EchoVC launches $2.5million Echo Pilot Fund I for climate, energy, agriculture and mobility investments

EchoVC, a black-led technology-focused seed and early-stage venture capital firm investing in underrepresented founders and underserved markets, announced that it has closed and launched a $2.5 million pre-seed fund vehicle – EchoVC Eco Pilot Fund I.

The fund, in partnership with Shell Foundation with co-funding through UK Aid from the UK Government, represents the VC’s commitment to identifying and investing in the most promising pre-seed startups shaping the future of climate, energy, agriculture and mobility.

According to the firm in a press statement made available to Innovation Village, EchoVC says it will, through the fund, aim to foster very-early-stage enterprise development and innovation with solutions that enable an income uplift for all the participants along the journey.

The primary focus of the Eco Pilot Fund I is to make up to ten pre-seed investments in founders and startups within our specified areas of interest, outlined below. The fund aims to invest broadly in companies led by individuals from Africa, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. There will be a specific emphasis on companies in Nigeria and Kenya that offer unique solutions.

Initial Focus Impact Areas:

1.     Access to resources – New technologies focusing on energy provision or use for agriculture (energy for agriculture).

2.     Access to finance and insurance – Support intermediaries that can use digital technologies to unlock finance for farmers and mitigate their risks.

3.     Knowledge/Capacity Building – Focus on low-cost solutions to provide better market information and training for farming practices.

4.     Access to markets – Creating value chains connecting small holder farmers to larger supply chains thus increasing value to farmers.

Other areas of interest include, but not limited to, innovations in energy storage, cooling, and off-grid cooking, smart energy systems and mini-grids, affordable and reliable access to renewable energy, and new approaches to urban transportation including alt-powered two and three wheelers.

As stated by Taiwo Kamson, Principal at EchoVC, “Our Eco Pilot Fund I is not just any fund but a strategic first step initiative designed to address the funding gap in specific impact focused sectors and the respective value chains. We believe that by focusing on these areas, we can make a lasting impact on the growth and development of innovative solutions around agriculture, climate, and energy.”

“Africa’s golden age of entrepreneurship, job creation and household lift will demand that mission-driven founders be backed by high-risk capital. Africa’s needs, while diverse, will not be solved only by investments in fintech,” said Eghosa Omoigui, Managing Partner, EchoVC.

“The objective of our eco pilot fund will be to back founders with first institutional checks and assist them in syndicating financing rounds to support their mission. As a pilot fund, we want to sponsor a pipeline of high quality founders that create high quality companies that can be supported later by the increasing number of climate and energy focused funds. We anticipate that our learnings from this vehicle will feed into our investments to be made from our larger 2024 Eco Fund,” Eghosa Omoigui stated.

“Our approach in coming to market with a relatively tiny pilot fund was to work out the kinks of backing founders in sectors that have historically been underfunded,” said Tsendai Chagwedera, Partner at EchoVC. “As one of the most experienced VC funds on the continent, we have constantly sought to develop innovative ways of financing startups that can create long-term positive financial and high-impact returns in a relatively immature venture capital market, and in today’s risk-off market, entrepreneurs benefit from investors that are ready, willing and able to initialize and maintain financing and company building support,” Omoigui continued.

Taiwo Kamson noted further that “As we see more mid-sized and large funds coming to market to back climate and energy startups, we have struggled to find any that are set up to take first money risk or do the company-building work required to help kickstart the companies that will later be candidates for investment by these funds. The continent needs these pre-seed stage companies to create and deploy the solutions necessary to meet market demand and enable climate-resilient economies.”

EchoVC currently has a portfolio of nearly seventy companies. In the last 6 years, EchoVC has invested in sector-sensitive companies targeting climate, agriculture, energy and transportation. Some of these founders and companies include Sara Menker at Gro Holdings, Bim Adisa at Beacon Power Services, Dami Olokesusi at Shuttlers.NG, Desmond Koney at Complete Farmer and June Odongo at Senga,