🌍 40+ African ClimateTech Investors to Know

The African ClimateTech investing scene has been making headlines last month.

From Norrsken22’s debut fund, which closed at $205M to bridge the gap from growth to late-stage investments in Africa.

To the Africa GoGreen Fund, which announced an interim close of $150M AUM to advance climate resilience in Africa.

And SBI Holdings who made a landmark $40M commitment to Novastar Ventures’ Next Africa Funds to back agriculture and climate tech startups.

So we’re taking a closer look at 40+ regional and global investors who are betting big on African Climate startups.

Before we jump in…

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James Mwangi, Africa Climate Ventures

A VC focused on climate action start-ups on the continent, leveraging extensive experience in investment and climate, and a history of advising influential decision makers in Africa by starting and building new climate ventures on the continent. 

How: Announced a Ksh.171m (£1 million) investment from FSD Africa Investments.

Selam Kebede, Antler East Africa

A VC firm and venture builder working with exceptional founders and early-stage startups leveraging tech to tackle deep, relevant, and ambitious problems in Africa

How: The Nairobi office closed a $13.5m fund to invest in early-stage tech startups in the region.

Farai Shaun Sekeso, AfricaGoGreen Fund

A Fund initiated by KFW on behalf of the German government to promote private investments that mitigate or reduce the emission of GHG in Africa. The AfricaGoGreen Fund is managed by Cygnum Capital Group, an investment bank and asset manager operating across frontier and emerging markets. Cygnum Capital Group manages five pioneering Africa focussed funds.  

How: The AfricaGoGreen Fund reached an interim close of $150m AUM to advance climate resilience in Africa.

Audrey Verhaeghe and Van-Lee Gunyere, Anza Capital

An early-stage tech startup investor in FoodTech, CleanTech, and Digital industries, fueling innovation and growth to Africa's best entrepreneurs.

How: Portfolio includes New Form, Tailor Blend and AgriLogiq.

Tine Fisker Henriksen, Bestseller Foundation

As a for-profit impact investor, the foundation invests in businesses with positive social and environmental impact, specifically targeting ClimateTech ventures in Sub-Saharan Africa.

How: Recently backed Kubik, a plastic upcycling startup in Ethiopia.

Maxime Bayen and Maelis Carraro, Catalyst Fund

A pre-seed VC fund and accelerator backing startups building tech solutions for a climate-resilient future in Africa across agrifood, insurtech and climate fintech, agro-forestry, cold chain, waste, sustainable energy and water management.

How: Announced first close of $40m fund to back ClimateTech startups in Africa.

Hossam Allam, Climate Resilience Fund

An African impact VC fund investing in early stage sustainable agriculture and nature economy startups.

How: The venture capital fund plans to deploy $25m over its first two years, half in Egypt and the rest split evenly between the Middle East and Africa.

Lyndsey Holley Handler, Delta 40

A next generation venture studio investing in disruptive innovation and experienced Founders across Africa to increase incomes and tackle climate change.

How: A venture studio for Africa, launched by Factor{e} Ventures, which will invest up to $600,000 in African energy, agriculture, and mobility startups.

Paras Patel, E3 Capital

A ClimateTech Venture Fund that invests in early stage and growth companies that employ technologies and innovative business models in Sub-Saharan Africa.

How: E3 Capital and Lion’s Head climate fund hits first close at $48m to back African startups.

Nijhad Jamal, Equator

A venture capital firm investing in tech-enabled, early-stage ventures that are accelerating an equitable climate transition in Sub-Saharan Africa.

How: Secured $40m in commitments for a fund targeting ClimateTech startups in Africa.

Bankole Cardoso, Factor[e] Ventures 

An early-stage seed investor and venture building group that invests capital to high-impact, technology-enabled businesses in India and Africa. 

How: To date, Factor[e] has invested in 30 companies that have gone on to raise over $500m in co-investment. 

