
Catalyst Fund Hits $30M Second Close for African Climate-Tech Startups
The pan-African venture fund adds IFC, Shell Foundation, Speedinvest and others as it advances toward a $40 million target.

Thabo Nkosi
Southern Africa Editor · Johannesburg
Catalyst Fund, a pan-African venture firm backing startups focused on climate adaptation and resilience, has closed a second round of commitments that lifts its total to $30 million, according to TechCabal. The fund is now working toward a $40 million target it expects to finalise before the end of the year.
The milestone matters for the Africa–Europe investment corridor because several of the new backers are European or globally focused institutions channelling capital into African ventures. The round drew in Austria-based Speedinvest alongside the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Shell Foundation, the Trafigura Foundation, Financing for Agri-SMEs in Africa (FASA), Blink Impact, and the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), which is intended to strengthen the fund's pipeline of women-led companies. These join existing supporters FSD Africa and the Cisco Foundation.
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