Insider Brief
- Nairobi-based VC fund Equator has raised US$55 million to fund climate tech startups in sub-Saharan Africa, Semafor news reported March 11, 2025.
- The VC plans to use the funding to finance 15 startups overall, according to firm founder Nijhad Jamal.
- The fund has a 10-year operating window to fund and expect to recoup returns on the startups it invests in.
Equator, a fund based in Kenya and the UK, has raised US$55 million to fund climate startups in sub-Saharan Africa, Semafor reported March 11.
Among Equator’s financial backers are the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, British International Investment, and France’s development finance group Proparco. IFC provided US$5 million in funding in October 2024.
Other backers include the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, and the Shell Foundation.
Equator had previously invested in startups including Kenya-based SunCulture, which focused on solar-powered irrigation systems, and Roam, which produces electric motorcycles and is also based in Kenya.
“We are climate tech investors operating in a region where caring about climate change is, to be honest, a luxury,” Equator founder and managing director Nijhad Jamal told Semafor.
“Customers ultimately are focused on incomes, livelihoods, and tangible benefits.”
Equator will provide financing for 15 to 18 startups ranging from US$750,000 to US$1 million for companies at seed stage, and up to US$2 million for companies at Series A. The VC fund is aiming to de-risk these ventures and allowing other venture capital groups to invest more money in these startups.
Equator said it has a 10-year timeline between initial investment and generating income from returns on these startups.
“We are needed more than ever to invest in technology and scalable ventures tackling fundamental climate challenges,” TechCrunch quoted Jamal as saying.
“These investments will help reduce dependence on aid and instead bring more global private capital into the region.”
Patience is important, Jamal said, but “if we’re unable [to recoup returns], it’s bad for the whole ecosystem because that will prevent capital and other investors from coming in and backing the next fund.”
Climate tech remains a high target for investors in the African startup space, according to funding tracker Africa: The Big Deal, with one third of the investment in the last two years going to startups in this sector.
Africa remains disproportionately impacted by climate change, with the World Meteorological Organization estimating the cost of climate adaptation to be between US$30 to US$50 billion per year.
