Catalyst Fund

Could climate tech be the new fintech in Africa? Our "Investing in Climate Tech Innovation in Africa" report, released in December 2023, digs deeper into the state of climate innovation on the continent, including insights into sector, technology, target users, geography, and founder characteristics. Some key insights: We found that agriculture 🌽 and energy ⚡ startups make up the bulk of activity on the continent, though agriculture is more prevalent in early stages while energy startups are better able to raise venture capital. Data from Africa: The Big Deal shows that nearly 75% of funding for climate tech startups in 2022 went to energy and water startups. We also found that, although funding for climate tech ventures is growing more robustly than other sectors, it still falls short of the financing needed for African countries to meet their climate ambitions. Overall climate financing would need to grow from current levels of approximately $30 billion a year to nearly $300 billion 📈. Download the report: https://lnkd.in/eEmr_xqz Maelis Carraro, Maxime Bayen, Rasima Swarup, Javier Linares, Ngetha Mwangi, Gabriel Abagalana, Valiullah Hashmi, Sydney Thiam, Maureen K., Charles I. Nweke.

📚 👉 This Landscape of Climate Finance 2024 Report, conducted by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and commissioned by FSD Africa, reveals significant trends in climate finance across the continent🌍. Notably, climate finance flows in Africa grew by 48%, reaching US$44 billion in 2021/2022, up from US$30 billion in 2019/2020. Download the report: https://lnkd.in/d8Xe3SM2 Africa: The Big Deal, Max Cuvellier Giacomelli, Maxime Bayen, Maelis Carraro

Friday #goodread to get the weekend started📚💡IYMI: Across Africa 🌍, small and medium businesses (SMBs) already grappling with unreliable electricity infrastructure face deepening energy access challenges due to climate change. In Nigeria, businesses face an unstable electrical supply, with the nation's grid collapsing 46 times from 2017 to 2023. Earthbond meets this need by offering a clean energy marketplace matching SMBs with financing for solar assets and installation providers tailored to their budgets and energy needs. Their platform makes solar energy financing accessible to overlooked SMBs via partnerships with banks, micro-lenders, and solar companies. Here’s why we invested in Earthbond: https://lnkd.in/diVVgsmJ #whyweinvested #solarenergy #climateresilience Chidalu Onyenso, Maelis Carraro, Maxime Bayen, Rasima Swarup, Javier Linares, Ngetha Mwangi, Gabriel Abagalana, Valiullah Hashmi, Sydney Thiam, Maureen K., Charles I. Nweke.

Earlier this year, we partnered with 60 Decibels to provide an in-depth understanding of Eight Medical | Techstars ‘23 customers, their profiles, the outcomes their experience, how satisfied they are, and their resilience to shocks 🚀 ✨ Some of the key takeaways included: 👉 78% of their custimers say they are more likely to seek treatment for medical issues because of Eight Medical. This is likely due to their limited access to similar services with 67% saying they were accessing such services for the first time. 👉 Eight Medical provides convinient and cost-effective medical services with 82% of customers rate the convenience of engaging with Eight Medical as 'very good' and 'good' 📈 🚑 We are proud to have invested in Eight Medical | Techstars ‘23, a cloud-native EMS platform that provides on-demand urgent care when and where it is needed. Learn more about their business: https://lnkd.in/e3RiFj8X Congratulations to Ibukun Tunde-Oni and the entire team for their amazing work in the health sector 🙌 Maelis Carraro, Maxime Bayen, Rasima Swarup, Javier Linares, Ngetha Mwangi, Valiullah Hashmi, Sydney Thiam, Maureen K., Charles I. Nweke.

We're still on the look out 🧐! Are you building a startup in Africa in one of these sectors👇 💧 WaterTech and Water Intelligence Solutions 🌿 Financing Solutions for Regenerative Agriculture 🌳 Precision Reforestation ♻ Alternative Materials (esp. to plastic) 🌊 Coastal Resilience Technologies We are looking to invest in and accelerate pre-seed startups in Africa working on such solutions, if you know any, tell them to reach out to us today: https://lnkd.in/dMjUv4ga Maxime Bayen Maelis Carraro Sydney Thiam Javier Linares Charles I. Nweke Ngetha Mwangi Maureen K.

We're glad to have partnered with Satgana and ClimateHack NBO to put this amazing event together 💫 ✨ 🌟Thank you to everyone who joined us and made the evening special! Looking forward to seeing the connections made grow into exciting new projects. #ClimateTech #Sustainability #Networking Maxime Bayen, Maelis Carraro, Sydney Thiam, Ngetha Mwangi

Friday #goodread to get the weekend started📚💡IYMI: 🔊 Get to know the team! Kevin Rejko is our Tech & Data Specialist. He brings creativity, passion, and dedication to his work and has a diverse background. He believes that data helps African startups make more informed decisions, and tech enables them to scale rapidly, which leads to an outsized impact 📈. He has also worked on various accelerator programs and platforms leveraging the power of technology for good at BFA Global. Get to know more about Kevin: https://lnkd.in/djSZ_H4C Maelis Carraro, Maxime Bayen, Rasima Swarup, Javier Linares, Ngetha Mwangi, Gabriel Abagalana, Valiullah Hashmi, Sydney Thiam, Maureen K., Charles I. Nweke.

🎉 Huge congratulations to the Octavia Carbon team on securing an impressive $3.9M seed round, plus $1.1M in carbon financing—bringing the total to $5M! This is a monumental achievement that sets the stage for them to become a global leader in Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology. What an incredible milestone for climate innovation, right from the heart of Kenya 🇰🇪! A huge shoutout to the entire team for their dedication and hard work. The future looks bright for DAC technology. We're super proud to have partnered with you! Read the full announcement here: https://lnkd.in/dAbbiBpT #ClimateInnovation #DAC #Sustainability Martin Freimüller, Duncan Kariuki, Maelis Carraro, Maxime Bayen, Javier Linares, Ngetha Mwangi, Charles I. Nweke, Sydney Thiam

Last week, our very own Charles I. Nweke spoke at a panel at the Moonshot by TechCabal on "The African Cleantech Opportunity" 🌍 🌱   Some key takeaways highlighted during the session: 👉 Untapped Potential: Beyond traditional areas like Energy, Agriculture, and Mobility, Africa offers immense opportunities for innovation in cleantech solutions that solve broader challenges.🌾 🚗 👉 Process & Social Innovations: It's not just about new technologies. There's an opportunity to leverage existing technologies to create cost-effective, impactful solutions to drive energy access and sustainability across the continent. 🔌 👉 Cost-Effective Design: Focus on reducing the cost of climate-resilient solutions by designing them specifically for African markets, such as air-conditioning systems optimized for local conditions.🌡️   A huge thanks to Brian Waswani Odhiambo from Novastar Ventures for setting the stage with a brilliant overview of cleantech's potential in Africa. #AfricanInnovation #Sustainability #ClimateTech Maelis Carraro, Maxime Bayen

A massive shoutout to Ogwal Joseph and the Agro Supply team for successfully hosting their second Agro Supply Football Tournament 🚀 ⚽! It's a brilliant way to engage with farmers and nurture talent. FYI: We did a written feature on their first tournament last year; read more: https://lnkd.in/dDCcYqEi