BFA Global,FSD Africa Award $273k to Scale East African Climate Startups

BFA Global and FSD Africa have announced $273,000 in follow-on funding and venture-building support for four early-stage climate businesses in East Africa, backing startups working in clean energy, cold storage, carbon market access and food systems.

The support will go to alumni of previous cohorts of the Triggering Exponential Climate Action (TECA) venture-building programme, an initiative designed to help climate solutions move from concept to investment while strengthening resilience among vulnerable communities across the region.

The four selected small and growing businesses have already shown early traction in sectors seen as critical to livelihoods and climate resilience, particularly energy and agriculture. The new funding package is intended to provide operational capital alongside technical assistance, including business model refinement, operational guidance and investment-readiness preparation.

The ventures receiving support are Africa Renewables Katalyst (ARK), which links East African renewable energy developers to global renewable energy certificate markets through data systems, verification services and market access tools; Plas-tech Energies, which converts plastic waste into clean cooking gas distributed through refillable cylinders as an alternative to charcoal and kerosene; Samaking, which operates solar-powered cold-chain infrastructure and a decentralised fish distribution network aimed at reducing post-harvest losses and supporting small traders, especially women; and Sunwave, which provides solar-powered ice production and cold storage solutions for small-scale fishers and fish traders.

The announcement comes at a time when early-stage climate ventures are facing increasing difficulty securing capital. While many young businesses are able to prove initial demand for their products or services, they often struggle to raise the financing needed to reach commercial readiness and scale.

“Early-stage climate ventures face a critical funding cliff just as they are ready to grow,” said Tyler Ferdinand, Director of the TECA programme at BFA Global. “Our follow-on support gives them the capital, time, tools, and evidence base they need to build credible, investable businesses that improve resilience in vulnerable communities.”

BFA Global and FSD Africa said this type of support is particularly important in the current investment environment. According to a report by Sightline Climate, early-stage climate deal counts fell by about 20 per cent in 2025 to a five-year low, as investors concentrated capital into fewer companies. That shift has made follow-on financing harder to secure, especially in emerging markets.

Mary Kashangaki, Early-Stage Finance Manager at FSD Africa, said the organisation’s broader mission includes expanding access to finance for small and growing businesses while supporting climate resilience.

“At FSD Africa, we have for years supported novel financing structures for small and growing businesses, especially those building resilience against climate change in Africa,” Kashangaki said. “We are proud to partner with BFA Global to provide additional support to these deserving businesses doing such important work. Access to capital, especially for this category of businesses, remains challenging, yet they are the majority and provide most employment on the continent. As an organisation that works to make finance work for Africa, enhancing flows to small and growing businesses and tackling climate change remain key priorities for us.”

This funding round underscores growing recognition that early-stage support is essential if locally rooted climate ventures are to move beyond pilot stages and deliver wider economic and environmental impact across East Africa.

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