Jury Member
Lyndsay Holley Handler
Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Delta40 Venture Studio
Anglophone and Lusophone Africa
Lyndsay Holley Handler
Lyndsay Holley Handler is deeply passionate about building life-changing businesses in Africa that improve quality of life and environmental sustainability. She has over 19 years of venture building experience in 20 countries across the African continent and is committed to working with entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, investors and operators who are building new clean energy, agriculture and fintech ventures in these markets.
Lyndsay is a Co-Founder & Managing Partner of the new Delta40 Venture Studio, whose mission is to increase incomes and tackle climate change in Africa by investing in energy, agriculture & mobility ventures led by diverse founders. Lyndsay is also a Partner at Delta40's sister funds Factor[e] Ventures & Equator, and a Board Director for SunFi, Gridless, Easy Solar, and Ampersand.
Before this, Lyndsay served as the CEO of Fenix International, a next-generation energy company that delivered affordable clean power to millions of people with a team of over 1,000 employees in Uganda, Nigeria, Zambia, Ivory Coast, Benin, Nigeria, Mozambique, China, Paris, and Silicon Valley. In 2018, ENGIE, the world’s largest independent electricity producer, acquired Fenix and the company continues to grow under the ENGIE Energy Access brand with the goal of bringing decentralized, decarbonized, digital energy to over 20 million people across Africa. Under Lyndsay's leadership, Fenix was known for its customer experience, pan-African footprint, and an innovative employee ownership program called Fenix Flames. Lyndsay's longtime passion and commitment to supporting entrepreneurs in Africa came from her experience working with Village Enterprise early in her career, where Lyndsay refined and scaled programs to provide seed capital, training and savings programs to over 10,000 entrepreneurs in rural Africa to reduce poverty.
Lyndsay has a BA in International Relations from Stanford University and is the recipient of several awards such as the Stanford Haas Center for Public Service Fellowship and the MTN Outstanding Women in Innovation Award. Outside of her day job, Lyndsay is a mother to two beautiful children and is passionate about creating communities that help people thrive. From Women Warrior, to She Means Business, Wild Child and co-living communities like Saranac on the Nile, Lyndsay has built many enduring initiatives that connect and empower people to create impact in the world.
About Delta40 Venture Studio
Delta40 is a new VC Fund and Venture Studio that invests in innovative clean energy, agriculture & climate fintech ventures led by experienced, diverse founders on the front lines.