping trends and reacts quickly and effectively to customer suggestions and feedback. With in-store bakeries, butcheries and delicatessens, we’re able to deliver not only on the promise of freshness, but variety, too. | Private Equity / Jan 01, 2019 | ||
| The premium Fintech provider of Mobile Financial Services, Airtime Credit & Airtime Advance Services, Handset Loans and Big Data Analytics | $45M / Private Equity / Nov 06, 2018 | ||
| Optasia is a financial technology company. They develop airtime credit and mobile value-added services for mobile operators and financial institutions. They also provide financial solutions that utilize proprietary analytics tools, including micro cash loans, handset loans, credit services for pre-paid utilities, dynamic feed trends, big dataanalytics, and other related services. | $45M / Private Equity / Nov 01, 2018 | ||
| Vertice MedTech provides mobile healthcare, digital health, and eye care services. | $2.4M / Venture - Series Unknown / May 01, 2018 | ||
| Echo Service Provider provides connectivity, VPN, internet, cloud, VOIP, hosting, security, consultation and hardware services. | Private Equity / Feb 28, 2018 | ||
| Richfield Graduate Institute of Technology (Pty) Ltd is accredited by the Council on Higher Education (CHE), registered with the Department of Higher Education & Training as a Private Higher Education Institution under the Higher Education Act, 1997, Registration Certificate No. 2000/HE07/008.Higher Education Programmes are offered atHigher Certificate, Advanced Certificate, Diploma, Degree, Postgraduate Diploma, Honours and Masters level in the Faculties of Information and Communications Technology; Business, Economics and Management Sciences. The institution has a proud track record of 33 years in operation with 140 000 students having completed a range of programmes over this period | Private Equity / Jan 01, 2018 | ||
| See all 20 investments → | |||
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FAQ
What does Ethos Private Equity invest in?
Ethos Private Equity invests primarily in Financial Services, FinTech and Telecommunications startups, most often at Private Equity and Series A stage. Most of the 20 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in South Africa. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
How do I contact Ethos Private Equity?
Public channels for Ethos Private Equity include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.
Who are the partners at Ethos Private Equity?
The team at Ethos Private Equity includes Mark Bell (Partner), Walter Hirzebruch (Partner) and Arshad Essa (Partner), among 9 team members tracked by Shizune. The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.
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 Oct 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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