The Catalyst Fund announced a $2 million investment in ten entrepreneurs developing strategies to strengthen the resilience of communities in Africa that are susceptible to climate change. This is the first cohort of Catalyst Fund’s new $30 million venture capital fund, which is supported by the organization FSD Africa. These businesses will get funding as well as specialized, expert-led venture development help, joining Catalyst Fund’s current portfolio of 61 startups in emerging countries. For the first time in Francophone Africa and Northern Africa, The Catalyst Fund has launched its inaugural cohort of African start-ups with a focus on climate change adaptation and resilience.
Ten entrepreneurs developing solutions to strengthen the resilience of climate-vulnerable populations in Africa will get a $2 million investment, according to a pre-seed venture capital (VC) fund and accelerator called Catalyst Fund. This is the first cohort of the $30 million venture capital fund Catalyst Fund, which is anchored by the financial sector development organization FSD Africa and supports early-stage founders in their efforts to create technology that will increase Africa’s resilience to the effects of climate change.
Each of the 10 firms will get $100K in equity investments in addition to $100K in direct assistance with business development. These businesses will be added to Catalyst Fund’s current portfolio of 61 startups in developing countries, where they will get funding, specialized and expert-led venture development assistance, and direct access to investors, corporate innovators, and talent networks that may help them expand. The portfolio firms of Catalyst Fund have so far raised over US$640 million in additional capital and today provide services to over 14 million people worldwide, including MSMEs.
Maelis Carraro, a managing partner of Catalyst Fund, stated, “We are happy to have the chance to engage with 10 ground-breaking African entrepreneurs aiming to build a more resilient and sustainable future. Our objective is to support mission-driven entrepreneurs that share our vision of a society in which each person has access to the resources and opportunities they need to succeed. These firms demonstrate financial, technological, and business model innovations that can assist communities in better coping with the effects of climate change and increasing their resilience, from agtech to insurtech, disaster response, and carbon financing.”
Discover the recipients here.
Photo by FitNish Media on Unsplash
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