# AECI

> AECI is a VC fund in Johannesburg backing Chemical and AgTech. See 5 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
- Total investments: 5
- Last investment: Mar 2025
- Lead investor: 20%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/907976?trk=tyah&trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2CclickedEntityId%3A907976%2Cidx%3A2-2-5%2CtarId%3A1475151627554%2Ctas%3AAECI
- Website: https://www.aeciworld.com/

AECI is an explosives and specialty chemicals group domiciled in South Africa. Group businesses service the mining and manufacturing sectors both locally and internationally.The focus for growth is on Africa, South East Asia and South America. AECI’s businesses are characterised by application know-how and service delivery.They often operate inniche markets and are supported by leading technologies which are developed In-house or are sourced from international partners.AECI IS A SOUTH AFRICAN-BASED EXPLOSIVES AND SPECIALTY CHEMICALS COMPANY FOCUSED ON PROVIDING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES TO A BROAD SPECTRUM OF CUSTOMERS IN THE MINING, MANUFACTURING AND AGRICULTURAL SECTORS. IT HAS REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSES IN AFRICA, SOUTH EAST ASIA, THE USA AND AUSTRALIA. OTHER MARKETS OF INTEREST ARE IN LATIN AMERICA.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for AECI. Shizune tracks 2 team members at AECI. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/aeci?utm_source=investor_profile

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Seed | $1.3M–$1.4M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Chemical | 2 | 40% |
| AgTech | 1 | 20% |
| Farming | 1 | 20% |
| CleanTech | 1 | 20% |
| Recycling | 1 | 20% |

12 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 1 | 20% |
| Series A | 1 | 20% |
| Series B | 1 | 20% |
| Post-IPO Equity | 1 | 20% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Luxembourg | 1 | 20% |
| South Africa | 1 | 20% |
| United States | 1 | 20% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Mark Dytor | CEO | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mark-dytor |
| Mark Kathan | CFO | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mark-kathan |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Khula! | Khula is a business which creates technology solutions for agriculture in Africa. Our main focus is on creating an inclusive mobile marketplace which will drive the success and growth of farmers, disrupting the wholesale food market. This marketplace optimizes logistics by using geolocation and by offering efficient and cost-effective logisticsservices for emerging farmers. | $6.8M | Series A | Mar 03, 2025 |  |
| Clariter | Clariter is a global clean-tech group with proprietary technology in upcycling plastic waste into high-value, pure solvents, oils, and waxes. The company's unique solution for plastic waste serves the growing global need for disposal of non-perishable polyolefin and reduce reliance on crude oil.Clariter was founded in 2003 and isheadquartered in Luxembourg, Europe. | $36.5M | Series B | Dec 15, 2023 |  |
| Khula! | Khula is a business which creates technology solutions for agriculture in Africa. Our main focus is on creating an inclusive mobile marketplace which will drive the success and growth of farmers, disrupting the wholesale food market. This marketplace optimizes logistics by using geolocation and by offering efficient and cost-effective logisticsservices for emerging farmers. | $1.3M | Seed | Aug 08, 2021 |  |
| Khula! | Khula is a business which creates technology solutions for agriculture in Africa. Our main focus is on creating an inclusive mobile marketplace which will drive the success and growth of farmers, disrupting the wholesale food market. This marketplace optimizes logistics by using geolocation and by offering efficient and cost-effective logisticsservices for emerging farmers. | $1.4M | Seed | Aug 03, 2021 |  |
| Origin Materials | Origin is the carbon negative materials company. The Origin platform turns the carbon found in biomass into useful materials, while eliminating the need for fossil resources and capturing carbon in the process. Origin has developed a platform for turning the carbon found in inexpensive, plentiful, non-food biomass such as sustainable wood residuesinto useful materials while capturing carbon in the process. Origin’s patented technology platform can help revolutionize the production of a wide range of end products, including clothing, textiles, plastics, packaging, car parts, tires, carpeting, toys, and more with a ~$1 trillion addressable market. | $200M | Post-IPO Equity | Jun 25, 2021 |  |

5 of 5 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [E Squared Investments](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/e-squared-investments) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Absa group (Bank)](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/absa-bank) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Apollo](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/apollo-global-management-llc) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [BNP Paribas Private Equity](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bnp-paribas-private-equity) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [DANONE](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/danone) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Electron Capital Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/electron-capital-partners) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

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## FAQ

### What does AECI invest in?

AECI invests primarily in Chemical, AgTech and Farming startups, most often at Seed and Series A stage. Most of the 5 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Luxembourg. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What is AECI's check size?

AECI typically joins rounds of $1.3M–$1.4M at Seed. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds AECI participates in.

### How do I contact AECI?

Public channels for AECI include LinkedIn and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at AECI?

The team at AECI includes Mark Dytor (CEO) and Mark Kathan (CFO). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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