Maxime Bayen
Operating Partner, Catalyst Fund
Maxime is an Operating Partner, Catalyst Fund, leading portfolio support and value creation for 40 climate-resilient startups across Africa. He focuses on guiding companies on strategy, growth, fundraising, and market positioning to drive their long-term success. He also co-leads sourcing, investment, and fundraising activities for the fund and is the co-founder of Africa: The Big Deal, the largest database and insights platform on African startup funding.
He has led over 35 early-stage equity investments on the continent, including 25 with Catalyst Fund, 4 with Greentec Capital, and 4 as an angel investor. Previously, he served as Senior Company Builder at Greentec Capital Partners, supporting startups in logistics, agriculture, recycling, and digital commerce. Earlier in his career, Maxime worked with GSMA as Insights Director for the Ecosystem Accelerator and M4D Utilities programs, and began his career in telecom and digital consulting at Delta Partners, Altai Consulting, and Peppers & Rogers.
His expertise spans venture capital, portfolio management, startup development, and fundraising strategy, particularly in climate tech, agriculture & food systems, insurtech & fintech, waste management, energy access, and digital infrastructure. He holds an MBA from ESSEC Business School and has completed executive programs in Venture Finance at Oxford Saïd, Venture Capital at INSEAD, and VC Fund Structure & Returns at 500 Global. He is fluent in French and English, with working knowledge of German and basic Spanish.
