We back startups that re-imagine food systems
Planetary health is in crisis. Even if we do meet our net zero ambitions by 2050, we’ll still overshoot 1.5 degrees for at least a generation. Under that kind of stress productive land and water will unlikely support our food needs.
So, we start right now to develop self-sufficiency and resilience against harsh conditions, while finding our way back to more sustainable ways of producing and consuming.
We are an impact fund seeking seed stage African startups with 100X solutions to the climate crisis in agri-food tech and the nature economy.
What we invest in
Investment Themes
Investment Themes
Emerging Farm Tech
We back farming technologies that increase yields, resource efficiency and circularity, so that productive land and waters can sustain our needs in the face of climate shock, and farmers can avoid claiming more wilderness to feed the world.
Investment Themes
Farmer Enablement
We want to stop the flight of talent from rural to urban centers by making farming more lucrative. Fintech tools and digital marketplaces make capital available to farmers to invest in sustainable innovation, and give them a larger share of the value chain.
Investment Themes
Bio-Food Tech
Africa imports most of their food; that is an unacceptably high risk in a looming climate crisis. Our goal is to see new food groups enter our region’s food and feed systems, that deliver our nutritional needs without unduly burdening resources like water, land and biodiversity.
Investment Themes
Natural Carbon Markets
We anticipate an explosion in the market for high grade carbon and nature credits, and a vibrant industry for nature developers and the companies who service them. We provide nature capital to thoughtful efforts to rewild land or return it to regenerative productivity.
How we help
What do you get from us
Unparalleled network
Across Africa and Europe we have personal relationships with accelerators, angels, VCs, universities, corporates and banks. We can help you gain access to international mentors, customers, suppliers and partners.
Expertise
Between our core team and advisors, we have decades of technical experience in agriculture, agroforestry and nature conservation, not to mention deep and firsthand experience of starting and growing companies, financing them, supporting them through fundraising, exits and hard times.
Exposure
Our marketing team is active in regional and international startup and impact forums, hosting events and driving thought leadership. We want to showcase your innovation and drive traffic towards your product.
Founder oriented
We are first and foremost Founders. The partners and advisors have all built companies from the bottom up. We understand the stresses and multi-faceted complexity of building a team, a culture and a product simultaneously.
Funding
Aside from our own assets, we have a wide network of financiers who know and trust us. This includes equity investors, venture debt, structured debt and blended capital. We work tirelessly to find the right model for your business.
Impact management
As an impact fund we understand exactly how to deliver change and can advise you not only how to get most impact for your effort, but also how to get your effort and results recognized. Our Policy team monitors global trends and initiatives so you don’t have to.
Meet
The Team
Hossam Allam
Managing Partner
Best known for founding Cairo Angels’ syndicate, startup incubator and venture fund, he is one of the region’s most experienced angels. He is a marine scientist by education who has built two 20X ventures, invested in almost 40 others, serves on 9 startup Boards, a small-cap mineral exploration company, Egyptian conglomerate Hassan Allam Holdings and two NGOs.
Sherief Kesseba
Managing Partner
Founded 4 MENA Agri-Food ventures and invested in or mentored 40+ including multiple follow-on rounds and 2 exits.
Affiliated mentor to leading global Ag-Tech accelerators and VC funds RockStart, Startup Wise Guys and The One Initiative as well as African Business Heroes.
Youssef Hanna
Investment Associate
With a Masters in Management from London Business School and having worked at Global Ventures’ investment team, Youssef joins us with a huge enthusiasm for the nature economy and a strong grounding and instinct for startup economics.
Ziyad El Hamzawi
Investment Analyst
Graduating 2023 from AUC Political Science, Ziyad has shadowed senior business leaders in the negotiation on regional infrastructure deals providing analytic and project management support. He is interning with Climate Resilience Fund and has accepted an offer for a full-time position in May 2023.
Salma Nour Eldin
Investment Analyst
Salma graduated from the American University in Cairo with a B.A. in Economics and Middle East Studies. Before graduating, she interned as a research and governance analyst at consulting firms Development Business Associates and later the National Management Institute, as well as a portfolio analyst for Flat6Labs, a regional accelerator fund.
Nouran Sayed
Junior Administrator
Managing most of our back office, Nouran comes from a strongly operational and administrative background within large companies including Compass International and Hassan Allam. She brings the capacity to manage large and variable workloads.
Dawsha
Starting her life on the street before pivoting to Climate Resilience Fund, Dawsha has a nose for inauthentic ideas … and people. She embodies the grit, hustle and competitiveness we ask of Founders and is herself an effective nature-based solution to keeping meetings short and all of us outside of our comfort zones.
Our Expert
Advisors
Hussein Heiba
General Partner
With deep Governmental relationships across Middle East and Africa, and firsthand experience structuring and developing projects of national importance, Hussein understands how to align business and national agendas to unlock opportunities.
An engineer from American University in Cairo serving on several company Boards.
Moustafa Rehan
Venture Partner
Founder of Novaroma and a serial Agri-entrepreneur in Canada and Africa who has farmed, processed & exported crops and designed and operated innovative extraction processes.
A voracious follower of avant-garde global trends in regenerative land and sea farming, he searches for an economic transition to food systems that support ecological cycles.
Tatiana Pachon
COO – Forestry First
Chief Operating Officer for Forestry First, Colombia’s leading commercial forester, Tatiana brings 14 years of experience from the nature economy and is deeply embedded in the carbon markets.
Josephine Wapakabulo
CEO – Downforce Technologies
CEO of Downforce Technologies which monitors land carbon sequestration remotely. 20+ years’ corporate, startup and board experience and served as CEO of Uganda’s National Oil Company.
An electrical engineer with a PhD in data standards and MBA from INSEAD, as well as Adjunct Teaching Fellow at University of Western Australia and Advisory Board Member of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum.
Richard Georg Engström
Founder & Managing Partner of Impact Business Modeling System™
He has been part of the Nordic business innovation ecosystem for almost 30 years – as serial entrepreneur, investor and advisor.
Since 2015 he and his team have assessed 7,000+ startups with sustainable solutions, founded Nordic Impact Business Summit and built a community of almost 500 international impact investors.
Apply for funds
Is your startup raising?
Is your startup helping to mitigate against or adapt climate change in food systems? we want to meet seed stage, high growth potential ventures, with an African lens in the areas of sustainable agriculture, agri-food tech or the nature economy. We will do our best to reply to you within a week but if your business does not fit these criteria please do not expect a reply from us.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs
At which stage do you invest?
We invest at proof-of-concept stage, preferably with some traction or revenues. We do not fund research or technical trials and we do not offer grants or technical assistance only.
How do you invest?
We take equity positions including SAFE or KISS notes. We like to be the first institutional money and can lead or solely carry a round at this stage. For later investments we will co-invest.
How much do you invest?
We invest up to USD1.5M per ticket in early-stage startups.
Do you offer mentorship?
We actively mentor Founders of our portfolio companies but we do not offer mentorship to non-portfolio Founders.
What do you need to see?
First, we want to get to know you, your motivation, and your vision of the opportunity and risks. Then we want to understand how your idea delivers impact and how it can scale. Does your model support growth and are you building for execution excellence?
Do you follow-on invest?
Yes, we follow-on invest up to USD 2M.
In what geographies do you invest?
We invest primarily in Africa but we do have an allocation for “global” startups that address our thesis and region.