On March 9, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed an investment agreement with Persistent Africa Climate Venture Builder Fund, LP (Persistent ACV Fund), an African venture capital (VC) fund.
The project will invest in the Persistent ACV Fund in collaboration with development finance institutions and private investors, including the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi) of the UK, and Impact Fund Denmark (IFDK).
Principle thing to sign the investment agreement.
With Africa’s population expected to reach 2.4 billion by 2050 and US$2.8 trillion needed to meet the climate change targets of African countries by 2030, this represents a major investment opportunity.
The Japanese private sector, including Kyushu Electric Power Group’s Kyuden International, is also investing in the fund, and ICA’s catalytic investment, which aims to mobilize private capital, is expected to provide a boost for Japanese companies to invest in climate tech startups in Africa. The ICA’s catalytic investment in private capital mobilization is expected to provide a boost to Japanese climate tech startup investment in Africa.
This project will be implemented as the first project under JICA’s new scheme, “Private Sector Fund Mobilization Operations”. This scheme was announced at the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) held in Yokohama in August 2025. Based on the establishment of the “Private Finance Mobilization Operations,” JICA will further promote “blended finance,” which ensures that private funds can be invested through the effective injection of public funds.
Persistent, which manages the fund
investor
Persistent Africa Climate Venture Builder Fund, LP
Country (region covered)
Sub-Saharan Africa
amount of investment
US$10 million (US$5 million for junior tier and US$5 million for catalyst tier)
case name
Africa Climate Tech Startup Investment Promotion Project
Business Objectives
This project aims to improve access to finance for emerging companies that are making the transition to sustainable clean energy, mainly by investing in funds that invest in emerging companies in Sub-Saharan Africa, thereby contributing to the promotion of a low-carbon economy in the region.
Business Overview
Through this project, the company will invest in and provide management support to emerging African companies. Distributions will be obtained from the investee funds based primarily on the returns secured from the sale of shares in the investee companies.
Contribution to the SDGs
Goal 7 (Energy for All and Clean)
Goal 9 (Create a foundation for industry and technological innovation)
Goal 13 (take concrete action on climate change)
An overview of the project is as follows
This project will also contribute to the 2X Challenge, an initiative established at the 2018 G7 Summit to promote investments that contribute to gender equality. This project also constitutes the “Impact Investing for Development of Emerging Africa (IDEA),” a public-private co-creation impact investment initiative announced by JICA at TICAD 9.
© Source JICA