Creslow Energy Solutions has secured funding from the Abadali Fund, managed by Edge Growth Ventures, as the company accelerates its push to embed South African lithium battery technology into global industrial supply chains.
The Abadali Fund Edge Growth investment comes through the Abadali Equity Equivalent Investment Programme, a Department of Trade, Industry and Competition initiative developed in partnership with J.P. Morgan to support high-potential South African businesses through economic inclusion financing.
Founded in 2021 by Kriban and Reneka Govender, Creslow Energy Solutions designs and assembles customised lithium battery OEM South Africa solutions for manufacturers operating across the industrial, leisure, and mining sectors.
Its core product range centres on traction batteries for forklifts, material handling equipment, golf carts, and underground mining locomotives, a technically demanding application set where performance, cycle life, and safety tolerances leave little room for compromise.
The company’s growth trajectory has been built on speed and specificity. Rather than competing in the commoditised consumer battery space, Creslow identified underserved industrial OEM customers who needed locally designed, locally assembled solutions with faster turnaround times than global suppliers could offer.
That positioning, combined with a patent-pending mining product, has driven the revenue growth that attracted the Abadali Fund.
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Philani Mzila, Investment Principal for the Abadali Fund at Edge Growth Ventures, said the combination of manufacturing capability, intellectual property, and founder instinct made Creslow a standout prospect.
“Kriban and Reneka Govender have built a South African manufacturer competing on quality, turnaround time, and product innovation with a patent-pending mining product and stellar revenue growth to show for it,” he said, noting the founding team’s track record of identifying new markets ahead of the competition.
That market instinct is already pointing toward the next frontier. Creslow recently completed a strategic visit to China, where the company was invited to explore opportunities in the agricultural equipment sector.
The outcome was significant: Creslow lithium battery technology has been selected for integration into next-generation agricultural equipment, with the first products expected to reach market within months.
For Kriban Govender, Co-Founder and CEO, the China breakthrough is proof that the strategy of building South African-developed lithium battery technology for global markets is gaining real traction.
“This represents another important milestone in our strategy to expand South African-developed lithium technology into global industrial applications,” he said.
The South African lithium battery manufacturer Creslow is now building one with global ambitions but a deliberate local foundation.
The Abadali Fund backing provides not only capital but also a signal to the broader market that South Africa battery manufacturing 2026 and beyond is no longer limited to assembly and distribution of imported systems.
Companies like Creslow, designing their own products, holding their own IP, and winning contracts in China’s agricultural equipment sector, are beginning to redefine what industrial innovation out of South Africa can look like.
For the Abadali Fund, the investment aligns with its core mandate to back businesses that combine commercial viability with measurable contributions to job creation, industrial development, and economic inclusion.
