Catalyst Fund Africa Invest $2M in CimateTech Startups.
In a bid to combat climate change, many organizations have been established, while some formally in existence, have initiated activities to help “save the planet.”
In the tech space, many startups, companies, and VCs have set up certain solutions to help the climate situation.
Following the same trend, The Catalyst Fund announced its $2 million investment into 10 startups accelerating Africa’s adaptation and resilience to climate change, 3 of the selected startups are from Egypt and Morocco.
The announcement, which was made via a press release, mentioned Beika (Egypt) VAIS (Egypt), and Sand To Green (Morocco) as beneficiaries of the allocated investment fund, each receiving $100,000.
Catalyst Fund is a venture capital (VC) that is anchored by FDS Africa, an agency in the financial sector funded by the UK government. This investment is part of its $30 Million fund and is meant to empower African communities vulnerable to climate change.
Chosen Startups
While 3 startups were selected from the North Africa region, each startup plays a different part in the climate reform activities.
1.Beika Inc: This is one of the top recycling startups in Egypt. Founded in 2017, the startup has developed tech solutions to help tackle climate change. Beika provides waste collection services for homes and organizations, and users of the service are paid as they dispose of it through the startup.
Bieka also recycles collected waste such as metals, paper, plastics, electronics waste, and many more. This means waste collected is disposed of safely. Through its waste recycling platform, Beika has been able to raise funds for the development and expansion of its activities to other nations of the region.
To show traction, the Egyptian startup is reported to have onboarded 700,000 users as of 2021.
2. VAIS (Farm Gate): VAIS is an Egyptian agtech that promotes its subsidiary, FarmGate. FarmGate provides agtech products and services supported by AI/VFP (Virtual Field Probing (VFP) technology)
The startup has developed product services such as the IrrigationROBO, ScoutROBO, andCropROBO to develop the food chain and supply sector. Available on subscription, the startup is established to assist large-scale farmers and agricultural businesses in achieving scaling status.
Through its deep technology, the startup is providing solutions to hunger on the continent. Providing information and assistance to proper farming and crop health.
3. Sand To Green: This Moroccan startup is actively promoting the forestation of arid land and converting it into orchards. Adopting endemic agroforestry plantations, solar-powered systems, and carbonless equipment is enriching the land to bear fruits.
Through agriculture, the startup is intent on fighting climate change, by rationally transforming the sector through technology.
Although different in activities, the chosen startups are linked by their mission to help the planet tackle climate change, even if by just affecting their closest communities, hence their selection by FDS.
Speaking about FDS’s commitment to the investment, the Director of Digital Economy at FSD Africa, Juliet Munro, said, “At FSD Africa, we believe that by harnessing the power of tech, and specifically fintech innovation, we can help to spur the development of climate resilience solutions for Africa, thereby helping deliver on COP27’s core themes of adaptation and implementation.”