The relevance of climate is critical to Africa's future, and as a continent, we don't get together enough as a community in technology to discuss what's going on and how we can build solutions together.

This is according to Melvyn Lubega, an accomplished technology entrepreneur and investor, who recently spoke with ITWeb Africa on climate-tech potential for African start-ups.

Lubega is a partner at Breega, one of EMEA's fastest-growing early-stage venture capital investors, with over $700 million in assets under management. The firm invests in disruptive technologies that address substantial economic and societal challenges.

In a video interview, hosted by ITWeb Africa’s editor Samuel Mungadze, Lubega discussed the importance of amplifying Africa's voice in global climate tech conversations.

He also highlighted some of the obstacles and opportunities that African start-ups face, particularly in addressing societal challenges using technology.

The interview with Lubega was recorded on the sidelines of AfricArise Founder's Bootcamp in Nairobi, Kenya, during the AfricArena Nairobi Summit: Africa Climate Tech Week. Lubega was in attendance, along with other investors, seeking to invest in start-ups that are developing uniquely African solutions.

More than 20 businesses involved in the continent's green economy attended the intensive pre-summit AfricArise Founder's Bootcamp training programme.

Following the interview in Nairobi, ITWeb Africa journalist Samuel Mungadze was joined by Melyvn Lubega, Partner at venture capital business Breega.

The start-ups are active in clean tech, climate tech, agri-tech, and/or circular economy sectors.

Following the boot camp, the start-ups took part in five-minute pitch battles at the AfricArena Nairobi Summit: Africa Climate Tech Week and were challenged by investors to defend their solutions, as part of their capital raising efforts.

Each of the start-ups, which included cohorts from the Korea-Africa Foundation, SAIS supported by GIZ, and Digital Africa, demonstrated why Africa's green economy is expanding as a result of technological potential and how to combine it with green finance to address the continent's pressing environmental issues.

Each competing start-up won $25,000 in AWS Activate credits and will compete in the final round towards end of the year in Cape Town the AfricArena Grand Summit alongside the other regional winners from the AfricArena Tour 2024.

This year, AfricArena will organise 6 hybrid events across 4 regions in Africa, building up to the annual AfricArena Summit in Cape Town.