Faten Aissi, Flat6Labs

A leading seed and early stage venture capital firm in MENA. Each year, Flat6Labs invests in more than 100 innovative and technology-driven startups enabling thousands of passionate entrepreneurs to achieve their daring ambitions and ultimately becoming their institutional co-founders.

How: Flat6Labs targets to raise $95m for its Africa Seed Fund, which will mark its first venture outside the MENA region.

Malanee Hutton, Hope Ditlhakanyane, Eunice Wambui and Bongani Sithole, Founders Factory Africa

A hands-on investor on a mission to empower pre-Seed and Seed stage startups across Africa. They offer promising ventures a financial lifeline of up to $250k in equity, up to $300k in charitable loan and 6 months of free support from the 50-strong team.

How: Announced $114m funding to fuel startup growth across the continent.

Anne-Marie Chidzero, FSD Africa Investments

Funded by UK aid from the UK government, FSD Africa Investments has a mandate to transform financial markets across sub-Saharan Africa.

How: FSD Africa invested £10m into Nigeria’s climate infrastructure

Muthoni Wachira, Katapult

Katapult Africa Food and Climate Fund is an acceleration fund with a Pan-African scope investing in food and climate tech startups that are solving challenges and realizing opportunities in sustainable food production; transformative and inclusive services; and efficient supply chains and infrastructure.  

How: The fund blends tailored venture capital with Katapult’s award-winning accelerator program. In 2022/23, Katapult Africa invested in and accelerated 16 seed-stage startups. It will make a further 60 investments over the next 4 years, doubling down on winners at Series A with up to $2 million.

Amar Inamdar, KawiSafi Ventures

KawiSafi Ventures was created to unlock the potential of renewable off-grid energy as a faster, cheaper, and cleaner way to bring power to Africa's energy poor communities than extending the grid.

How: Investments of $2-10m per company will be made in 10-15 clean energy small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Caitlin Wale and Haimi Tefera, Kinjani

Kinjani is an African climate talent accelerator building and backing ventures in areas of climate resilience, circular economies and carbon removal targeting drop-in solutions for key industries of agriculture, mining, manufacturing, construction, water and oceans to enable scale.

How: Kinjani equips founders with the skills, networks, science and engineering support, up to $100k funding and co-founders needed to build scalable companies.

Abby Stern and Joshua Romisher, Holocene

A community of outdoor enthusiasts building inspiring climate solutions for Africa. Holocene preserves the planet by investing and building pre-seed and seed stage African energy, e-mobility, agri and food solutions; and advising later-stage ClimateTech startups on ways to grow their success.

Victor Ndiege, Kenya Climate Ventures

Accelerating the development of transformative solutions that mitigate and/or help adapt to climate change across climate-smart agriculture, energy efficiency and/or conservation, renewable energy, water management, and forestry conservation.

How: KCV has made 23 climate smart and genderinclusive investments valued at an estimated $4.01m.

Zachariah George, Launch Africa Ventures

A VC fund that solves the significant gap in Seed to Series A investments across Africa. Launch Africa Ventures is backing startups across multiple regions, sectors and products, all of whom tackle the most meaningful challenges on the continent through technology and innovation.

How: Over the past two years, the firm has invested in 19 countries across Africa and in more than 120 deals. 

Toffene Kama and Hetal Patel, Mercy Corps Ventures

Mercy Corps Ventures invests in and catalyses venture-led solutions to increase the resilience of underserved individuals and communities.

How: Mercy Corps Venture Lab provides up to $100k equity-free funding to startups building innovative solutions which address the needs of underserved populations including in Africa.

Audrey Desiderato, Mirova SunFunder

Building the most extensive track record of solar investments in Africa, resulting in transformational impact.

How: A $70m Solar Energy Transformation Fund.

Kate Steel, Nithio

Created to address the need for a significant increase in investment in Africa’s sustainable and just energy transition. 

