Catalyst Fund secures $30M second close, aims for $40M climate tech fund

Catalyst Fund announced the completion of its second close, raising total commitments to $30 million toward a $40 million target for its pan-African climate adaptation venture fund. Led by partners Maelis Carraro, Maxime Bayen, Olúwatóyìn Emmanuel-Olubake, and Amolo Ng’weno, the fund expects to grow its portfolio to about 40 startups across Africa. The close follows a $9 million first close in Q3 2023; since then Catalyst Fund has backed 28 startups in ten African markets and made nine follow‑on investments in top performers, including Tanzanian agritech MazaoHub, Egyptian waste platform Bekia, and Kenyan solar cold‑chain startup Keep It Cool.

New backers in this round are the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Financing for Agri‑SMEs in Africa (FASA), Shell Foundation, Trafigura Foundation, Speedinvest, Blink Impact, and the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), which will help increase support for women‑led ventures. Existing investors FSD Africa and the Cisco Foundation remain. The fund invests exclusively through equity, typically writing $200,000 pre‑seed cheques and reserving capital for follow‑on rounds, while partnering with BFA Global to provide venture‑building support in product strategy, hiring, commercial growth, fundraising and partnerships. Catalyst Fund’s largest markets today are Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and Tanzania, where climate‑tech ecosystems have matured fastest. Climate‑tech funding in Africa rebounded from a 2024 low of $754 million to $1.1 billion by November 2025, according to TechCabal Insights, signalling renewed investor confidence.

Will you consider allocating capital to climate‑focused venture funds like Catalyst Fund, or explore opportunities to partner with its portfolio startups in Nigeria’s growing climate‑tech scene?

SOURCE: https://techcabal.com/2026/07/02/catalyst-fund-second-fund-close/