ClimaFii Aliiance announces first cohorts of climate-smart solutions

The ClimaFii Alliance last week announced its inaugural cohort of 18  startups developing emission-reducing technologies tailored to the needs of micro-entrepreneurs across Africa and India.

These ventures are delivering clean, affordable innovations ranging from electric mobility and solar-powered logistics to clean cooking and productive-use financing, all designed to increase incomes while lowering emissions in last-mile markets.

In February a call for proposals was issued. More than 300 applications were received and assessed. Special prominence was given to those businesses serving low-income customers on a commercial basis, and for businesses with strong gender intentionality.

BFA Global and Upaya Social Ventures, the alliance implementation partners in sub-Saharan Africa and India respectively, announced the first cohort of companies that will receive bespoke venture-building support, catalytic capital, and financial product design assistance to make climate technologies more accessible and affordable for micro-entrepreneurs.

ClimaFii’s first Africa cohort

• EnerGrow (Uganda) – Financing productive-use appliances to help MSMEs grow income and energy access.
• Farm Warehouse (Nigeria) – Empowering Nigerian farmers with solar-powered hubs for agri-tools and market access.
• ICE Solar(Nigeria) – Delivering stable, affordable power to MSMEs via embedded solar microgrids.
• Instollar(Nigeria)– Matching solar companies with trained, on-demand technicians for quality installations.
• Lake Farms (Zambia) – Scaling clean aquaculture through solar cold-chain logistics and sustainable fish farming.
• Mbay Mobility (Senegal) – Enabling unbanked drivers to own EVs and access financial services through e-mobility.
• Mega Gas(Kenya) – Converting plastic waste into clean, affordable cooking gas for low-income households.
• Pollen Patrollers(Kenya) – Boosting farmer yields and beekeeper income with solar-powered pollination tech.
• Songa Mobility (Kenya) – Providing rural EV logistics that connect smallholder farmers to markets sustainably.
• Zuhura Solutions (Kenya) – Powering Kenya’s street food vendors with clean, solar and bioethanol cooking trolleys.

ClimaFii’s first India cohort

• Accelero (eBik) – Promoting sustainable mobility with electric bicycles and cargo tricycle kits, empowering farmers and labourers.
• BiofuelCircle – Connecting rural biomass aggregation with an e-commerce platform for trading biofuels
• Biofuels Junction Pvt Ltd – Aggregating biofuels and biomass in India, to process agricultural residues into briquettes and pellets.
• Buyofuel’s – B2B marketplace connecting FPOs and biofuel manufacturers, with buyers, trading biofuels with digital onboarding.
• Fyn Mobility – Offering B2B electric fleet services for logistics and ride-hailing with 2W/3W EVs, supporting gig workers in e-commerce and food delivery.
• Mechanify – Providing refurbished 2W/3W EVs to gig workers via a Driver-cum-Owner model with loans and maintenance.
• Rudra Solar Energy – Manufacturing solar dryers in Ahmedabad, distributed via partner networks, helping farmers process crops.
• Sakhi Unique Rural Enterprise Private Limited (SURE) – Empowering women micro-entrepreneurs in India’s climate-vulnerable regions with biodigesters and solar tools.

Micro-entrepreneurs form the economic backbone of Emerging Markets, yet their livelihoods are increasingly vulnerable to climate change, and they often can’t access reliable energy, limiting their ability to grow and adapt to climate risks.

The ClimaFii Alliance is changing this, enabling access to climate-smart solutions for micro-entrepreneurs by supporting innovative SMEs and startups across sectors. With tailored financing, partnerships, and technical support, the first ClimaFii cohort companies will help micro-entrepreneurs increase their incomes while lowering emissions, build climate resilience and thriving market economies.