What Persistent does

Persistent is a privately-held climate venture builder and investment fund manager founded in 2012 and headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, with operational offices in Nairobi, Lagos, Geneva, New York, and a Mauritius-domiciled fund vehicle. The company invests equity capital and provides hands-on venture-building support to early-stage climate-tech startups across Africa, targeting pre-seed through Series A rounds in energy, agriculture, and resource transitions. Its core product is the $70 million Persistent Africa Climate Venture (ACV) Fund, which closed its first $52 million tranche in March 2026 alongside a $5 million Venture Building Facility. The fund uses a blended finance structure in which development finance institutions—including the African Development Bank, FSD Africa Investments, Nordic Development Fund, JICA, Soros Economic Development Fund, and Kyuden International—provide first-loss protection and priority returns to private investors, de-risking early-stage climate-tech exposure across African markets.

Persistent's venture-building model combines equity investment with operational services such as corporate structuring, interim CFO support, legal compliance, international expansion strategy, portfolio management, and fundraising assistance, as documented in testimonials from portfolio founders. Its portfolio comprises twelve companies—including Altech (DRC solar), candi Solar (South Africa C&I solar), Beacon (pay-as-you-go solar), Hohm Energy (solar marketplace), Ecobodaa (Kenya electric motorcycle taxis), SolarTaxi (Ghana EVs), TRĪ (Tanzania e-mobility), BOS (Germany smart energy), and Agrails (climate analytics)—collectively reporting 6.4 million lives improved, 21,662 jobs created, and 1.375 million tons of CO2 avoided. Revenue is generated through fund management fees on the ACV Fund, a standalone Advisory Services line, and indirectly through portfolio realizations; the company is positioned as an impact-first fund manager rather than a technology product company, with no proprietary AI/ML capabilities or licensed technology products.

Name

Persistent

Legal name

Persistent

Website

https://persistent.energy

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Persistent is a Zurich-headquartered climate venture builder that has invested in and operated early-stage climate-tech startups across Africa since 2012, deploying equity capital plus hands-on venture-building support through its $70M Africa Climate Venture Fund.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate / Clean Tech & Decarbonization Funds (FSANAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Climate Finance Funds & Green Investment Facilities (BPADACAH), Energy & Sustainability / Climate Growth Equity (FSANACAG), Sustainable/Thematic Investing (Climate, Clean Tech, Water, Biodiversity) (FSAAALAB), Climate Finance Strategy (CapEx planning, green finance, incentives & grants) (EUABAKAG)

Keywords

• Climate venture capital
• Venture building services
• Blended finance fund
• Africa climate-tech investment
• Climate-tech startup support

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Fund Management: Persistent generates revenue through management of the Persistent Africa Climate Venture Fund, a $70 million fund targeting early-stage climate-tech startups in Africa. The fund uses a blended finance model with equity investment and venture building support.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Persistent invests in and builds climate ventures in underserved markets, primarily Africa, through the $70 million Persistent Africa Climate Venture (ACV) Fund and a complementary Venture Building Services practice. The fund deploys equity from pre-seed through Series A into early-stage climate-tech startups across energy, agriculture, and resource transitions, while the venture-building team provides portfolio companies with corporate structuring, interim CFO, legal/compliance, international expansion strategy, portfolio management, and fundraising support. An Advisory Services arm extends similar climate-focused support to non-portfolio startups and investors in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Product overview

Persistent is a Mauritius-based climate-tech venture builder that has operated since 2012, providing investment capital and customized Venture Building support to early-stage climate ventures across Africa. The core offering comprises the Africa Climate Venture (ACV) Fund—a $70 million blended finance vehicle combining equity investment with venture building services. The fund targets pre-seed through Series A investments in energy, agriculture, and resource transitions, while providing portfolio companies with operational support including corporate structuring, interim CFO services, strategic advisory, and fundraising assistance. The portfolio includes twelve companies spanning solar energy, e-mobility, battery swapping, and smart energy solutions, with operations across Eastern Africa, Western Africa, and the DRC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Persistent Africa Climate Venture (ACV) Fund A $70 million Mauritius-domiciled blended-finance venture fund that invests equity from pre-seed through Series A in early-stage African climate-tech startups across energy, agriculture, and resource transitions.
• Venture Building Services Customized operational support provided to early-stage portfolio companies, including corporate structuring, interim CFO services, international expansion strategy, portfolio management, logistics support, legal compliance, and fundraising assistance.
• Advisory Services Climate-focused advisory services for startups and investors, including structuring, strategy development, and investment promotion in Sub-Saharan Africa's climate-tech sector.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,408,180 lives improved by partner companies
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Mirova Natural Capital: Mirova Natural Capital is a large asset manager investing in nature-based solutions, sustainable agriculture, and climate ventures in Africa, providing a broader incumbent comparator in climate-impact fund management.
• Breakthrough Energy Ventures: Breakthrough Energy Ventures is a global, multi-billion-dollar climate-tech VC fund backed by large corporates and billionaires; while its stage and check size are typically larger, it competes for African climate-tech deal flow at the upper end of Persistent's range.
• Climate Fund Managers (CFM): CFM is a broader emerging-markets climate blended-finance platform (with vehicles like SunFunder and Climate Investor One), providing institutional-scale capital in overlapping African renewable energy and climate themes.

Emerging players

• E3 Capital: E3 Capital is an early-stage venture fund investing in African cleantech and climate-tech startups, pursuing a similar impact-driven thesis to Persistent though typically as a minority co-investor rather than a lead venture builder.

Direct peers

• SunFunder (Climate Fund Managers): SunFunder (part of Climate Fund Managers) finances distributed solar and off-grid energy access across Africa, sharing Persistent's solar PAYG and climate-finance orientation in the same geographies and customer segment.
• Allied Climate Partners: Allied Climate Partners mobilizes blended climate finance for early-stage ventures in emerging markets, mirroring Persistent's first-loss blended finance structure and Africa climate-tech focus.
• Acumen: Acumen is a long-standing impact investor and venture builder operating across Africa and South Asia, deploying patient capital plus operational support to early-stage companies in energy, agriculture, and financial inclusion — directly comparable to Persistent's blended venture-building thesis.
• Novastar Ventures: Novastar Ventures is an East Africa-focused venture capital firm backing early-stage businesses serving low-income consumers, including climate and energy ventures — overlapping Persistent's Africa pre-seed to Series A climate thesis.

Regional players

• CFAO Group (Climate Ventures arm): CFAO is a major Africa-focused conglomerate with mobility and energy businesses; its venture/innovation activity in African climate and e-mobility overlaps with Persistent's e-mobility portfolio companies (e.g., Ecobodaa, TRÍ).

Others

• BBOXX: BBOXX is a leading African PAYG solar operator — a portfolio-company analog rather than direct competitor, but comparable as a downstream recipient of climate finance and venture-building support in Persistent's target verticals.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PersistentEnrg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/persistentnrg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments23 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Persistent