["The Economic History Review, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nLimited liability company legislation was introduced to the Cape Colony in 1861. An amendment in 1892 led to wider adoption, expanding and diversifying the capital market. Using novel data from the Cape Joint Stock Archive between 1892 and 1902, this paper examines who invested, where capital flowed, and how these patterns shaped firm outcomes across Southern Africa. We show the geographic breadth of the capital market, revealing how shareholders and company operations were dispersed far beyond the Cape. The depth measures shareholders' occupational diversity using Historical International Standard Classifications of Occupations (HISCO) and paid‐up capital. We find investor participation varied systematically by occupation, industry, and location. These preferences influenced firm survival and spatial organization. Shareholders invested at considerable distances from company operations or registered offices, facilitating early forms of managerial separation. Paid‐up capital, a proxy for shareholder depth, was associated with survival, with smaller firms exhibiting shorter lifespans. Formation and failure were closely tied to both local and external economic shocks, underscoring the integration of the Cape economy into wider business cycles. Finally, the Cape illustrates how early commercial law and the organization of private capital may have shaped longer‐run regional economic structures."]