Kenyan Climate Startups Can Now Apply For Sh33M Catalyst Fund

Catalyst Fund has received Sh33 million ($260,000) to support climate-focused startups in Kenya, with applications now open.

The fund was selected by Village Capital as the Ecosystem Building partner in Kenya for the 2025 Empowering Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Africa (ESEA) program, backed by Norway through Norad – the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.

According to Village Capital, the selection builds on the successful completion of the initiative’s first phase, which supported 14 ecosystem builders across five African countries.

In the 2025 phase, five organizations will be tasked with running investment-readiness programs and providing direct capital to startups developing climate solutions.

Catalyst Fund joins Ennovate Ventures in Tanzania, Emerge Livelihoods in Malawi, IdeiaLab in Mozambique, and Reach for Change in Ghana in implementing the initiative.

Together, they aim to build a pipeline of 500 startups, provide pre-acceleration support to 100 ventures, and accelerate 30 startups per country in two cohorts.

Additionally, four top-performing startups in each country will receive $25,000 in grant funding.

“By equipping these ecosystem builders to fund and support climate-focused entrepreneurs directly, Village Capital aims to create a sustainable pipeline of innovative solutions that drive both climate action and economic growth across the region,” Village Capital said in a statement.

Applications are open to early-stage startups in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, and Ghana that are developing scalable sustainability solutions in climate adaptation, renewable energy, the blue economy, and food security.