About Equator
Equator is a venture capital firm located in Nairobi, Kenya. As of Jun 2025, Equator has invested in 10 companies. It primarily invests in Seed round in Kenya based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Food and Agriculture Tech to Environment Tech and Enterprise Applications. Most recently it participated in the $***** Seed round of Open Access Energy A lot of funds co-invest with Equator, with names like Union Square Ventures sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Equator has team of 5 people including 3 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Count
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Seed & Series A
Portfolio Soonicorns
Equator's List of Top Investments
Equator has a portfolio of 10 companies. Their most notable investments are in Roam and Downforce Technologies.Their portfolio spans across Kenya, United Kingdom, United States and 2 more locations. They have invested in Food and Agriculture Tech, Environment Tech, Enterprise Applications and 9 other sectors, across stages such as Seed, Series A stages. Here is the list of top investments by Equator:Provider of end-to-end platform for distributed renewable energy finance. It accelerates capital deployment for renewable energy projects. The platform offers tools for portfolio management, supply chain credit, asset analytics, and results-based finance. It serves financiers, renewable energy companies, and equipment suppliers, streamlining project development and improving access to capital. The platform facilitates various aspects of project lifecycle, from initial financing to operational monitoring. It provides solutions to overcome bottlenecks in distributed renewable energy project development.
Key facts about Odyssey Energy Solutions
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Boulder (United States)
- Stage: Series B
- Total Funding till date: $65.8M
- Employee Count: 54 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Union Square Ventures, Founder Collective and 19 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, Sep 01, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Providing financing, inputs, training, and insurance to empower small-scale farmers. This is a technology company focused on revolutionizing farming and fostering sustainable livelihoods. It offers farmers comprehensive support, from seed to sale, including financing solutions and access to quality farming inputs. The company utilizes machine learning credit models to provide instant credit decisions, enabling farmers to purchase essential products through a digital store network. It partners with agrodealers to ensure proximity to farmers and provides agricultural training and insurance to protect investments. The goal is to transform subsistence farming into commercial farming, empowering farmers to scale successful agribusinesses and ensure food security. This is achieved through innovative solutions, redefining investment opportunities and driving positive social impact within the agricultural sector.
Key facts about Apollo Agriculture
- Founded Year: 2016
- Location: Nairobi (Kenya)
- Stage: Series B
- Total Funding till date: $70.3M
- Employee Count: 1,114 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Triodos Investment Management, SoftBank Vision Fund and 32 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, May 11, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick

3. SunCulture
Solar irrigation solutions empowering smallholder farmers with sustainable technology and financial access. The company addresses the challenges faced by smallholder farmers by providing reliable access to water, irrigation, lighting, and mobile charging through off-grid solar technology. They offer solar irrigation pump packages that include consultation, installation, training, and customer support. The company's mission is to develop and commercialize life-changing technologies that solve the daily challenges of smallholder farming households, promoting sustainable agriculture and economic empowerment. They provide a Pay-As-You-Grow option with flexible monthly installments. The company utilizes IoT-enabled solar irrigation equipment bundled with tailored advice and generates unique intelligence around usage/needs. The company claims carbon credits from the sale of solar pumps used for irrigation.
Key facts about SunCulture
- Founded Year: 2012
- Location: Nairobi (Kenya)
- Stage: Series B
- Total Funding till date: $45.5M
- Employee Count: 454 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Triodos Investment Management, SunFunder and 15 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, Feb 22, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick

4. Roam
Key facts about Roam
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Nairobi (Kenya)
- Stage: Series A
- Total Funding till date: $29M
- Employee Count: 196 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: DFC, Factor[e] Ventures and 11 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Grant (prize money), Nov 13, 2024, $*****
Provider of a digital twin for agricultural land. The platform provides soil health, water, nutrient provision, and carbon assessments. It collects data from satellites and other sources, to deliver actionable insights. They classify land based on its various context and characteristics and derive natural capital health indicators remotely using their proprietary methodology.
