Who We Are

We are a team of impact venture builders dedicated to supporting the people and ideas that turn challenges in energy, agriculture, mobility, and water into de-carbonized solutions for Africa.

Working across the globe, we bring disruptive innovation to the world’s fastest-growing markets.  We serve as a conduit between philanthropic and commercial investors who are like-minded in their pursuit of sustainable development through market-driven forces.

How We Work

We use a thesis-based investment strategy to identify critical market needs in energy, agriculture, mobility, and water. Then we use a technology-forward analysis coupled with our deep understanding of the economic contexts in which we work to identify investment opportunities. Where we don’t find solutions to the identified problems, we pull together world-class talent with technologies to incubate and then scale internal concepts.

We believe it is necessary to equip early-stage companies with more than just capital. We’re extremely hands-on at the seed stage and provide our companies with unparalleled support, which includes our post-investment Engage Platform, access to a network of fellow founders operating in emerging markets, channels to markets, and policy support.

With decades of combined experience supporting ventures in emerging markets, we’re obsessively focused on providing companies with the tools and resources they need to scale their businesses and impact globally. We advocate for non-dilutive grant funding where appropriate, and help companies become investment-ready for the next rounds of equity funding by helping them build a “ventureable package.”

Portfolio

All
Energy
Mobility
Water
Agriculture

Apollo Agriculture

Bringing commercial farming to everyone

Sistema.bio

Creating value from waste

Sistema.bio

Creating value from waste

Sistema.bio

Creating value from waste

Ampersand Solar

Mass market electric mobility to drive Africa forward

S4S

World class dried foods for India, income generation for rural women

Clean Crop Technologies

Next generation solutions for crop loss and food safety

Odyssey Energy Solutions

All-in-one platform to develop, finance, and manage distributed energy projects

Interested in Creating Global Impact?

SparkMeter

Simple yet powerful plug-and-play smart metering solution

InspiraFarms

Off-grid solar-powered cold rooms and packhouses for agribusinesses and food distributors

Crofarm

Improving supply chains to support farmers and provide businesses with the freshest produce

60Hertz

Software for remote operators maintaining critical assets

betteries

Upcycle batteries. Avert climate change.

Sentry

Monitoring and optimizing water and wastewater treatments

Cinch

Managing land to unlock value for smallholders

SunFi

Innovative fintech platform accelerating access to solar power

NatureLock

Reducing post-harvest losses with a single-point of dehydration

enee.io

Energy intelligence

Ibisa

Decreasing climate risk for all stakeholders along the agricultural value chain

Gridless

Harnessing the power of bitcoin mining to electrify rural Africa

Beacon Power Services

Data and grid management solutions for power distribution in Sub-Saharan African cities

Figorr

Real-time data monitoring to reduce losses along the cold chain

Roam

Electrifying Africa one vehicle at a time.

Resources

Insights From the Field

A collection of articles, news, and thought
pieces to keep you informed.

For Investors

Engage Portal

A portal with resources and a network to support
your continued growth.

For Ventures

Team

Team
Advisors

FAQ

Do you have a geographic preference?

We invest in companies that create impact in emerging markets. Historically, this has included Latin America, India and Africa. Today, our focus is entirely on Technology Ventures (regardless of location) that can have impact in Sub-Saharan Africa.

What stage of companies do you invest in?

We invest in companies at the pre-seed and seed stages. Our technical expertise and in-market knowledge allow us to see the impact and commercial potential of a technology when it is in the very early stages of development.

What industries do you invest in?

We focus on four industry verticals: mobility, agriculture, access to energy, and water.

What is your typical deal size?

Our typical deal size is 250-750k USD.

What is thesis-based investing?

Thesis-based investing requires deep domain expertise and discipline. We conduct thorough market research, stay abreast of technological innovations, and use techno-economic analysis to understand the ways markets need to change to positively impact the bottom of the pyramid.  Then we form our investment thesis based on these insights and invest in only the ventures that will instigate or accelerate that disruption. We update our theses as markets evolve to shift and stay in front of a sector.

What type of support do you offer startups?

The markets in which we invest pose unique challenges. We believe in equipping companies with more than just capital. Working alongside our ventures, we help them achieve scale and impact by providing strategic business advice, governance & oversight, and tailored support through our post-investment Engage Platform.

Our Engage Platform includes:

  • New company onboardings
  • Ongoing tailored education
  • An exclusive peer network
  • Access to pre-vetted service providers
  • In-kind services

More information can be found on our Engage Portal page.

Funders and Partners

Contact Us

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