About Persistent
Persistent is a venture capital firm founded in 2012. It is primarily based out of Zurich, Switzerland. As of Apr 2026, Persistent is an active investor, having invested in 28 companies, with 1 new investment in the last 12 months. It primarily invests in Series A round in United States based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Enterprise Applications to Environment Tech and Consumer. Most recently it participated in the $***** Series A round of Dodai Overall, Persistent portfolio has seen 1 IPO and 5 acquisitions including key companies like Daystar Power, PEG Africa and Fenix International. A lot of funds co-invest with Persistent, with names like Gaia Impact sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Persistent has team of 26 people including 8 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Count
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Seed, Series A & 1 more
Portfolio IPOs
Portfolio Soonicorns
Persistent's List of Top Investments
Persistent has a portfolio of 28 companies. Their most notable investments are in Daystar Power and Oolu.Their portfolio spans across Kenya, South Africa, United States and 13 more locations. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, Environment Tech, Consumer and 17 other sectors, across stages such as Seed, Series A and 1 more. Here is the list of top investments by Persistent:_1535363472163.png?format=webp&height=120&width=120){kind=logo}
Daystar Power is an African company that offers solar system installations for businesses and consumers. Provides power solutions on a leasing basis, allowing customers to purchase power in fixed monthly instalments. Also provides remote monitoring services and power purchase agreements.
Key facts about Daystar Power
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2. Candi Solar
Provider of end-to-end solar and battery solutions for businesses. The company offers customized finance and performance solutions. It handles the complete installation process, ensuring a seamless and efficient setup. The company manages the system, guaranteeing optimal performance, energy optimisation, and reliability.
Key facts about Candi Solar
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Zurich (Switzerland)
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $66M
- Employee Count: 162 as on Jun 30, 2026
- Investors: responsAbility, Aster and 10 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Conventional Debt, Nov 28, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
3. PEG Africa
PEGA Africa is a solar products and solutions developer for improving access to power in rural regions of Africa. The company aims to reduce dependency on harmful fuels for home lighting such as kerosene, through its pay-as-you-go model of accessing solar home systems on credit to households in West Africa. They are currently operating in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire and has tied up with M-Kopa solar to deliver its systems.
Key facts about PEG Africa
- Founded Year: 2013
- Location: Accra (Ghana)
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $26M
- Employee Count: 201 - 500 as on Mar 01, 2026
- Investors: Engie, responsAbility and 17 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Conventional Debt, Oct 16, 2019, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
4. Dodai
Dodai Manufacturing PLC is a Japanese company in Ethiopia that assembles and sells electric motorcycles in Addis Ababa. They provide cost-effective scooters specifically crafted for the needs of mobility gig workers and commuters in Africa, enabling customers to rent.
Key facts about Dodai
- Founded Year: 2021
- Location: New Castle (United States)
- Stage: Series A
- Total Funding till date: $11M
- Employee Count: 94 as on Jun 30, 2026
- Investors: British International Investment, Musashi Seimitsu Industry and 8 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Conventional Debt, Apr 29, 2026, $*****
Fenix International produces power generation and energy storage solutions. The company produces the ReadySet, a plug-and-play smartbattery that can charge from solar panels, bicycle dynamo, or mains electricity to power lights, mobile phones and other devices. Fenix has customers across multiple emerging markets and core expertise in power electronics, product design and base-of-the-pyramid marketing. The company offers Ready-Pay a platform which allows customers to pay-to-own the Fenix system. This product is made specifically for African market.
