Equator secures $40M in commitments for fund targeting climate tech startups in Sub-Saharan Africa

Equator, a climate-tech venture capital firm focused on Sub-Saharan Africa, has announced the inaugural closing of its first fund with a capitalization of about $40 million.

British International Investment (BII), the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), the UK charity Shell Foundation, and impact investor DOEN Participaties are among the fund’s notable investors.

“Our partners are some of the most experienced and well-connected investors in Sub-Saharan Africa and within our target sectors,” said Nijhad Jamal, Managing Partner of Equator.

“They are highly committed to providing expertise, networks and capital directly to our portfolio companies, which is a game-changer for early-stage start-ups.”

Equator was founded with the goal of hastening an equitable climate transition in Sub-Saharan Africa by giving much-needed funding and active hands-on support to climate-tech enterprises at a vital stage in their development.

The global venture capital firm, which has offices in Nairobi, Lagos, London, and Colorado, seeks to invest in high-growth, ready-to-scale companies powered by technological and business model innovation in order to address the region’s tangible economic and sustainability concerns.

Despite being one of the newest funds on the market, Equator’s staff has decades of expertise investing in and running successful initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa and across a range of sustainability-focused industries.

“We have a unique and diverse team of technologists, operators and investors united by our obsession to drive momentum in the campaign for climate action in Sub-Saharan Africa,” said Jamal. “Our deep in-market presence, combined with our global experience and reach, allows us to forecast trends and develop theses that underpin our investments in proven technology and business model innovation to address local market challenges.”

Equator has already backed some of the region’s most prominent early-stage ventures, including Apollo Agriculture, Odyssey Energy Solutions, Roam and SunCulture.

“We are seeing a significant gap in start-up support between the initial burst of pre-seed funding and the recent influx of capital from larger, later-stage investors,” said Dr. Morgan DeFoort, partner at Equator and founder of Factor[e] Ventures.

“This led us to identify a specific opportunity for Equator to provide both funding, as well as hands-on assistance, to Seed and Series A-stage climate-tech companies focused on Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Equator has the benefit of leveraging support from Factor[e] Ventures, an organization of venture builders and pre-seed investors.

While both companies operate independently, Equator and Factor[e] collaborate on sourcing and diligencing deals and also share a post-investment support platform to provide value to portfolio companies as they scale.

“The reality is that capital alone is only part of the problem. Ventures also need highly active and engaged investors to help them reach the growth stage of their trajectory,” added DeFoort.

“I’m thrilled to be able to draw on talent and technical expertise from Factor[e] which provides Equator with incredible access and resource from across the Continent and from all over the world,” said Jamal.

“Together, being thesis-driven investors and having all been operators ourselves, we closely understand the sectors in which we are working and we are well equipped to help start-ups through scaling challenges to drive attractive financial returns.”