Catalyst Fund marks first close of $40 M Africa climate innovation fund target

In order to promote climate resilience innovation in Africa, Catalyst Fund, a pre-seed venture capital fund and accelerator, has announced the successful first close of its targeted US $40 million fund, with over 20% committed.

Investors like FSD Africa, FSDAi, Cisco Foundation, USAID Prosper Africa, and seasoned tech investor Andrew Bredenkamp, who all share its mission to increase the reach and impact of pre-seed companies at the forefront of creating a climate-resilient future in Africa, have all given Catalyst Fund significant support.

With assistance from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the Global Environmental Facility, Catalyst Fund also works to support climate innovators with dedicated research and impact measurement support, share knowledge and lessons learned, and foster partnerships through its Ecosystem Hub.

Catalyst Fund is accelerating sustainable green growth by strategically focusing on solutions in agri-tech and fishery management, food systems, insurtech and climate fintech, cold chain, waste management, and water management. The main focus will be on finding ways to help communities become more resilient over the long term, adapt their livelihoods to climate change, and better prepare for and handle shocks.

The fund will assist 40 pre-seed startups, with a focus on assisting local, mission-driven women founders. It will provide crucial early-stage capital and pair it with practical, specialized venture-building support to hasten the growth of startups. The fund has promised to support startups through their seed and Series A rounds of funding, demonstrating its commitment goes beyond the initial stage. The Catalyst Fund eliminates a major barrier to climate ventures in Africa by filling this crucial funding gap, setting them up for Series B funding for growth-stage investments.

“By blending equity investments with hands-on venture building, we believe we can unlock tremendous potential for innovative companies on the continent. Supporting ventures at the pre-seed stage requires more than capital. Our venture builders are the engineers, data scientists, and growth marketing experts who can supercharge founders’ journeys toward building scalable and highly impactful ventures,” said Maelis Carraro, managing partner of the Catalyst Fund.

“At FSDAi we believe strongly that Africa has the potential to lead in climate solutions provided it has the finance it needs. Our mission is to support that by investing in innovative solutions that will help channel finance to under-resourced parts of the green economy. This collaboration with the Catalyst Fund, part of a package of investments totalling US $19.5 million which we are announcing today, will do that by supporting entrepreneurs developing made-in-Africa climate-resilient solutions, so contributing both to Africa’s green economic growth and to global efforts to tackle the impact of climate change,” said Anne-Marie Chidzero, chief investment officer at FSDAi.