AFRICA: Catalyst raises $8m to invest in 40 climate start-ups

Kenya-based investment fund Catalyst has just completed a fundraising round that raised $8.6 million to finance 40 African start-ups focused on the climate.

Funding for the implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa is taking shape. The Catalyst pre-seed venture capital fund has just raised $8.6 million to finance innovative solutions contributing to climate resilience on the continent. This sum will be divided between 40 African start-ups, whose names and allocations (between $200,000 and $1.5 million) have yet to be determined.

Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa) participated in the operation. The platform created by the British government contributed 4.5 million dollars. Catalyst also raised funds from the American foundation Cisco, the Prosper Africa initiative of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and British investor Andrew Bredenkamp.

This initiative marks the financial close of $40 million by Catalyst. The funds will be invested in a number of projects focusing on sustainable food systems (SDG2), access to water and sanitation (SDG6), electrification (SDG7) and the preservation of terrestrial ecosystems (SDG15).

A few months ago, 10 start-ups received $2 million from Catalyst to develop their innovations. Among them is Sand to Green, which designs intelligent farms by “transforming deserts into arable land using a solar-powered desalination system”, says Catalyst. Another winner is Bekia. This recycling company has developed an application for buying back the plastic and electronic waste used by people in Egypt.