Catalyst Fund

About Catalyst Fund

Pan-African pre-seed investor and venture builder focused on climate adaptation and resilience. $30M second close toward $40M target. Backed 28 startups across 10 African markets with $200K checks. LPs include IFC, Shell Foundation, Speedinvest.

Investment Focus

Location / RegionKenya

Funding StagePre Seed

Industry Focus

Agritech

Climate Sustainability

Fintech

Investor Signals Profile

active

Sweet Spot

African founder building climate adaptation tech with commercial model

climate adaptation

Africa pre-seed

venture builder

resilient agriculture

cold chain

Bullish Signals

$9M to $30M in under three yearsblog

IFC, Shell Foundation, Speedinvest LPsblog

28 startups, 9 follow-on investmentsblog

BFA Global venture-building supportblog

Contrarian Signals

$200K checks, tiny ownershipblog

African exit markets remain illiquidblog

Founder Do's

Build climate adaptation tech in Africa

Target climate-vulnerable communities

Have commercial revenue model not grants

Focus on Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Tanzania

Accept $200K pre-seed with support

Founder Don'ts

Pitch grant-dependent models

Expect capital beyond pre-seed

Build outside African markets

Key GPs & Partners

Maelis Carraro

Managing Partner

community-builderthesis-drivenhands-on

Maxime Bayen

General Partner

metrics-drivencommunity-builder

Toyin Emmanuel-Olubake

General Partner & CIO

thesis-drivenmetrics-driven

Amolo Ng'weno

General Partner

patient-capitalcommunity-builder

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Fund Overview

Fund Size$30M

Saves0

Website

Key People

Maelis Carraro, Maxime Bayen, Toyin Emmanuel-Olubake, Amolo Ng'weno

Maelis CarraroManaging Partner

Maxime BayenGeneral Partner

Toyin Emmanuel-OlubakeGeneral Partner & CIO

Amolo Ng'wenoGeneral Partner