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Catalyst Fund is a pan-African pre-seed venture fund and venture builder managed by BFA Global, focused exclusively on climate adaptation and resilience. The fund backs startups building solutions for communities already living with climate change, cold chains, resilient agriculture, clean water, waste infrastructure, and climate fintech, primarily across Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and Tanzania. Originally launched as a grant-making accelerator, Catalyst converted to an equity fund model in 2023 and has since built a 28-company portfolio across 10 African markets, with nine follow-on investments completed to date.
Catalyst backs pre-seed African startups building climate adaptation and resilience technology, including agritech, solar-powered cold chain infrastructure, water systems, waste management, clean energy, and financial products for climate-exposed households and SMEs.
The fund targets commercially viable businesses with real revenue potential rather than grant-dependent models, and focuses on founders solving problems in markets where climate vulnerability is an existing commercial reality rather than a future scenario.
Catalyst Fund reached a second close of $30M in July 2026, targeting a final close of $40M expected later in 2026.
The first close was $9M in Q3 2023, growing to $30M by mid-2026. LPs include IFC, FASA, Shell Foundation, Trafigura Foundation, Speedinvest, Blink Impact, We-Fi, FSD Africa, and the Cisco Foundation.
The fund writes $200K initial pre-seed checks with reserves for follow-on through Series A, targeting a total portfolio of approximately 40 companies.
Leadership
Maelis Carraro is Managing Partner and founder of Catalyst Fund, who led the vehicle through its accelerator era and transition to equity fund model.
Maxime Bayen is General Partner, one of the most visible chroniclers of African tech funding data.
Olúwatóyìn (Toyin) Emmanuel-Olubake is General Partner and Chief Investment Officer.
Amolo Ng'weno is General Partner, with decades of East African financial inclusion experience including senior leadership at BFA Global.
The investment committee is chaired by Vikas Raj of ResilienceVC, with members from The Lightsmith Group and CommerzVentures.
Investment Strategy
Catalyst writes $200K initial equity checks at pre-seed, reserving capital for follow-on investments through Series A into its strongest performers.
BFA Global, the fund's GP and venture builder, embeds operationally with portfolio companies, providing hands-on support on product strategy, hiring, commercial growth, and follow-on fundraising.
This venture-builder model is a core differentiator at the pre-seed stage in markets with limited local talent infrastructure.
We-Fi's LP participation specifically supports expanding the pipeline of women-led startups, a segment with disproportionately strong representation in African climate adaptation tech.
Notable Investments
Maelis Carraro — Managing Partner
maelis@thecatalystfund.com
Maxime Bayen — General Partner
maxime@thecatalystfund.com
Toyin Emmanuel-Olubake — General Partner & CIO
Amolo Ng'weno — General Partner
Kenya
