Catalyst Fund

ICYMI: Since January 2023, the Catalyst Fund has reviewed over 3,000 pitch decks 🚀. With so many startups seeking funding, we decided to experiment with GenAI to help us screen these decks as part of our effort to landscape climate tech innovations in Africa. While GenAI promises to save time and effort in the long run, we found that using it to screen pitch decks isn’t yet straightforward or fully autonomous. Curious to know what we learned? Check out our blog: https://lnkd.in/dWt3GR9g Maelis Carraro, Maxime Bayen, Rasima Swarup, Javier Linares, Ngetha Mwangi, Valiullah Hashmi, Sydney Thiam, Maureen K., Charles I. Nweke

Exciting times ahead in Cape Town! 🚀 Our very own Maxime Bayen and Sydney Thiam will be attending three major events centered on Africa's vibrant investment and innovation ecosystem. Here's where you'll find them: 📍 Africa Early Stage Investor Summit 2024 | 🗓️ Nov 28-29 | The Avenue, Cape Town - Sydney will be connecting with investors, stakeholders, and experts at this event focused on investment innovation. Don't miss the chance to exchange ideas with him! 📍AfricArena Summit | 🗓️ Dec 3-4 | Cape Town International Convention Centre - Maxime is kicking off Day 1 as the opening keynote speaker!  Drawing on over a decade of experience, he'll unpack the state of African tech and share insights into the breakthroughs shaping 2024. Be sure to catch this session at 9 am SAST. Sydney will also take the stage as a judge in the Climate Tech track session—stay tuned for details! 📍 SuperReturn Africa | 🗓️ Dec 3-5 | The Westin Cape Town  - Maxime and Sydney will be joining 700+ attendees for three days of networking and discussions on fundraising, infrastructure, private capital, and more. If you're in Cape Town, reach out to Maxime or Sydney for a chat over coffee. ☕ Maelis Carraro, Maxime Bayen, Rasima Swarup, Javier Linares, Ngetha Mwangi, Valiullah Hashmi, Sydney Thiam, Maureen K., Charles I. Nweke.

🎉 We are thrilled to have been selected for the Catalytic Climate Finance Facility (CC Facility) second cohort! This grant will support Catalyst Fund Resilience I, a venture capital fund investing in pre-seed climate adaptation startups in Africa, with follow-on investments at seed and Series A stages. The fund targets three key areas: fintech for climate resilience, sustainable livelihoods, and climate-smart essential services. The CC Facility, funded by the Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation accelerates the implementation of high-impact, ready-to-scale financial structures through a suite of services that include grant funding, technical support, and a market-building learning hub. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gF6YY3m4 Maelis Carraro, Maxime Bayen, Rasima Swarup, Javier Linares, Ngetha Mwangi, Valiullah Hashmi, Sydney Thiam, Maureen K., Charles I. Nweke

Earlier this month Catalyst Fund’s Venture Builder, Sydney Thiam, attended The Earthshot Prize in Cape Town, where we celebrated an incredible milestone: Keep IT Cool | Earthshot Prize Winner 24 |, one of our portfolio companies, winning the 2024 Earthshot Prize in the "Build a Waste-Free World" category, securing a £1 million (€1.2 million) prize to scale their work! As an official nominator for The Earthshot Prize, we were honored to be part of a week that highlighted the power of innovation and collaboration. Keep It Cool's solar-powered cold storage solutions are revolutionizing East Africa’s food supply chain—extending the shelf life of produce, reducing spoilage, and creating stability for small-scale farmers and fishers. This recognition underscores their transformative impact on climate resilience and why we proudly support their mission. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dY_awG5T Congratulations to the Keep It Cool team and to all other winners and finalists who inspire hope and action towards a sustainable future! Francis N., Abigail Gachigi, Maelis Carraro, Rasima Swarup, Maxime Bayen Javier Linares, Ngetha Mwangi, Valiullah Hashmi, Maureen K., Charles I. Nweke

