Philanthropy alone cannot accelerate the restoration movement in Africa. Barka Fund will deliver technical assistance and drive private investment to startups in the restoration sector to support sustainable green growth.
Driving Private Investment to African Restoration Startups in the Great Rift Valley and Rusizi Basin
Barka Fund, a woman-led African impact fund and technical assistance provider, targets “missing middle” restoration startups that traditionally struggle to find funding from microfinance institutions and local lenders. For this project, Barka Fund utilizes the Bezos Earth Fund’s investment to target 40 restoration startups within the TerraFund for AFR100 cohort. By building technical assistance capacity, Barka Fund increases the selected startups’ bandwidth to attract and manage private investment.
Hosted trainings cover fundraising strategies and post-investment management and connect the 40 portfolio enterprises with Barka Fund’s network of co-investing institutions. Top performing businesses receive equity investments through Barka Fund’s investment arm, with other co-investing climate funds. Capacity building in investment and business management areas increase the restoration enterprises’ market readiness, enabling these oft-overlooked groups to set and reach sustainable growth milestones.