Building a highway to Series A for Africa's leading Climate Tech startups
Our
WHY
A critical time for climate in Africa
Greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) need to be reduced from 50bn tons currently to zero tons by 2050 to avoid a global climate disaster.
While Africa is currently contributing around 3% of global GHGs, this will drastically change in the future with Africa’s population expected to double in size by 2050. It is imperative that Africa forges a low carbon growth trajectory for the future of our planet. We are determined to grow the companies that will get us there.
We offer the financial and human capital to ensure incredible Pan-African climate tech reaches scale and creates impact.
Our 12-month business builder program offers the following:
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$50,000 through a SAFE agreement with a valuation cap:
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$25,000 of cash up front
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$25,000 of co-building and other services
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12-month bespoke program consisting of 8 months of active business building and 4 months of support services
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Dedicated business building team working with cohort companies
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World-class experts allocated to each team to complete project deliverables
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Curated board of directors to provide strategic and governance support
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Package of additional benefits (see FAQ’s for more information)
We're focused on tangible outcomes
Startups don't need talk; they need proactive action to be successful.
Climate Lab executes on defined deliverables to drive growth.
Diagnostic
Report
We develop a report with key strategic insights and opportunities to share with stakeholders, investors and ambassadors.
The report serves as the foundation for business building support.
Financial
Model
Startups are in a race against time between product-market-fit and runway. A clear, usable, actionable financial model is not only a must for raising investment but also provides the leadership team with a clear path to success.
Every team receives a world class model based on their unique operations and objectives.
Professional Pitch Deck & Training
A pitch deck is the ideal format to clearly articulate the key aspects of the customer problem, business model, team and milestones.
Every startup will be pitch perfect through training and employing data driven story telling.
Expert-Led Deliverables
We utilise our robust network of seasoned, experienced experts to help our teams make creative mistakes.
Our Experts work directly with teams in 4-6 week sprints with a clear deliverable as determined through the Diagnostic Report.
Prepare your business to take on significant external capital
Execute the fundraise with you as a trusted advisor
What we do for our entrepreneurs
Assist in developing a high-impact team to deploy capital
Investment Themes
We employ a top-down investment approach that lives at the intersection of environmental impact and commercial viability. It focuses on four sectors of distinct importance and great potential impact to climate outcomes on the continent.
Food & AgriTech
The world is a farmer. We support cutting edge technology to make that farmer- and the logistics and processing that gets food on people's plates- more environmentally efficient. This leads to better personal and climate outcomes.
Portfolio:
Clean Energy
Most Africans live off grid. They need to come online. The only way this can occur without massive negative environmental effects is for the lights to turn with clean renewables from day 1. We make that happen.
Portfolio:
Mobility
African cities are growing at an alarming rate. They need solutions that optimize energy efficiency and air quality. We leverage the research and technical ability of Stellenbosch University to design these startup solutions.
Portfolio:
Energy
Efficiency
The cleanest energy is the energy we don't consume.
We love technologies that do the same amount of work (or more) but using less energy.
Portfolio:
Previous experts
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ClimateLab Program
Diagnostic Assessment
Co-Building Program
7 months
Support Services
4 months
A deep dive to assess current state of affairs and offer strategic insights
Key items analysed:
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Problem, market and team
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Burn, runway, performance
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Business model, pricing, economics
Bespoke learning content.
3 expert-led workstreams.
Weekly Business Builder sessions.
3-4 cohort sessions per program.
Observing board with check in's every two months.
Check out our FAQs below if you have any questions about the program.
SU LL Business Builder check-in twice per month.
Access to SU LaunchLab network of investors, mentors & experts.
Board check-in every two months.
Next Cohort
March 2023
Accepting four teams only from across Africa.
Application: October- early December 2022
Cohort Finalized: January 2023
Start date: March 2023
Climate Lab
Business Builder Team
First principles: solving the climate crisis is the ultimate wicked problem of our lifetime.
Our team of experienced, mission driven individuals are making this their life's work. Nothing is more important.
We roll up our sleeves to create, iterate, build, empathize and celebrate with our teams.
CEO, Stellenbosch University LaunchLab
Reformed investment banker with extensive startup experience across USA, Europe & Africa. Responsible for over $250+M USD of funds raised for African climate tech startups. Dedicated to leaving a healthy planet for his two beautiful children.
Climate Lab Director
A climate enthusiast leading the business building efforts for SU LaunchLab's climate-focused companies. Previously worked in investment banking and growth-stage technology investing, Duval is a CA(SA) and CFA charterholder.
AgriFoodTech Business Builder
A global food industry innovation, health and sustainability expert, consulting for companies to help them grow in scale, revenue, impact and innovation.