Key facts about Downforce Technologies
- Founded Year: 2021
- Location: Oxford (United Kingdom)
- Stage: Series A
- Total Funding till date: $4.2M
- Employee Count: 33 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: CEFC, Virescent Ventures and 3 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series A, Jun 21, 2024, $*****
Equator's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Equator has invested in 10 companies over the last 3 years, with an average of 2 new investments annually in the last 3 years. In 2025, it made 2 investments. Its most recent first time investment was in Open Access Energy.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2025 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
2024 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Equator's Investments by Stage
Equator has made 3 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $3.27M and 3 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $14.4M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Seed | 3 |
Series A | 3 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Equator's Investments by Sector
Equator has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Enterprise Applications, Environment Tech, Sustainability Tech, Energy Tech and FinTech. Notably, it has invested in 9 Tech companies, 8 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 6 Software companies and at least 3 companies focusing on Consumer (B2C).Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Enterprise Applications | 4 |
Environment Tech | 4 |
Sustainability Tech | 4 |
Energy Tech | 2 |
FinTech | 2 |
Others | 11 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Equator's Investments by Geography
Equator has made most investments in Kenya (2), followed by Luxembourg where it has made 1 investment.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Kenya | 2 |
Luxembourg | 1 |
South Africa | 1 |
United Kingdom | 1 |
United States | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Equator's recent investments
Equator has not made any investment in 2026 so far.Here are the most recent investments by Equator:
Date | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jun 17, 2025 | South Africa | Seed | 7717 | [+1] | |
Feb 27, 2025 | Kenya | Seed | 2286 | [+1] | |
Jun 25, 2024 | Luxembourg | Seed | 6395 | [+2] | |
Jun 21, 2024 | United Kingdom | Series A | 4977 | [+3] | |
Feb 14, 2024 | Kenya | Series A | 3661 | [+4] |
Team profile of Equator
Equator has a team of 5 members including 3 Partners located in United Kingdom and United States. Equator's team sits on the board of 1 company.Here is a list of all team members in Equator:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Fort Collins | |||
Partner | United Kingdom | - | ||
Partner | London | - |
Co-investors of Equator
Over the past 3 years, 49 investors have co-invested in Equator's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Equator: Factor[e] Ventures, Europa and 19 others have invested in rounds before Equator. There are 2 companies where Factor[e] Ventures has invested before Equator and 2 companies where Europa has invested before Equator.
- Top Co-investors of Equator: 17 investors entered a company along with Equator. These include investors like Union Square Ventures (1 company).
- Invested after Equator: A total of 11 investors have invested in Equator's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include British International Investment (1 company), Broadscale Group (1 company) and FMO (1 company).
Recent News related to Equator
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Kenyan logistics startup Leta expands into Ghana after $5m fundingDisruptafrica•Jul 15, 2025•Leta, Speedinvest, Equator, Google
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Open Access Energy Secures $1.8M Seed Funding to Expand AI PlatformTechgist Africa•Jul 08, 2025•Open Access Energy, Equator, E3 Capital
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Open Access Energy secures $1.8-million seed funding for SA expansionTechCentral•Jun 17, 2025•Open Access Energy, E3 Capital, Equator, Factor[e] Ventures
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Leta, a Kenyan logistics startup has secured $5 million in seed fundingTechgist Africa•Mar 30, 2025•Leta, Speedinvest, Equator
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Google, Speedinvest back Kenya’s Leta, which uses AI to make logistics cheaperTechCrunch+•Mar 18, 2025•Leta, Speedinvest, Equator
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Leta Raises $5 Million to Scale AI-Powered Logistics Platform Across AfricaTechMoran•Mar 18, 2025•Leta, Speedinvest, Google, Equator and 1 other
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Equator raises $55 million for fund to support early-stage climate tech startups in AfricaInnovation-village•Mar 11, 2025•Equator, British International Investment, Proparco, International Finance Corporation and 8 others
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Equator Announces Final Close of $55M Fund Targeting Critical Start-Up Funding Gap to Power Africa's Climate RevolutionPR Newswire•Mar 11, 2025•Equator, British International Investment, International Finance Corporation, Proparco and 13 others
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Equator Africa Fund Gets $5 Million from Proparco for Startups Addressing Climate Challenges Across AfricaTechMoran•Dec 18, 2024•Equator, Proparco
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Proparco and FMO invest $125 million in CRDB to support green lendingAfrica Business Communities•Dec 13, 2024•CRDB Bank, Proparco, FMO, Equator

