Catalyst Fund is a venture capital fund and venture builder that partners with founders developing high-impact climate adaptation solutions. One of Africa’s most active adaptation investors, their portfolio spans pre-seed to Series A startups across critical sectors, including climate-smart agriculture and food systems, climate insurance, waste management, clean energy, and water management. They are currently present across nine African countries.
The Catalytic Climate Finance Facility (CC Facility) supported the Catalyst Fund’s Catalyst Fund Resilience I as it scaled.
In this interview, Maelis Carraro, Founder and Managing Partner, shares insights on the initiative’s challenges, impact, and future.
1. What is the solution?
Catalyst Fund Resilience I backs mission-driven, local, and women-led ventures that build the resilience of vulnerable communities facing climate risks. It targets three pillars: sustainable livelihoods (e.g., climate-smart agriculture), climate-smart essential services (e.g., clean energy, water, waste, healthcare, mobility), and fintech for climate resilience (e.g., insurance, climate data).
Catalyst Fund combines catalytic and commercial capital through a three-tiered structure (Senior, Junior A, Junior B), offering downside protection for senior limited partners (LPs) while maintaining upside participation across the capital stack. Venture building is core to its model, delivered through a team of ex-operators, supported by BFA Global. Each startup receives approximately USD 200,000 inpre-seed funding: USD 150,000 in cash and USD 50,000 in human capital via bespoke venture-building support.
Its approach blends financial returns with measurable impact, reaching over 560,000 users to date. By bridging the early-stage capital gap for adaptation solutions, Catalyst Fund enables scalable innovation in sectors traditionally overlooked by commercial venture capital.
2. What challenges have you faced?
The greatest challenge was fundraising in a market where climate adaptation is still poorly understood and perceived as non-investable. Many investors, particularly commercial and institutional LPs, struggled to define adaptation, questioned pipeline viability, and doubted whether early-stage adaptation startups in Africa could generate returns within a traditional VC timeframe. We had to reframe adaptation not as charity or public sector territory, but as a growing commercial opportunity set. Our initial investments then demonstrated that early-stage adaptation investing in Africa can be both impactful and commercially viable.
Designing an investor-aligned blended structure was also complex. We needed to balance protection for senior capital with upside for all tranches, while keeping the structure simple and familiar enough to pass investment committees. Finally, scaling the fund required rapid institutional upgrades across ESG, impact, governance, and compliance to meet development finance institution (DFI) standards. As a first-time equity fund, this meant building systems and policies in parallel with fundraising and investing. We managed these challenges through catalytic support, a disciplined investment strategy, and deep engagement with LPs.
3. How did funding from the CC Facility support the development of the solution?
Funding from the CC Facility was catalytic at a critical stage. It enabled Catalyst Fund to absorb upfront legal, structuring, and operational costs associated with scaling a first-time, blended finance VC fund. The support also enabled upgrades to our ESG and impact frameworks, including a full Environmental & Social Management System, gender strategy, and quarterly reporting infrastructure, which are key elements for DFIs and institutional LPs.
In addition, the CC Facility enabled the hiring of key team members needed for deploying investments as we continued to fundraise.
Finally, the CC Facility’s flexibility allowed us to stay focused on execution while building the Fund’s long-term viability. Without this support, our ability to close the fund, deploy capital, and demonstrate real-world results would have been materially delayed, limiting our ability to attract additional capital and support early-stage adaptation startups across Africa.
4. What is the impact so far?
Catalyst Fund has invested in 26 early-stage climate adaptation startups across nine African countries and 10 sectors. Portfolio companies have reached over 500,000 users, 47% of whom are women, and created more than 1,000 jobs. Together, they sustainably manage over 300,000 hectares of land, avoid 10,000+ tonnes of CO₂ annually, and serve low-income communities with climate resilient services like cold storage and drought resistant farming inputs.
Financially, these companies have generated over USD 12.3 million in annual revenue and raised over USD 30 million in follow-on funding, a 4x multiple of Catalyst Fund’s initial capital. The Fund has shown strong early performance for its 2023 vintage, with portfolio revenue growing 1.5–2x annually. In practice, the Fund has validated that climate adaptation is investable, demonstrating strong deal flow, tangible impact, and commercial viability.
By combining capital with deep venture-building support, Catalyst Fund de-risks early-stage adaptation ventures, enabling them to scale. It is considered one of Africa’s most active adaptation investors, setting benchmarks in climate impact, gender equity, and early-stage innovation. The Fund’s model has shifted perceptions among LPs and founders alike, showing that resilience can drive both returns and inclusive growth.
5. What’s next?
As the Fund enters a scale phase, our next priorities are threefold: (1) finalize fundraising; (2) deploy into the remaining pre-seed and follow-on rounds, targeting 40+ companies in total; and (3) continue building the evidence base for climate adaptation investing.
In parallel, Catalyst Fund is strengthening its exit strategy, working closely with later-stage investors and corporates to create mergers and acquisitions and secondary opportunities. Internally, we will continue refining our ESG, gender, and impact frameworks, as well as deepening our regional networks for sourcing, venture building, and exits. Finally, we aim to share learnings widely to accelerate the broader growth of adaptation investing in Africa. Catalyst Fund has proven that adaptation is investable. Now, the goal is to mainstream it.
