Ventures Platform Closes $84M Fund II to Back African Founders
August 28, 2026
BlackTech Capital, led by co-managing partners Keyona Meeks and Bryan Duarte, has launched the Catalyst Fund to back underserved founders building cleantech solutions.
The Toronto-based venture firm has announced a first close of $500,000 CAD toward its $2 million CAD target. BlackTech Capital (BTC) aims to close the fund by year-end and invest in six early-stage companies.
The Catalyst Fund is backed by Ontario-based impact investment family office Dragonfly Ventures, BKR Capital, Canada’s largest Black-led VC fund, and a group of individual investors.
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BlackTech Capital
Founded in 2021 by Bryan Duarte, BTC is on a mission to close the funding gap, particularly for Black founders and other underrepresented groups. In Canada, only 0.15% of all VC deployed in 2024 went to Black founders, according to a study conducted by BKR and Rep Matters.
“The purpose [is] explicitly to make venture fund returns, but with a focus on the founders who are constantly overlooked, despite them bringing excellent teams, excellent technology, original IP to the table,” BTC co-managing partner Keyona Meeks said in an interview with BetaKit. “We thought with this Catalyst vehicle, we could lead the market and show them through example.”
Related post: Ventures Platform Closes $84M Fund II to Back African Founders
Making Investing More Accessible
The Catalyst Fund is run through Equivesto Canada, an angel investment and online equity crowdfunding platform. Meeks said they intentionally chose this platform because it lets people invest with minimum cheque sizes of $10,000.
“There’s still a lot of reluctance in venture investing in early-stage companies,” Duarte told BetaKit. “We’re seeing more investors come to the table saying, ‘If we can get in for as little as $10,000, let’s give this a try.” By intentionally lowering the barriers, they are creating opportunities for new investors to come to the forefront and become part of the clean tech movement.
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A Focus on Cleantech
BTC has a unique investment thesis: they focus solely on cleantech founders. While the world increasingly invests in artificial intelligence, BTC backs underrepresented founders determined to build solutions that benefit the environment. The World Economic Forum recognized them as one of the most innovative investment funds investing in people- and planet-focused entrepreneurs.
“By focusing on this field, we are aiming to identify, support, and amplify high-potential ventures poised for both measurable environmental impact and exceptional financial returns. Our specific impact targets include achieving significant greenhouse gas reductions alongside tracking metrics like liters of water conserved and tons of waste diverted,” Meeks told UrbanGeekz exclusively.
BTC has already invested in four cleantech companies. These include Serenity Power, founded by Aliesha Reese Cerny, which creates low-emission power with solid oxide fuel cells, and Kiwi Charge, led by Abdel Ali, which makes an electric vehicle charging robot. They plan to invest in two more before the year ends and keep half of its portfolio woman-founded.
Main image: Keyona Meeks and Bryan Duarte, the Co-GP’s of Black Tech Capital with Aaron Fitzgerald (center), the founder of Mars Materials (a BTC portfolio company): Image Credit BlackTech Capital
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