Three women fund managers from
Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa have been selected to receive Visa’s grant
funding from the African Women Impact Fund Initiative (AWIF), a collaboration
between Standard Bank and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
(UNECA).
SME.NG (Nigeria), Altree Capital (Kenya), and Maia Capital
(South Africa) are the selected recipients and will utilise the grants for
their warehousing capital needs to invest in women-owned entrepreneurs across a
range of sectors.
Last year Visa announced a grant to the AWIF as
an extension of the She’s Next program, a global advocacy program
for women-owned businesses that have been expanded to Sub-Saharan Africa to
further champion and strengthen African women business owners as they build,
sustain, and advance their businesses
“We are proud to extend our efforts to empower women
entrepreneurs to the fund management space. Women fund managers in Africa
continue to face numerous challenges in building sustainable businesses. Their
progress continues to be slow due to systematic barriers and investor bias. Our
collaboration with AWIF will accelerate the multiplier effect of funding across
the entire value chain where women-owned businesses exist” says Aida Diarra,
Senior Vice President & Head of Sub-Saharan Africa at Visa.
Women fund managers in Africa continue to face numerous
challenges in building sustainable businesses. Research shows slow-moving
progress in the visibility and inclusion of women fund managers due to
systematic barriers and investor bias. With African women accounting for just
7.6% of private equity and women-led businesses receiving only 7% of Private
Equity (PE) and Venture Capital (VC) in emerging markets, this highlights the
opportunities that exist to reduce the current gender gaps.
“When you invest in women, you also invest in their
communities. Investments that go into the hands of women fund managers not only
go towards the growth and sustainability of the companies they invest in but
the women who are part of the value chain of these companies. We are proud to
have selected managers who have demonstrated their ability to support the
growth and development of their communities, and through the grant, these
managers will now be in a better position to scale up their efforts and impact
the lives of many more women-led businesses,” says Lindeka Dzedze. Global
Markets Head of Strategic Partnership at Standard Bank Group.
The selection of the grant recipients was through a due
diligence process managed by the appointed investment manager of the AWIF
Initiative, Riscura. The rigorous selection criteria were in alignment with the
objectives of Visa’s She’s Next programme and AWIF which are
to help women-owned businesses thrive and to support and develop women fund
managers, respectively.
Dinao Lerutla, the Managing Partner of South African-based
fund manager, Maia Capital, describes her organisation as the nexus between
private capital and inclusive growth. “At Maia Capital, we are very intentional
about ensuring that our investments positively and directly impact the
low-to-middle income households in South Africa and generate a return for
investors. We have a bias towards women businesses and businesses that promote
gender inclusion throughout the value chain. Through our targeted investments,
we hope to contribute to economic recovery that is sustainable and inclusive.
This is why our investment themes include education, healthcare, housing, clean
technology, financial inclusion, and gender inclusion” she adds.
Jenni Chamberlain, CEO of Altree Capital Kenya, is the
Investment Manager of the Altree Kadzi Gender Climate Fund is one of the
selected fund managers. The Fund invests with a gender-lens and
climate-smart approach in sub-Saharan Africa, with a strong East African
presence.
She explains: “We have four investment pillars that we focus
on when we look at an investment, namely, women entrepreneurs, women in
leadership (the business must have 30% or more of women in management or on the
board), employers of women (over 30% women in employment) and/or products &
services that will improve the lives of women.
The Altree Kadzi Gender Climate Fund will utilise the
funding to invest in women-led and women-oriented companies, also driving
sustainability and climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. By
intentionally focusing on women and climate, Altree will provide support not
only to the investee companies but also to companies in the greater investment
value chain, ensuring gender-equity mainstreaming and sustainability.
“There are numerous barriers to African women accessing
finance for their businesses; women-led businesses are an important yet
overlooked sector of the economy. These companies are growing rapidly and
access to finance will improve their growth trajectory exponentially. Altree
will prove the ability of these companies to produce strong returns for female
entrepreneurs and investors alike. Not only are women most affected by climate
change but women are early adopters of climate mitigation and adaptation
technologies and solutions, as well as strong benefit multipliers. Supporting
women-led and oriented firms empowers women, ensures climate action, and will
transform economies and societies” Ms Chamberlain adds.
Thelma Ekiyor, the co-founder of SME.NG, says her investment
platform is driven by a gender lens investment philosophy focusing on the
bottom of the pyramid.
The firm leverages private capital, public sector
investments, and philanthropic donations to deploy capital to impact-oriented
female entrepreneurs. As an indigenous gender lens impact investor, SME.NG is
committed to providing non-financial support that addresses the challenges
women-owned businesses face, alongside financial capital. SME.NG is differentiated
by the fact that it has a presence across eleven states of Nigeria rather than
being concentrated in Lagos or Abuja, which makes its reach and impact
significantly. Some of the small business SMEs.NG will invest in include
businesses like NicNax Company – a company that collaborates with local farmers
to process healthy breakfast and snack options. Popular brands are granola and
peanut butter, currently available at most retail stores and eateries in Lagos.
SME.NG will also invest in Smiley’s Mobile Kitchen – a company that sources
organic tomatoes from small-holder farmers and processes them into Nigerian
“stew” bases, tomato and peppers purees, and pastes.
“We have identified women businesses that have the potential
to succeed across different sectors and we deliberately put a lot of emphasis
on how women are impacted in the value chains of these companies. The grant
from Visa and AWIF will help us strengthen our investment pipeline,” says Ms. Ekiyor.
By: Kanto Okanta
