Persistent

Persistent is a venture builder and investor focused on Africa's climate sector. Founded in 2012 and operating as "Africa's Climate Venture Builder", the firm combines early-stage equity investment with hands-on operational support to build climate businesses alongside entrepreneurs. Its stated remit covers clean energy, energy-related ecosystem services, sustainable agriculture and resource transitions - the sectors underlying the continent's energy and agricultural shifts.

The firm's principal vehicle, the Persistent Africa Climate Venture Builder Fund, targets $70 million and pairs equity cheques with venture-building assistance for early-stage ventures. The support model is broad and structured: financial and operational management, capital raising and structuring, business analytics, human-capital advisory, technology and IT assistance, and legal, governance, ESG and marketing support. The approach is partnership-driven, with an explicit focus on building commercially successful climate businesses rather than on grant-funded or purely mission-driven models.

Persistent employs more than 25 people across five offices: Nairobi, Lagos, Senegal, New York and Zurich. The footprint spans Africa, the US and Europe, providing both on-the-ground presence in core African markets and access to international capital. Operating since 2012, the firm has spent more than a decade developing a combined investment and operating platform for climate ventures at their earliest stages.