In advance of hard times, investors once looked to South Africa as the hot spot for gold. And clearly, South Africa — which accounts for about 11 percent of the world’s gold production — has been a big beneficiary of the huge run-up in the price of the precious metal. But Africa’s largest economy is far more diverse these days, and the country’s homegrown hedge fund business is betting on a host of newer industries, including textiles, electronics and financial services.

“We invest largely in the financial field,” says Carl Isernhinke, chief investment officer of Cape Town–based Clade Investment Management, noting that his firm does not focus on mining, the industry for which South Africa has been traditionally known.

Clade — established in 2005 by Carl Liebenberg as an offshoot of Catalyst...