9 African Climate Startups Receive $1.8M Boost from Catalyst Fund

Catalyst Fund, a company helping new businesses get started, has given $1.8 million to nine African startups focused on fighting climate change. 

The nine startups are Mazao Hub and Medikea (Tanzania), Earthbond, Zebra Cropbank and Scrapays (Nigeria), Keep It Cool (Kenya), NoorNation (Egypt), Thola (South Africa), and Tolbi (Senegal).

Back in September 2023, Catalyst Fund started raising money to help African climate startups. 

They managed to get $8.6 million from different investors, including FSD Africa, FSDAi, Cisco Foundation, USAID Prosper Africa, and Andrew Bredenkamp.

Catalyst Fund, which began in 2016 and is run by BFA Global, gives startups money, helps them find talented people, and connects them to markets where they can sell their products or services. 

This is the second time they’ve invested in African startups working on climate solutions. 

Earlier, in January 2023, they invested $2 million in ten startups that were creating solutions for African communities affected by climate change.

With this latest investment, Catalyst Fund now supports 19 companies in eight African countries. They will help these startups grow and become stronger. 

These startups are finding ways to deal with climate problems in farming, healthcare, energy, and waste management.

A survey from 2023 showed that millions of people in Africa are suffering because of climate-related issues, costing billions of dollars. Maelis Carraro, who helps manage Catalyst Fund, said that the startups they support are helping farmers, healthcare workers, waste collectors, and small businesses adapt to climate change and grow their businesses.

Maxime Bayen, who works with Catalyst Fund, said they want to keep helping more startups from different areas and working on different climate problems.

In 2022, Catalyst Fund got $3.5 million from FSD Africa to expand its work in Africa. Their goal is to support 40 new startups that are making a positive impact on communities affected by climate change.