Impact investing has an important role to play in the transformation of communities and countries. Since 2019, Katapult has been in a dialogue with the government, private sector, academia and entrepreneurial ecosystem of Mauritius to explore how they can take part in building a thriving ecosystem for sustainable innovation.

“The first milestone in our exploratory journey is now complete. We believe Mauritius in a few years time can demonstrate to the world how system change can be designed and implemented; change that makes it possible to meet the global sustainability goals by 2030,” says Thomas Berman, head of Katapult’s initiative in Mauritius.

“Katapult is ready to play an active and long term role, but we will only succeed if we are able to attract, collaborate and partner with people and organisations that are ready to work towards a shared vision for Mauritius: a global example for sustainable innovation and change,” continues Thomas.

After connecting with international experts and meeting a wide variety of people and organisations in Mauritius, Katapult has used 2021 to form several close partnerships and is now launching two new initiatives.

Both initiatives are early building blocks in making Mauritius a laboratory for sustainable innovation and the future economy. A laboratory that aims to create a tipping point for sustainable change, by:

Katapult is now moving into a second phase in Mauritius where they will firm up their strategy and theory for change and more importantly, implement and scale the first two initiatives: an accelerator program and an infrastructure for collaboration.

Initiative #1 – Katapult Mauritius Accelerator

Katapult’s flagship impact accelerator for global tech startups is now being set up in Mauritius. The first accelerator program will focus on regenerative food and agtech targeting the African market. Katapult’s Accelerator Program will recruit the best global companies and provide them the tools, network and financial support for success.

Owned by: Katapult
Fund size: EUR 1,5M
Size: 10-15 startups (pre-seed/seed)
Period: October 2021 – June 2022
Location: Ferney Agri-hub, Mauritius
Status: Two large private groups in Mauritius are confirmed as lead investors and Katapult is now initiating dialogue with national and international impact investors

Katapult already has 15 African companies in their portfolio and a good track record for both impact and financial performance within the startup environments across the African continent.

Initiative #2 – Regeneration Mauritius

Regeneration Mauritius is an open infrastructure for collaboration and partnership, built to ignite sustainable food system change. The infrastructure has been developed and piloted in Norway. Katapult has had a leading role in building the initiative the last 12 months and will now be joining Regeneration Mauritius as one of several Infrastructure Partners. Regeneration Mauritius was recently selected to enter the Food System Game Changer Lab.

Owned by: Non-profit association owned by its members
Funding (est.): EUR 600,000 (per year)
Period: August 2021 – December 2030
Status: 16 organisations are onboard as Infrastructure Partners and they are inviting others to join them before launch

Katapult will also be establishing an accelerator and fund for startups within agtech, foodtech and climate, in Kigali, Rwanda, and they expect substantial collaboration and synchronization between our African initiatives.

“We invite the community to learn more about our work in Mauritius and are always looking for collaborators who are interested in joining this important journey!” says Thomas.

Please contact Thomas Berman for more information.