Key facts about Fenix International
- Founded Year: 2009
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $16.6M
- Employee Count: 452 as on Jun 30, 2026
- Investors: Orange, Engie and 12 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Conventional Debt, Aug 03, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
Persistent's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Persistent has invested in 28 companies over the last 11 years, with an average of 1 new investment annually in the last 10 years. As of Apr 2026, it has made 2 investments in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in Dodai and most recent follow-on round was in Dodai.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2024 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2022 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
2021 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2020 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
2019 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2018 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
2017 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Persistent's Investments by Stage
Persistent has made 7 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $2.01M, 6 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $7.3M and 1 investment in Series B stage with an average round size of $12.6M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Seed | 7 |
Series A | 6 |
Series B | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Persistent's Investments by Sector
Persistent has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Energy, Environment Tech, Sustainability Tech, Enterprise Applications and Environment. Notably, it has invested in 16 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 13 Tech companies, 11 Consumer (B2C) companies and at least 7 companies focusing on Social impact.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Energy | 6 |
Environment Tech | 6 |
Sustainability Tech | 6 |
Enterprise Applications | 5 |
Environment | 5 |
Others | 25 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Persistent's Investments by Geography
Persistent has made most investments in United States (3), followed by Austria where it has made 1 investment.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United States | 3 |
Austria | 1 |
Congo | 1 |
Germany | 1 |
Ghana | 1 |
Others | 7 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Persistent's recent investments
Persistent has made 2 investments in 2026 so far - Dodai and Dodai.Here are the most recent investments by Persistent:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apr 29, 2026 | United States | Series A | 3094 | ||
Apr 29, 2026 | United States | Conventional Debt | 8843 | [+6] | |
May 27, 2024 | Congo | Seed | 1274 | - | |
Mar 28, 2024 | Austria | Seed | 2195 | [+1] | |
Oct 18, 2023 | Germany | Seed | 2593 | [+4] |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Persistent's Portfolio
1 of Persistent's portfolio company became public - BOS.Here are Persistent's portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
- | - | - | 7021 |
Acquired companies in Persistent's Portfolio
5 companies from Persistent's portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Migo in Jun 2025 by First Ally Capital for $*****.Here are Persistent's portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jun 11, 2025 | Aug 10, 2018 | Series A | 6412 | |
Apr 30, 2024 | Oct 09, 2017 | Series A | 9097 | |
Sep 28, 2022 | Mar 21, 2019 | Series A | 2928 | |
Sep 06, 2022 | - | - | 3897 | |
Oct 20, 2017 | Jan 26, 2015 | Series B | 1351 |
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Team profile of Persistent
Persistent has a team of 26 members including 8 Partners, 2 Venture Partners and 3 Principals located in Kenya, United States and 5 more locations. Persistent's team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Here is a list of top team members in Persistent:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | New York City | - | ||
Partner | Basel | - | ||
Partner | Kenya | - | ||
Partner | New York City | - | ||
Partner | Zurich | - | - | |
Partner | London | - | - | |
Partner | Yokohama | - | - | |
Partner | Kenya | - | - | |
Venture Partner | Goma | - | ||
Venture Partner | Goma | - | ||
Principal | New York City | - |
Co-investors of Persistent
Over the past 11 years, 87 investors have co-invested in Persistent's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Persistent: DEG, Nissay Capital and 21 others have invested in rounds before Persistent. There is 1 company where DEG has invested before Persistent and 1 company where Nissay Capital has invested before Persistent.
- Top Co-investors of Persistent: 31 investors entered a company along with Persistent. These include investors like Gaia Impact (2 companies).
- Invested after Persistent: A total of 33 investors have invested in Persistent's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include SunFunder (2 companies), IFC (2 companies) and Proparco (2 companies).
Recent News related to Persistent
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Persistent Energy Capital’s Africa-focused climate VC fund marks first closeVCCircle•Mar 11, 2026•Persistent
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Circadian raises 1.25 million eurosStartbase•Oct 18, 2023•BayWa re, Rockstart, Persistent, Great Stuff Ventures and 3 others
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Nigerian Energy tech company, Beacon Power Services, closes $2.7m seed roundInnovation-village•Aug 05, 2022•Beacon Power Services, Seedstars Africa Ventures, Persistent, Factor[e] Ventures and 4 others
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Persistent Energy has secured a $10 million equity round in order to expand the company’s efforts in Africa’s climate change sectorTechgist Africa•Jul 18, 2022•Persistent, IMDb, Dream Project Incubators, Kyuden International and 2 others
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Kenyan e-mobility startup Ecobodaa secures funding roundDisrupt Africa•Apr 22, 2021•Ecobodaa, Persistent
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Nigeria’s Daystar Power Raises $38 Million for Solar Access ExpansionKenyan Wall Street•Jan 13, 2021•Daystar Power, Morgan Stanley, Impact Fund, Proparco and 4 others
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West African solar startup secures $8.5-millionVentureburn•Dec 23, 2020•Oolu, RP Global, Persistent, Gaia Impact Fund and 2 others
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Power Firm Closes $8.5m Investment Deal With All On, OthersIndependent•Dec 17, 2020•Oolu, RP Global, Persistent, All On and 2 others
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Cameroonian PAYG solar startup upOwa raises $2.7m fundingDisrupt Africa•Dec 13, 2019•upOwa, REPP, Colam Impact, LITA and 3 others
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Daystar Power Gets $10million Investment To Expand Operations In Nigeria And GhanaInnovation-village•Mar 21, 2019•Daystar Power, Verod, Persistent
