🚁 Heli view: How cooling became cool

One definition of a promising startup founder, especially in impact ventures, is someone who wants to solve a big problem. 

• Well, in Africa they don’t come any bigger than the one shown in the chart above.  

It’s everywhere: Anti-heat solutions cut across sectors, driven by innovation and a (so far modest) influx of capital. 

• Most solutions tackle one facet of rising temperatures, and there are many.

The problems: Africa’s temperature is rising faster than in many other continents.

• It has increased more than 1°C since 1900.

• Projections suggest a double increase at the century’s end.

• Africa’s warming trend is notably higher than the global average. 

Why warming: The root cause obviously lies in developed countries but Africa is no bystander.

• It has the same number of cars as Britain and triple its power generation. 

• Deforestation and industrial farming also contribute to rising temperatures.

Impact, plural: We don’t yet know the extent of the impact but here is a sample.

• Humans face more vector-borne diseases, greater food insecurity, increased migration pressure and just sheer discomfort.

• Flora and fauna see habitats degraded, threats from invasive species, dwindling water resources and loss in reproductive capacity.

Tunnel light: A focus on cooling solutions is attractive for African entrepreneurs and investors given the “total addressable market”. 

• Many solutions have the potential to scale to vast numbers of consumers.

• Life in Africa is already so precarious that heat quickly causes existential needs.