Last week, Charles I. Nweke represented the Catalyst Fund at Ventures Platform's Africa Prosperity Summit. The summit, themed "Funding the Next Billion: Africa's VC Investment Landscape in a Post-ZIRP Era," brought together incredible speakers and panelists from the investment ecosystem across Africa and beyond. Here are Charles' 3 key takeaways from APS2024 ✅ Untapped potential: Africa's youthful population presents significant unrealized potential. The correlation between median age and economic prosperity seen in other emerging markets highlights opportunities for growth and innovation on the continent. ✅ Investing in talent: Equitable access to education and workforce development is critical for ensuring Africa's talent base can fully capitalize on the demographic dividend as the continent approaches peak productivity years and prepares to lead the global climate workforce of the future. ✅ Addressing diversity gaps: The persistent lack of investment in gender lens initiatives and diversity-focused strategies is no longer tenable. Collaborative, small-scale actions across ecosystem players can drive significant progress toward a more prosperous and inclusive Africa. A big thank you to Ventures Platform for hosting such a thought-provoking summit. We're excited about future collaborations to unlock Africa's full potential! 🚀 Lyndsay Holley Handler, Biola Alabi, Charlie Robertson, Maelis Carraro Maxime Bayen, Rasima Swarup, Javier Linares, Ngetha Mwangi, Valiullah Hashmi, Sydney Thiam, Maureen K.

Here's a little throwback to our buzzing evening hosting the Climate Mixer last month in Nairobi! It was exciting to see the ecosystem come together for a night filled with great conversation, new connections, and plenty of laughs. From founders to investors and ecosystem builders, the turnout and energy were exceptional. A huge thank you to everyone who came out and to our amazing partners, Satgana and ClimateHack NBO, for making it all possible. We loved the buzz and engagement and can't wait to do it all again soon! Stay tuned for more great events on the horizon! Maelis Carraro, Maxime Bayen, Rasima Swarup, Javier Linares, Ngetha Mwangi, Valiullah Hashmi, Sydney Thiam, Maureen K., Charles I. Nweke

In the latest episode of The Flip, Maxime Bayen joins Justin Norman, Lyndsay Holley Handler (Delta40 Venture Studio), and James Mwangi (Africa Climate Ventures) for a roundtable conversation on their hands-on, venture-building approach to support climate-focused founders across Africa. Maxime shares the insider scoop on our venture-building approach: adapting to the unique needs of founders and providing them with the tools and resources to create resilient, impactful solutions that tackle Africa’s climate challenges head-on. The conversation highlights how climate startups thrive under these venture-building models and the critical role of investing in climate action across Africa, a region with immense potential to drive global climate goals. Catch the full discussion for exclusive insights on how venture-building, when done right, can create resilient businesses with lasting impact https://lnkd.in/dB3SjiXi This episode is made possible through a partnership with Prosper Africa. Prosper Africa is a Presidential-level national security initiative aimed at strengthening the strategic and economic partnership between the U.S. and Africa by catalyzing transformative two-way trade and investment flows. The Catalyst Fund, aimed at boosting investment and innovative climate adaptation and resilience ventures across Africa, is one of the grantees under Prosper Africa's Catalytic Investment Facility. Maelis Carraro, Maxime Bayen, Rasima Swarup, Javier Linares, Ngetha Mwangi, Valiullah Hashmi, Sydney Thiam, Maureen Koech, Charles I. Nweke

Highlights from our event last month with Catalyst Fund and Satgana ClimateHack

We're still on the lookout! 🧐 Are you building a startup in Africa in any of these areas?👇 💧 WaterTech and Water Intelligence Solutions 🌿 Financing Solutions for Regenerative Agriculture 🌳 Precision Reforestation ♻ Alternative Materials (especially alternatives to plastic) 🌊 Coastal Resilience Technologies We're looking to invest in and accelerate pre-seed startups working on these solutions. If you know any, have them reach out to us today! https://lnkd.in/dMjUv4ga

Tanzania loses 20-40% of produce and USD$1.5 billion each year to agricultural inefficiencies. Poor #farming practices and inadequacies in post-harvest handling have further increased #carbonemissions by over 17%. MazaoHub helps solve this problem by powering farming in #Africa with hyperlocal soil analytics. Learn more about why we’re backing them: https://lnkd.in/dKcvDYsd Maelis Carraro, Maxime Bayen, Rasima Swarup, Javier Linares, Ngetha Mwangi, Valiullah Hashmi, Sydney Thiam, Maureen K., Charles I. Nweke.