Five of 10 startups in $560,000 TECA Heat Fund Target Agriculture

News in Brief

—Five of the 10 startups selected for the TECA Heat Action Wave programme are agriculture-related, reflecting how extreme heat is affecting Nigeria’s food production chain.

—The selected ventures will jointly access $560,000 in funding, alongside business support, as Nigeria’s farmers continue to face crop stress, livestock losses, food spoilage and mounting climate pressure.

Nigeria’s worsening heat crisis is drawing fresh private-sector attention, as five of the 10 startups selected for the inaugural TECA Heat Action Wave programme are developing solutions for agriculture, food preservation, and livestock protection. 

The ventures, which will share a combined $560,000 in funding, were selected to accelerate solutions to extreme heat across the country, which has significantly affected Nigeria’s agriculture sector. These startups are entering the market at a time when extreme temperatures are already reducing farm yields, spoiling produce and increasing losses for farmers across the country.

The programme, announced by BFA Global, FSD Africa, ClimateWorks Foundation and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, is designed to back early-stage Nigerian ventures tackling the growing effects of extreme heat on agriculture, healthcare, sanitation, energy and food systems.

Agriculture Startups Lead

Among the selected ventures, Ofemini Global Limited is developing a heat-resilient logistics platform for transporting perishable farm produce, while Agiletech Operations Consulting Limited is providing hyperlocal climate and heat alerts to farmers and micro-entrepreneurs.

Farmxic is working on AI-driven soil and crop diagnostics, Doorcas Africa is applying artificial intelligence to improve livestock health and reduce heat-related mortality, and Let-It-Cold is offering solar-powered cooling systems to preserve perishable goods during heatwaves and power outages.

The remaining selected ventures include Emplaris, which is building predictive energy and heat-risk intelligence systems for hospitals, as well as other startups targeting broader heat-response needs across the economy.

Funding and support package

Each of the 10 selected firms will receive $56,000, in addition to venture-acceleration support covering product development, business model design, investor readiness and user validation.

According to the organisers, the cohort was drawn from a competitive selection process and reflects a growing climate innovation ecosystem across Lagos, Kaduna and Edo states.

The programme is expected to run through 2026 and will culminate in demo days and investor engagement opportunities, with follow-on support planned for top-performing ventures.

Climate Pressure on Food Systems

The funding comes as climate change continues to place heavy pressure on Nigeria’s food production system, especially in farming communities that depend on rainfall and have limited access to irrigation. Reports on Nigeria’s agricultural sector show that erratic rainfall, rising temperatures and extreme weather are already disrupting crop production, worsening post-harvest losses and threatening food security.

For farmers, the impact is becoming more direct. Extreme heat dries up water sources, stresses crops, reduces livestock productivity and accelerates spoilage during transport and storage. In poultry and livestock systems, heat stress can also increase mortality and lower productivity, adding to the financial burden on producers already coping with rising costs.

Organisers Speak on Funding Issues

TECA Director at BFA Global, Tyler Ferdinand, said extreme heat had become one of the biggest operational risks facing African economies, but it still receives too little investment.

He said the initiative is aimed at backing entrepreneurs building tools, services and financial products that can help people, businesses and cities function in a hotter world.

“Through TECA’s Heat Action Wave, we’re backing entrepreneurs building the tools, services, and financial products that will allow people, businesses, and cities to function in a hotter world. Our goal is not only to support these ventures but to prove that climate adaptation can become a powerful new investment frontier,” Ferdinand revealed.

FSD Africa’s Director of Early Stage Finance, Juliet Munro, stated that climate adaptation finance in Africa must be tied to practical and investable solutions, stressing that the selected ventures demonstrate what those solutions can look like.

ClimateWorks Foundation’s Senior Director of Adaptation and Resilience, Jessica Brown, warned that the cost of inaction on climate change is rising, noting that extreme heat is becoming a growing threat to workers and communities worldwide.

Temi Akinrinade of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in Nigeria said the initiative aligns with efforts to support private-sector-led climate innovation, job creation and shared prosperity