Start-ups investing in climate resilience solutions will be eligible for the new Triggering Exponential Climate Action (TECA). This is a start-up program targeting high-growth potential start-ups with solutions for community climate resilience.
The TECA program was recently launched by Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa), a company funded by the U.K. Department for International Development, and BFA Global, a consulting firm specializing in financial and digital innovation and impact investing. “In particular, we believe that finance can play a major role in addressing climate vulnerability and that by harnessing the power of innovation, we can help remove market barriers to delivering much needed climate resilience solutions. The challenge for Africa is that this innovation is stifled by a weak ecosystem, which translates into low upfront investment,” says Juliet Munro, the director of digital economy at FSD Africa.
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According to Munro, the partnership with BFA Global on TECA aims to address this problem by creating, investing in, and developing a portfolio of climate resilience projects, while helping to influence and expand the pool of investment in this area. To launch the program, FSD Africa has committed to invest $3.3 million over four years.
According to the Mark Napier-led company, the funding is expected to accelerate the ecosystem around businesses by engaging with multiple stakeholders to unlock capital, attract talent to further drive innovation for climate resilience. TECA will be implemented in Africa where the need for resilience solutions is most urgent, before expanding to the rest of the world.
Jean Marie Takouleu