Secha Capital

Secha Capital is a Johannesburg-based impact investment firm founded in 2017 by Nombuso Nkambule, Brendan Mullen, and Rushil Vallabh, built around a distinctive "operator-investor" model that combines growth capital with embedded operational professionals who work inside portfolio companies on sales, operations, and strategy. Fund I closed at approximately R300 million ($15.8 million) backed by the SA SME Fund, RMB Ventures, 27four Investment Managers, and Caleo Capital. Fund II (Secha Capital Impact Fund II) targets R650 million ($40 million) with its first close of R300 million (~$18 million) announced in September 2023, and a second close in April 2026 that brought in E Squared Investments (founded within the Allan Gray ecosystem) as a new strategic partner.

The portfolio spans essential sectors of South Africa's real economy: iG3N (battery energy storage systems for residential, commercial, industrial, and grid-scale applications), Cultura Fresh (hydroponic controlled-environment farming producing year-round lettuce), Herbivore (plant-based food, co-invested with Tiger Brands), Barracuda (electronics manufacturing), Plentify (energy optimisation), and FarmTrace (agricultural supply chain technology). The firm has created over 1,000 jobs across its portfolio and continues to target what it calls the "missing middle" in South Africa's SME ecosystem, where businesses need both capital and operational capacity to scale. The evolved model now includes a Chief Executive Operator-Investor (CEOI) track, providing a structured career path for experienced executives to transition into C-suite leadership roles within portfolio companies.