Six African climate-tech startups backed by Catalyst Fund in last four months
Six African climate-tech startups have received investments from pre-seed venture capital (VC) fund and accelerator Catalyst Fund in the last four months. The fund announced the first close of its US $40 million fund in September.
A pre-seed VC fund and accelerator, Catalyst Fund supports high-impact tech startups that aim to increase the resilience of marginalized, climate-vulnerable communities. It collaborates with founders who are driven by a similar mission and who see the world in which every person has access to the resources and opportunities they require to succeed.
Prior to January 2023, the organization provided grant capital to a select group of startups. However, it also announced a US $2 million investment into ten startups, which were financed by a US $30 million fund headed by the financial sector development agency FSD Africa.
In September of last year, Catalyst Fund, which focuses on startups developing solutions to strengthen the resilience of communities in Africa that are vulnerable to climate change, announced the successful first close of its intended US $40 million fund, with over 20% committed.
Since then, six investments have been announced by the fund, which provides US $100,000 in venture-building support and US $100,000 in equity investments. It made investments in two companies in November: NoorNation, an Egyptian startup that offers decentralized solar energy and water solutions specifically suited for farming businesses and underserved communities, and Tolbi, a pan-African climate-agtech startup that uses satellite imagery and AI to enable climate-smart agriculture practices on the continent with data.
It supported Thola, a South African initiative that democratizes certification access to free SMEs to ignite food safety and climate resilience in December, turning compliance from a barrier to an opportunity.
Subsequently, in January, it provided funding to Nigeria’s Zebra CropBank, which offers climate-smart solutions designed to surmount the interconnected obstacles impeding smallholder farmers; and Nigeria’s Scrapays, a waste management startup that facilitates the establishment of mini-waste businesses by entrepreneurs and individuals.
And just last week, it revealed an investment in Medikea in Tanzania. This initiative directly empowers marginalized Tanzanians to protect their health in the face of escalating threats by providing them with more affordable access to primary and preventative care, diagnostics, and compliance support.
Investors such as FSD Africa, FSDAi, Cisco Foundation, USAID Prosper Africa, and seasoned tech investor Andrew Bredenkamp have provided a substantial amount of support to Catalyst Fund’s climate-focused fund.
