Impact investor Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) has broadened the scope of its search for African agritech startups to include six new countries, with a focus on both anglophone and francophone regions of the continent.
The firm has launched a new accelerator programme, I&P Accélération FARM, which is backed by French development finance institution Proparco. The programme is looking for SMEs and startups in the agricultural sector in Senegal, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Uganda and Kenya.
I&P is also continuing its push into climate tech in francophone West Africa through its participation in the CATAL1.5°T acceleration programme.
I&P Accélération FARM
The new programme will offer startups a repayable advance of between €10,000 and €100,000, as well as strategic support, training and expert missions.
To be eligible, startups must be registered in one of the six target countries and have a turnover of between €75,000 and €500,000. The programme is open to a wide range of agricultural sectors, including:
- Agricultural processing
- Livestock
- Fish farming
- Inputs
- Logistics
- Agritech
Startups must also have a strong commitment to social and environmental impact, particularly in rural areas, and contribute to improving the income and working conditions of small local producers.
CATAL1.5°T
I&P is also a partner in the CATAL1.5°T acceleration programme, a Green Climate Fund-backed initiative targeting early-stage companies developing technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The programme is open to applications from startups across eight West African countries — Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Togo — and seeks founders with viable, scalable solutions in sectors such as clean energy access, low-emission transport, green buildings and industry, sustainable forestry, and land use.
Under CATAL1.5°T, selected startups will receive between €48k–€198k in tailored funding, alongside technical assistance ranging from business plan development to accounting setup and climate-sector training.
A broader strategy
The two programmes are part of I&P’s broader strategy to deepen its climate-related impact investment across underserved markets in francophone and anglophone Africa, where institutional capital for green ventures remains scarce.
For I&P, which has backed over 150 African startups across 20 countries since 2002, the climate mandate represents both a new strategic focus and a response to investor expectations. Climate resilience and sustainability metrics are becoming integral to the due diligence and portfolio performance of development finance-backed impact investors.
Why it matters
Despite growing attention to Africa’s climate vulnerabilities, only a fraction of global climate finance reaches the continent’s startup ecosystem. According to the Climate Policy Initiative, just 3% of global climate finance flowed to Africa in 2023, and less than 0.5% of that targeted early-stage tech ventures.
Programmes like I&P Accélération FARM and CATAL1.5°T are an attempt to correct this imbalance by de-risking capital and offering structured support for climate entrepreneurs in regions like the Sahel and Gulf of Guinea, where infrastructure gaps are acute and private climate innovation is nascent.
But success will depend not just on capital deployment, but also on the ability of initiatives like this to foster investable business models that bridge social impact with financial viability — a delicate balance in low-income markets.
Applications for I&P Accélération FARM can be submitted here.
Applications for the CATAL1.5°T programme close in August 2025. Startups can apply via the programme portal.