BFA Global and FSD Africa have announced a combined US$273,000 in follow-on funding and venture-building support for four early-stage climate businesses operating in East Africa. The capital will go to alumni of the Triggering Exponential Climate Action, or TECA, programme, which is designed to help climate ventures move from initial concept toward investment readiness and commercial scale. According to the two organisations, the selected companies have already shown early progress in areas such as clean energy, cold storage, carbon market access and more resilient food systems.
Backing Early Climate Businesses
The latest support is aimed at a difficult stage in the startup journey, when young companies have demonstrated market potential but often remain too early for mainstream investors. In addition to operational capital, the package includes technical assistance covering business model refinement, operational strategy and preparation for future fundraising. The partners say this combination is intended to help the ventures strengthen their fundamentals while expanding services that address climate vulnerability in local communities.
Portfolio Focus Areas
One of the four recipients, Africa Renewables Katalyst, works to connect renewable energy developers in East Africa with global renewable energy certificate markets through verification services, data systems and market-access tools. Another, Plas-tech Energies, is building a model that converts plastic waste into clean cooking gas distributed through refillable cylinders, positioning the product as a lower-cost and safer alternative to fuels such as charcoal and kerosene. Together, those two ventures reflect the broader ambition of linking climate action with both environmental benefits and practical consumer demand.
Cold Chain and Fisheries Solutions
The remaining two companies are focused on improving cold-chain infrastructure for fisheries, a sector where weak storage and transport systems can lead to significant post-harvest losses. Samaking operates solar-powered cold storage alongside a decentralised fish distribution network designed to improve market reliability for traders, with a particular emphasis on supporting women working in the value chain. Sunwave is also targeting fishing communities by offering solar-powered ice production and cold storage solutions intended to preserve catches for longer and raise incomes for small-scale fishers and fish traders.
Why Investors Are Needed Now
The announcement comes at a time when early-stage climate ventures are facing a tighter fundraising environment, especially in emerging markets where risk capital can be limited even in stronger economic cycles. Citing market data from Sightline Climate, the organisations said early-stage deal activity in 2025 fell by about 20 percent to a five-year low as investors concentrated resources into fewer businesses. Tyler Ferdinand, who directs the TECA programme at BFA Global, said the support is meant to help promising ventures cross the gap between early traction and full investability by giving them more time, evidence and tools to build credible businesses.
Institutional Track Records
FSD Africa also framed the initiative as part of a broader effort to expand capital flows to small and growing businesses that are critical to employment and climate resilience across the continent. Mary Kashangaki, the organisation’s early-stage finance manager, said access to finance remains particularly difficult for these firms even though they make up a large share of African businesses and play an important role in local economies. BFA Global said its wider venture-building and advisory work has supported more than 118 ventures across Africa, Asia and Latin America, while FSD Africa’s current 2025–2030 strategy includes a goal of mobilising £10 billion, with £2 billion directed toward adaptation-related initiatives.
The new follow-on package signals continued interest in backing practical, locally rooted climate solutions that can generate both commercial and social returns in East Africa. By focusing on businesses working in renewable energy markets, clean cooking and solar-powered cold storage, the initiative targets sectors where climate adaptation and livelihood protection are closely intertwined. For early-stage ventures trying to reach commercial readiness in a tougher investment climate, this type of blended financial and technical support may prove decisive in determining whether promising ideas become scalable businesses.