The Catalyst Fund
Snapshot
Fund Type: VC Fund
Fund Size: $40MM
Investment Stage: Early-stage
Geographic Focus: Pan-Africa
Sector Focus: Climate Adaptation and Resilience
Fund Overview
The Catalyst Fund is a women-led venture capital fund and venture builder backing early-stage, high-impact tech startups building solutions to manage climate risks, adapt livelihoods and build a climate-resilient future in Africa. The fund invests across several sectors including agritech and food systems, insurtech and climate fintech, agro-forestry, cold chain, waste management, sustainable energy and water management. Catalyst Fund’s unique approach combines early-stage, high risk capital with bespoke and hands-on venture building support, working alongside founders to accelerate growth, scale & impact.
Why We Invested
The Catalyst Fund has an intentional and integrated approach to climate, gender, diversity and inclusion. They are mainstreaming a gender approach across all levels, from team composition, to the sourcing of founders to measuring the impact on end-users. The fund’s investment team is 50% female, and three out of four Investment Committee members are women, reflecting a commitment to diversity and inclusion with expertise in the markets they serve.
Women as Agents of Change
One of The Catalyst Fund’s guiding principles is that women are critical agents of climate action and as a result, they have built a women-led investment vehicle to back at least 40% women-led startups and solutions that benefit women. The fund invests in key sectors where women play a significant role as employees, in the supply chain, and as end users.
An example of this is Keep it Cool, a cold-chain startup offering affordable, renewable energy-powered cooling solutions to East African poultry and fish farmers, particularly women in rural areas. They address the challenge of rising temperatures and limited access to cooling infrastructure, reducing food waste and improving food security. By sourcing fish and poultry directly from farmers and paying fair, local prices through a mobile app, they provide a reliable, local and higher-priced market for their produce, reduce food waste, improve food security for customers in urban centers and mitigate emissions by using renewable energy for refrigeration.
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