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Catalyst Fund, the pan-African climate venture fund and venture builder, has completed the second close of its debut fund, bringing total commitments to $30 million as it works toward a $40 million target, with a final close expected later this year.
New backers include the IFC, agri-focused fund-of-funds FASA, Shell Foundation, Trafigura Foundation, Speedinvest, Blink Impact and the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), alongside a group of private investors. They join first-close supporters including FSD Africa and the Cisco Foundation.
FASA's $5 million commitment, the fund-of-funds' first-ever investment, was structured as junior equity taking first-loss risk, which the manager credits with unlocking commitments from senior investors who would not otherwise have participated. The Trafigura Foundation described its participation as its first move into impact investing, while We-Fi joined to strengthen the fund's pipeline of women-led startups.
Led by partners Maelis Carraro, Maxime Bayen, Olúwatóyìn Emmanuel-Olubake and Amolo Ng'weno, Catalyst Fund invests from pre-seed to Series A in startups building climate resilience across agriculture, food systems, energy, water, mobility and climate fintech, typically writing initial cheques of around $200,000 with follow-on capital, paired with embedded venture-building support through BFA Global. It has backed 28 startups across 10 African markets and plans to reach 40.
North Africa features prominently in the portfolio. Egypt is represented by Bekia, a circular-economy platform connecting waste producers with collectors and recyclers, NoorNation, which provides decentralised solar energy and water solutions for farms and underserved communities, and VAIS, a climate-smart agtech company applying AI to farming. In Morocco, Sand to Green converts desert into arable farmland using agroforestry and solar-powered desalination. The wider portfolio includes Kenya's Keep It Cool and Tanzania's MazaoHub.
The fund's thesis targets a gap in climate finance, where capital flows overwhelmingly toward renewable energy and emissions reduction, leaving adaptation-focused businesses to compete for a far smaller pool despite Africa facing some of the most acute climate exposure while contributing less than 4% of global emissions.
Farid Fezoua, the IFC's global director for disruptive technologies, services and funds, said the partnership is about mobilising capital and expertise to help early-stage ventures "scale sustainably, attract private investors, and deliver lasting impact for people and markets."
Over the coming years, Catalyst Fund is targeting improved climate resilience for 200,000 smallholder farmers, 3,000 jobs created, and 350,000 hectares of land restored or sustainably managed.
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