“Supporting early-stage entrepreneurs through risk capital and world-class technical resources to solve energy, agriculture, and mobility challenges across Africa.”
Delta40 is an Africa-focused venture studio launched in March 2023 by Factor[e] Ventures, a Colorado-based early-stage investor that backs companies working on energy access, agriculture, and mobility across sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. Delta40 secured $20 million in landmark funding in early 2026, backed by the Autodesk Foundation, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), IKEA Foundation, Bezos Earth Fund, and Wilson Sonsini, among others.
The venture studio model is the key differentiator: rather than just writing cheques, Delta40 develops concepts, establishes companies, recruits qualified CEOs, and maintains board participation through the company-building process. Led by Managing Partner Lyndsay Holley Handler (formerly head of Fenix International, one of Africa's largest pay-as-you-go solar companies) and Factor[e]'s Managing Principal Morgan DeFoort, the team writes cheques of $100K to $600K and takes a hands-on role in shaping companies from idea through to scale. Factor[e]'s broader portfolio includes Apollo Agriculture (Kenya, agri-fintech), ROAM (electric motorcycles), Ampersand (Rwanda, e-mobility), and Zola Electric (off-grid solar), which gives the platform deep operational knowledge in hardware-intensive climate businesses. The studio explicitly applies a gender lens, targeting female founders and diverse teams.
| Name | Role | X/Twitter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyndsay Holley Handler | Co-founder & Managing Partner, Delta40 | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Morgan DeFoort | Managing Principal, Factor[e] Ventures | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |