VC firm Holocene has announced the final close of Holocene Ventures Fund I (HVF1), Southern Africa’s first dedicated high-growth climate tech fund.
Holocene targets promising, local founders at the earliest stages, but who lack capital and hands-on operational support to get them to scale, especially in a nascent sector such as climate-tech.
Through HVF1, it has backed 10 companies in the 18 months it has been deployed, creating over 500 jobs and achieving a 2x markup on invested capital, while attracting US$8 in follow-on capital for every US$1 it invested.
“It’s clear we need to dramatically accelerate the pace of climate innovation in Africa,” founder Josh 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.”
Portfolio ventures include FARO, a circular economy company built around technology-enabled supply chains for unused inventory; ScootHero, which is deploying over 500 electric motorbikes and more than 50 battery-swap stations across South Africa; and Yongeza, an e-mobility infrastructure company in Uganda.
Each investment comes with at least 12 months of embedded, high touch support from a team of globally trained specialists: operators, executives-in-residence, and experts in revenue growth, fundraising, and grant writing.
“What excites me most is not just that Holocene backed us early, it’s that they got in the trenches with us,” said Wahlied Cole, founder and CEO of ScootHero.
“When we needed help with go-to-market, they brought in operators. When we were hitting a ceiling on capital, they helped us unlock grants and asset finance. It wasn’t just capital. It was a partnership built on real understanding of what African founders need.”
Jonathan Smit, exited founder and HVF1 investor, said he invested in Holocene because he believes climate innovation will be one of the defining challenges and opportunities of our generation, particularly in Africa.
“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,” he said.
The final close marks the beginning of the fund’s value-creation phase — the work of driving portfolio companies towards scale and exits. “We’ve shown that the intersection of climate impact and financial returns is real,” Romisher said. “The task now is to scale that proof. We live the Stanford motto: change lives, change organisations, and change the world. That’s not always easy, but it is deeply meaningful.”