# Catalyst Fund

> Catalyst Fund is a VC fund in Nairobi backing Financial Services and FinTech. See 154 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Nairobi, Kenya
- Total investments: 154
- Last investment: Jul 2026
- Lead investor: 58%
- Last fund: Sep 2023
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/catalyst-fund-accelerator
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/CF_BFA
- Website: http://www.bfaglobal.com/catalyst-fund

Catalyst Fund is an inclusive FinTech accelerator that supports early-stage startups building innovative FinTech solutions for the 3 billion underserved in emerging markets. The company works with innovators in emerging markets who are building affordable, accessible, and appropriate solutions for underserved communities, and accelerate the localinnovation ecosystems around them.Catalyst Fund is supported by The UK Department for International Development (DFID) and JPMorgan Chase & Co., managed by BFA Global and fiscally sponsored by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Catalyst Fund. Shizune tracks 17 team members at Catalyst Fund. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/catalyst-fund?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Financial Services | 41 | 27% |
| FinTech | 30 | 19% |
| Software | 12 | 8% |
| Agriculture | 11 | 7% |
| Finance | 9 | 6% |

104 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Grant | 46 | 30% |
| Seed | 35 | 23% |
| Pre-Seed | 20 | 13% |
| Funding Round | 8 | 5% |
| Series A | 5 | 3% |

7 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kenya | 17 | 11% |
| United States | 13 | 8% |
| Nigeria | 12 | 8% |
| South Africa | 8 | 5% |
| Ghana | 6 | 4% |

21 countries tracked in total.

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wajiha Ahmed | Learning Manager | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/wajiha-ahmed |
| Abby Butkus | Principal | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/abigail-butkus |
| Akansha Kasera | Marketing and Communications Manager | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/akansha-kasera |
| Asa Nyaga | Product Manager | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/asa-nyaga |
| Carmen Merab | Assistant Communications Specialist | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/carmen-merab |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Biochar Industrial Group | Biochar Industrial Group partners with agricultural processors to convert biomass waste into biochar through industrial pyrolysis. The company finances, installs, and operates biochar production systems that process agricultural residues such as palm kernel shells, cashew husks, and sawdust. It manages biochar production, carbon creditverification, carbon credit sales, and revenue sharing with its partners. Biochar Industrial Group also provides waste value assessments and partnership programs for eligible agricultural processors. | $1.5M | Pre-Seed | Jul 31, 2026 |  |
| Bekia | Bekia is on-demand recyclable waste collection that connects people who want to get rid of their recyclable waste with the local collectors | $700K | Seed | Jul 20, 2026 |  |
| PowerLabs | PowerLabs is an energy and climate technology research and implementation company whose goal is to use intelligent energy to build a world where human output is boundless. |  | Pre-Seed | Apr 09, 2026 |  |
| ENAKL | Enakl, is a tech mobility company providing bus sharing solutions for commute rides in Africa. Our technology allows us to collect data to predict demand for commute rides, pool users per destination and create routes that will be operated by professional drivers. Our innovative business model enables affordable pricing, promoting socialinclusion. By offering flexible, safe and convenient transport options, Enakl is helping to solve the problems of congestion and access to transport in Africa. | $2.3M | Seed | Dec 01, 2025 |  |
| Farm to Feed | Farm to Feed is a food supply chain company that is providing a digitally-enabled solution to food loss/waste. | $1.3M | Seed | Oct 18, 2025 |  |
| OKO | OKO uses satellite information to define risk and create insurance products for farmers in emerging markets. They use mobile technologies to distribute insurance, collect premiums, help farmers and pay claims. |  | Seed | Sep 30, 2025 |  |
| MazaoHub | MazaoHub is a AI-powered end-to-end farm management company. | $1.5M | Pre-Seed | Sep 20, 2025 |  |
| MazaoHub | MazaoHub is a AI-powered end-to-end farm management company. | $1.5M | Pre-Seed | Sep 20, 2025 |  |
| ENAKL | Enakl, is a tech mobility company providing bus sharing solutions for commute rides in Africa. Our technology allows us to collect data to predict demand for commute rides, pool users per destination and create routes that will be operated by professional drivers. Our innovative business model enables affordable pricing, promoting socialinclusion. By offering flexible, safe and convenient transport options, Enakl is helping to solve the problems of congestion and access to transport in Africa. | $1.4M | Pre-Seed | Dec 03, 2024 |  |
| Octavia Carbon | Octavia Carbon is the Global South’s first Direct Air Capture (DAC) company. It designs, builds and deploys patented technology to filter CO2 from the atmosphere to reverse climate change and to end the fossil fuel age. Its approach uniquely leverages Kenya’s amazing geothermal energy, geology & talent to drastically accelerate DAC technologydown the cost curve. | $3.9M | Seed | Oct 16, 2024 |  |

10 of 154 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [500 Global](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/500-startups) — VC Fund, 7 deals together
- [Digital Africa](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/digital-africa-1318) — VC Fund, 4 deals together
- [Mercy Corps Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mercy-corps-ventures) — VC Fund, 4 deals together
- [4DX Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/4dx-ventures) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Deciens Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/deciens-capital) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/foreign-commonwealth-office) — VC Fund, 3 deals together

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Scottish Enterprise](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/scottish-enterprise) — VC Fund
- [Foundation for Innovation and Technology (FIT)](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/foundation-pour-l-innovation-technologique) — VC Fund
- [Business Finland](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/tekes) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Catalyst Fund invest in?

Catalyst Fund invests primarily in Financial Services, FinTech and Software startups, most often at Grant and Seed stage. Most of the 154 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Kenya. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### How do I contact Catalyst Fund?

Public channels for Catalyst Fund include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) 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 Catalyst Fund?

The team at Catalyst Fund includes Wajiha Ahmed (Learning Manager), Abby Butkus (Principal) and Akansha Kasera (Marketing and Communications Manager), among 17 team members tracked by Shizune. 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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