How: Nithio has raised over $36m for its vehicle, the Facility for Adaptation, Inclusion, and Resilience.

Natalie Kolbe, Norrsken22

A tech growth fund, backed by an international network of tech founders, partnering with exceptional entrepreneurs in scaling disruptive businesses.

How: Its debut fund closed at $205m to back growth-stage startups in Africa.

Abel Boreto, NovaStar Ventures

A global VC working from the entrepreneurial centers of Lagos, London and Nairobi and partnering with bold entrepreneurs building businesses in Africa that create lasting value for people and planet in agriculture, education and off-grid renewable energy.

How: Recently secured $40m for African impact startups.

Tobias Ruckstuhl, Persistent

An African climate venture builder believing in the power of climate neutral economic development in Africa. For the last decade, Persistent has been working with exceptional entrepreneurs, investing both financial and human capital to build successful climate ventures on the continent. 

How: Seeking to raise $100m fund for Africa climate ventures.

Kyane Kassiri, Rally Cap VC

Investing in early-stage fintech across emerging markets and climatetech, combining capital, operating expertise and networks into a collaborative community to empower a portfolio of top-tier founders.

How: Portfolio includes African startups, Amini and Circadian.

Antoine Predour, ResponsAbility

A leading impact asset manager with a 16-year track record, responsAbility manages over USD 3 bn of assets invested in 450 fully ESG-compliant high-impact companies across 90 emerging economies. 

How: Launched a $200m climate fund to address the lack of access to clean power with a strong focus on Sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia. 

Romain Diaz and Anil Maguru, Satgana

A next generation ClimateTech VC investing in planet-positive startups to build the future of earth. Satgana invests in Pre-Seed & Seed capital along with strategic & operational resources to support purpose-driven entrepreneurs harnessing technology and innovation to build solutions to the climate & ecological crisis.

How: Closed a €30m fund to support African ClimateTech startups.

Cynthia Mandjek, Saviu Ventures

A Venture Capital fund focused on early-stage startups in Francophone Africa.

How: Secured €12 million at the first closing of its second fund, with which it aims to support fintechs, health-techs and climate-techs, while slowing down on e-mobility, e-commerce and e-logistics.

Peter George, Spark+ Africa

A private debt and equity fund investing in innovative clean cooking energy companies in Africa, created to catalyze investment in one of the world’s most underappreciated energy challenges with significant social and environmental implications in Africa.

How: A $70m impact investment fund that invests in scalable, next-generation companies offering clean, modern distributed energy solutions for cooking to the mass market in sub-Saharan Africa.

Kauan Von Novack, Startupbootcamp AfriTech

A Venture and ecosystem builder committed to scouting, skilling, and scaling the innovators and disruptors solving unique African Challenges.

How: Announced 11 startups in its latest cohort for its accelerator programme.

Oyin Solebo, Techstars

Techstars is the most active pre-seed investor in the world having invested in more than 3,700 companies.

How: The ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator Program invests in early-stage startups based in Africa with a focus on FinTech, Mobility, E-commerce and TalentTech.

Solomon Mugera, The African Development Bank Group 

A multilateral development finance institution that has long been committed to action on climate change and green growth, and to ensuring that development across the continent drives growth that is not only economically empowering but also decarbonised, climate-friendly, environmentally sustainable, and socially inclusive.

How: The Canada – African Development Bank Climate Fund approved $36.3m in support to climate adaptation on the continent.

Khomotšo Grace Legodi and Jim Chu, Untapped Global

A revenue-based asset financing platform, offering revenue based asset financing to businesses across Africa that have a smart or digitally connected asset at the heart of its business, with a focus on providing innovative capital to tech enabled businesses for faster growth and measurable impact. 

How: Secured $3m in seed funding led by E3 Capital to accelerate the adoption of climate smart solutions such as e-mobility across the continent.

👉 Did we miss a fund or VC investing in African ClimateTech? Let us know [email protected]