Ground Squirrel Ventures

Fortis Green Renewables Investment Management provides flexible capital to renewable energy assets in Sub-Saharan Africa. The management team has extensive African investment experience: $14 billion across 20 African countries. The company was founded in 2020 and is based in Kigali, Africa.

Money254 is an integrated financial services marketplace that operates a loan comparison platform designed to enhance transparency and accessibility in financial decision-making. It aggregates and reviews a wide range of financial and insurance products from established institutions, allowing users in Kenya to efficiently search and compare these offerings. By centralizing financial and insurance services into one database, Money254 aims to simplify the process for customers, facilitating informed choices in a fast and transparent manner.

4G Capital is a Nairobi-based company founded in 2013, dedicated to providing unsecured credit to small business owners in Africa's informal markets. Focused on supporting micro-enterprises, particularly in low-income sectors, the company offers working capital loans alongside bespoke financial literacy training. Utilizing proprietary machine learning technology, 4G Capital delivers tailored credit products and services to clients, enabling them to leverage micro-loans effectively for sustainable business growth. Loans can be accessed rapidly through mobile money, ensuring a streamlined experience for entrepreneurs who often lack traditional forms of credit due to high collateral demands. With a significant emphasis on supporting female traders, rural businesses, and micro-entrepreneurs in various sectors—including agriculture and trade—4G Capital aims to close the substantial finance gap across Africa. The company has achieved impressive collection rates and has expanded its impact to over one million individuals through ongoing operations in Kenya and Uganda, while continuing to scale its services across the continent.

Dr CADx is an artificial intelligence-based healthcare company founded in 2016 and based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The company specializes in developing a platform that utilizes deep learning algorithms to enhance the accuracy of medical image diagnosis. By employing advanced computer-aided diagnostic systems, Dr CADx assists healthcare professionals in interpreting medical images and recognizing disease patterns more effectively. This innovative approach aims to improve diagnostic precision while reducing costs, ultimately supporting better patient care.

GET IT is providing produce and dry goods delivery services, including cold storage, beginning with hotels and restaurants. Through its focus on systems, training and superior execution, GET IT seeks to solve the deficiency of cold storage and logistics services in Rwanda and beyond. The company sources produce directly from farmers, cutting out several middlemen who add little value, providing higher quality products at lower cost. GET IT is also introducing new, high demand products to the East African market.

4G Capital is a Nairobi-based company founded in 2013, dedicated to providing unsecured credit to small business owners in Africa's informal markets. Focused on supporting micro-enterprises, particularly in low-income sectors, the company offers working capital loans alongside bespoke financial literacy training. Utilizing proprietary machine learning technology, 4G Capital delivers tailored credit products and services to clients, enabling them to leverage micro-loans effectively for sustainable business growth. Loans can be accessed rapidly through mobile money, ensuring a streamlined experience for entrepreneurs who often lack traditional forms of credit due to high collateral demands. With a significant emphasis on supporting female traders, rural businesses, and micro-entrepreneurs in various sectors—including agriculture and trade—4G Capital aims to close the substantial finance gap across Africa. The company has achieved impressive collection rates and has expanded its impact to over one million individuals through ongoing operations in Kenya and Uganda, while continuing to scale its services across the continent.

MyPerfectStitch manufactures an array of stylish and desirable boutique items that embraces Zambian fashion and modern needs.

Kakbima is an insurtech company that provides a software-as-a-service platform for insurance management and distribution. The platform tracks policies, claims, and premiums for both conventional and micro-insurance, and connects insurers, distribution partners, and customers to facilitate buying, managing, and selling insurance. It supports flexible product development and distribution channels, enables quote generation, and offers real-time risk analytics. The solution serves individuals, agents, brokers, micro-insurers, and insurers, expanding coverage and accessibility of insurance worldwide. Kakbima is based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Kwara GmbH is a technology company that specializes in developing a digital banking platform tailored for savings and credit co-operative societies (SACCOs). Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany, with an additional office in Nairobi, Kenya, Kwara aims to modernize credit unions by providing a comprehensive cloud-based solution. The platform facilitates loan application servicing and approval for members, while also offering integration services, customer support, real-time financial tracking, and compliance assistance. Kwara's offerings include Kwara Pronto, a tool for managing loans. Currently, the company serves over 200 SACCOs across Kenya, South Africa, and the Philippines, enabling these financial institutions to enhance their operations and improve access to formal financial services.

Virunga Power is an electric utility company that develops, invests, and operates of renewable power projects and rural distribution grids. Their focus is on megawatt-scale rural utility projects across several countries in East Africa and beyond with a goal of bringing high-quality, low-cost power to rural communities that currently lack reliable access to modern energy. They engage local and regional stakeholders to tailor renewable power solutions to match local needs and resources. The company's mission is to build the leading rural utility company in sub-Saharan Africa and to continuously strive to bring the full benefits of electrification to new rural communities and consumers in a sustainable manner. It provides clean electricity to communities living in and around Virunga National Park in North Kivu, Eastern Congo.

DO4Africa operates a collaborative platform focused on identifying and listing digital projects across Africa. The company specializes in the aggregation and dissemination of up-to-date data on technical and social innovations. By promoting open datasets, DO4Africa aims to facilitate the sharing of information, thereby enabling businesses to accelerate their digital transformation initiatives. Through its platform, it seeks to enhance visibility and collaboration among stakeholders involved in digital development, ultimately contributing to the growth of the digital economy in the region.

SunFunder Inc. is a solar energy finance company based in San Francisco, California, that specializes in providing various forms of financing to solar energy enterprises, particularly in emerging markets. Founded in 2012, the company offers short-term working capital, inventory, construction, and structured finance loans to solar product distributors, manufacturers, and project developers primarily in East and West Africa, as well as Asia. SunFunder's mission is to catalyze the development of solar energy infrastructure by leveraging its expertise in the solar market and facilitating efficient due diligence processes. By acting as a financial intermediary, SunFunder enables investors to engage in high-impact, fixed-income debt offerings that support the growth of solar assets in regions with inadequate energy access.

Baobab Network is an accelerator for early-stage technology ventures operating across Sub-Saharan Africa, with offices in Nairobi, South Africa, Nigeria and London. It supports startups by providing funding, guidance and a growth platform in exchange for equity, helping companies scale through mentorship and access to resources. The organization connects early-stage businesses with talent and investors worldwide, offering leadership development programs, planning and consulting services, entrepreneurship training, and talent recruitment. It helps startups with strategy design, resource planning and utilization to improve revenue and pursue finance more effectively. Baobab Network concentrates on enabling technology-driven companies across the continent to accelerate growth and reach international markets through its global network.

OffGridBox is a company that specializes in delivering renewable energy and clean water solutions to remote areas and developing countries through its innovative OffGridBox™ system. This modular unit, housed within a compact 6x6x6 feet shipping container, is equipped with the necessary technology to generate electricity and purify water. OffGridBox aims to address the needs of over 2 billion people who lack access to reliable energy and clean water. Each unit can serve approximately 300 families, potentially impacting around 1,500 individuals, and is often managed by local cooperatives, such as women-led organizations in Rwanda. The company has successfully deployed 38 units across nine countries, including Italy, South Africa, Rwanda, Nigeria, the Philippines, Madagascar, the United States, and Colombia, serving various sectors such as humanitarian efforts, household retail, and industrial services. To date, these units have accumulated over 400,000 working hours, demonstrating their effectiveness and sustainability.