Africa’s climate technology sector has often been viewed through the lens of development and impact. The closing of Southern Africa’s first dedicated climate tech fund suggests it is increasingly being viewed as something else: a commercially viable investment opportunity. With the final close of Holocene Ventures Fund I (HVF1), investors are backing a growing belief that African climate-focused businesses can generate jobs, scale rapidly and deliver competitive financial returns.
The milestone marks an important step for the continent’s innovation ecosystem. Beyond raising capital, the fund is creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs building businesses in energy, mobility, agriculture, and waste management while helping to strengthen Africa’s transition to a more sustainable economy.
The fund’s launch is rooted in the experience of Holocene founder Josh Romisher, whose journey through Africa’s renewable energy sector helped shape the investment thesis behind HVF1. After training as an investment banker at Credit Suisse and studying at Stanford Graduate School of Business, Romisher spent six years in East Africa helping build distributed solar companies ZOLA Electric and Fenix International, which was later acquired by ENGIE Energy Access. Together, the companies reached nearly one million customers and created more than 2,000 jobs through renewable energy solutions.
After relocating to Southern Africa, Romisher identified a gap that continued to hold back many promising founders. While innovative businesses were emerging across the continent, access to early-stage capital and practical operational support remained limited, particularly in the climate technology sector.
To better understand and address this challenge, he later became CEO of Stellenbosch University’s LaunchLab, helping it achieve recognition as Africa’s leading university business incubator. The experience reinforced his belief that Africa’s climate innovators needed more than funding. They needed partners capable of helping them navigate growth.
“It’s clear we need to dramatically accelerate the pace of climate innovation in Africa,” Romisher said. “The continent will double in size, urbanise and begin to truly consume during our lifetimes. That can be seen as an impending climate catastrophe or a massive innovation opportunity. We choose to view it as the latter.”
Delivering Jobs, Growth and Climate Impact
The fund’s early results suggest that climate technology is becoming a viable investment category with measurable economic benefits. Within just 18 months of deployment, HVF1 has backed ten companies, created more than 500 jobs, achieved a two-times markup on invested capital and attracted eight dollars in follow-on capital for every dollar invested by Holocene.
The portfolio highlights the diversity of opportunities emerging across Africa’s climate economy. FARO, a circular economy company focused on technology-enabled supply chains for unused inventory, has scaled to $15 million in trailing revenue and recently completed a Series A funding round.
ScootHero is helping transform urban logistics in South Africa through a network of more than 500 electric motorbikes and over 50 battery-swapping stations. In Uganda, Yongeza has reached positive EBITDA within 18 months while building infrastructure that supports the growth of East Africa’s electric vehicle ecosystem.
Building a Stronger Climate Tech Ecosystem
One of Holocene’s distinguishing features is its hands-on approach to founder support. Each investment is accompanied by at least 12 months of operational assistance from specialists with expertise in fundraising, revenue growth, grant writing, financial strategy and organisational development.
The team operates across South Africa, the United States, Canada and Tunisia, working closely with entrepreneurs to strengthen their businesses and improve their ability to scale.
This model has attracted support from investors who see climate innovation as both an economic and environmental opportunity.
“I invested in Holocene because I believe climate innovation will be one of the defining challenges and opportunities of our generation, particularly in Africa,” said entrepreneur and HVF1 investor Jonathan Smit.
“What stood out to me was not just the investment thesis, but the quality of the team and the hands-on way they support founders. Holocene is helping build the ecosystem and companies that can deliver meaningful climate impact while creating lasting economic value.”
The opportunity ahead is substantial. Africa is expected to account for 25 percent of the global population by 2050. The continent also holds 65 percent of the world’s arable land and 50 percent of its renewable energy potential. Across energy, mobility, agriculture and waste management, African entrepreneurs are increasingly developing solutions that will shape both local and global markets.
HVF1’s portfolio reflects this focus. Sixty percent of deployed capital has been invested in energy and mobility businesses, sectors considered critical to Africa’s decarbonisation efforts. The fund has also demonstrated progress on inclusion, with 40 percent of portfolio companies having female founders or women in senior leadership positions.
The final close of HVF1 marks the beginning of its next phase, with a focus on helping portfolio companies achieve scale and successful exits. More importantly, it strengthens the argument that African climate technology should be viewed as a standalone investment category capable of generating strong returns while delivering measurable social and environmental impact.
“We’ve shown that the intersection of climate impact and financial returns is real,” Romisher said. “The task now is to scale that proof.”
