Kenya’s Topup Mama, Tulix, AquaRech and Nigeria’s ColdHubs have been selected into Catalyst Fund’s latest cohort joining an existing portfolio of 55 companies and will catalytic capital, venture building support, and direct connections with investors, corporate innovators and talent networks that can help them scale.
Kenya’s AquaRech is a platform for fish farmers to source quality feed, reduce growth cycles by monitoring via sensor technology, find new routes to market, and access credit to enable growth. Tulix, also from Kenya is a digital payment wallet to enhance visibility of funds and collaboration between African migrants and their beneficiaries back home.TopUp Mama, working in both Kenya and Nigeria is an online B2B platform for restaurants to purchase all inventory required at wholesale prices, including perishable goods requiring an adapted (cold) supply chain, and access working capital to grow their business.
Nigeria’s ColdHubs is a “plug and play” modular, solar-powered walk-in cold room, for 24/7 off-grid storage and preservation of perishable foods, enabled through digital payments.
According to Maelis Carraro, Managing Director of Catalyst Fund. “Low-income and underserved communities in emerging markets will bear the brunt of the climate crisis, yet contributed the least to it. The impacts of climate risks are predicted to be expansive, affecting communities in wide ranging and unforeseen ways. It’s fundamental to invest in solutions that build resilience to shocks and ensure these solutions are reaching the most vulnerable. We have explored models that push the frontier of current thinking around resilience-building for climate vulnerable people, and we are energized to explore how fintech innovation can help these populations, by supporting pioneering entrepreneurs in Kenya, Nigeria and Mexico. We look forward to exploring this innovation frontier for fintech with the invaluable support of JPMorgan Chase, FCDO, and PayPal.”
Other startups selected include Mexico’s Koltin, a digital health insurance solutions and preventative care for the region’s growing senior population and Mujer Financiera, which works both in Argentina and Mexico, is a financial wellness with a multi-tiered approach to build the financial literacy, financial health, and resilience of underserved women.
Catalyst Fund, a global inclusive tech accelerator managed by BFA Global is supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), JPMorgan Chase & Co., and PayPal, and fiscally sponsored by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. Catalyst Fund is exploring the role of fintech innovation in increasing the resilience of climate vulnerable populations, and this latest cohort is based on these insights.
To date, Catalyst Fund has raised more than $446 million in follow-on funding and reached over 10 million low-income customers. Startups in this cohort were approved by Catalyst Fund’s Investor Advisory Committee (IAC), formed by six leading fintech and emerging market investors from around the world: Anthemis, Quona Capital, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Flourish Ventures, Accion Venture Lab and Gray Ghost Ventures.
“At PayPal, we believe digital finance innovations can help power greater climate resilience around the world,” said Sri Shivananda, EVP and CTO, PayPal. “We are excited to welcome the next cohort of startups into Catalyst Fund, and to support fintech innovators that are helping people to anticipate and recover from disasters, adapt livelihoods, and build long-term resilience to unforeseen impacts of climate change.”
Shivananda believes that climate change and inequality are critical challenges of our time, and current estimates suggest that the total addressable market for resilience solutions is almost 50 percent of the world’s population. Inclusive tech providers are making inroads with pioneering models that can serve climate vulnerable populations and improve their resilience to shocks. While there is growing willingness among investors and government to support such solutions, many are not tailored for vulnerable people, and there remains significant uncertainty about how they can effectively reach those who need them most. Catalyst Fund has drawn on its investment experience and research, including the Digital Finance for Climate Resilience (DF4CR) Framework for Action – interdisciplinary research led by the DF4CR Task Force – to select and support key models and products it believes are ripe for scale and replication.
