Global Courant 2023-05-04 18:46:37
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Three female fund managers from Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa have been selected to receive Visa funding from the African Women Impact Fund Initiative (AWIF), a partnership 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 use the grants for their storage capital needs to invest in female entrepreneurs across a range of sectors.
Last year, Visa announced a grant to the AWIF as an extension of its She’s Next program, a global advocacy program for women-owned businesses that has expanded to Sub-Saharan Africa to further support and empower African women entrepreneurs in build, support, and advance their businesses.
“We are proud to be expanding our efforts to empower female entrepreneurs into the fund management space. Women fund managers in Africa continue to face numerous challenges in building sustainable businesses. Their progress remains slow due to systematic barriers and investor bias. Our partnership with AWIF will accelerate the multiplier effect of funding across the value chain where women-owned businesses exist,” said 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 progress is being made in the visibility and inclusion of female fund managers due to systematic barriers and investor bias. Given that African women represent only 7.6% of private equity and women-led companies receive only 7% of Private Equity (PE) and Venture Capital (VC) in emerging markets, this highlights the opportunity to close the current gender gap. reduce.
“When you invest in women, you also invest in their communities. Investments made by female fund managers go not only to the growth and sustainability of the companies they invest in, but also to 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 and affect the lives of many more women-led people. companies,” says Lindeka Dzedze. Global Markets Head of Strategic Partnership at Standard Bank Group.
The selection of the grant recipients took place through a due diligence process managed by the appointed investment manager of the AWIF initiative, Riscura. The rigorous selection criteria were consistent with Visa’s She’s Next program and AWIF objectives of helping women-owned businesses and supporting and developing female fund managers, respectively.
Dinao Lerutla, the Managing Partner of South Africa-based fund manager Maia Capital, describes her organization as the link between private capital and inclusive growth. “At Maia Capital, we are very conscious of ensuring that our investments have a positive and direct impact on South Africa’s low to middle income households and generate a return for investors. We have a preference for female companies and companies that promote gender integration throughout the value chain. With our targeted investments, we hope to contribute to an economic recovery that is sustainable and inclusive. That 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 and 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 presence in East Africa.
She explains: “We have four investment pillars that we focus on when we look at an investment, namely women entrepreneurs, women in leadership (the company must have 30% or more women in management or on the board), employers of women (more than 30% working women) and/or products and services that improve women’s lives The Altree Kadzi Gender Climate Fund will use the funding to invest in women-led and women-focused businesses, as well as sustainability and climate adaptation and mitigation strategies By consciously focusing on women and climate, Altree will support not only the companies it invests in, but also companies across the larger investment value chain, integrating gender equality and ensuring sustainability.
“There are numerous barriers for African women to access finance for their businesses; women-led businesses are an important but overlooked sector of the economy. These companies are growing rapidly and access to finance will exponentially improve their growth trajectory. Altree will prove the ability of these companies to deliver strong returns for female entrepreneurs and investors alike. Not only are women most affected by climate change, but women are also early adopters of climate mitigation and adaptation technologies and solutions, as well as strong benefit multipliers. Supporting women-led and oriented businesses empowers women, drives climate action and will transform economies and societies,” added Ms Chamberlain.
The company leverages private capital, public sector investments and philanthropic donations to deploy capital for impact-driven female entrepreneurs. SME.NG is an Indigenous investor with a gender lens and, in addition to financial capital, is committed to providing non-financial support to address the challenges faced by women-owned businesses. SME.NG is distinguished by the fact that it has a presence in eleven states of Nigeria rather than being concentrated in Lagos or Abuja, which makes its reach and impact significant. Some of the small businesses that SME.NG will invest in include companies such as NicNax Company – a company that partners with local farmers to incorporate healthy breakfast and snack options. Popular brands include the granola and peanut butter, currently available at most shops and eateries in Lagos. SME.NG will also invest in Smiley’s Mobile Kitchen – a company that sources organic tomatoes from small farmers and processes them into Nigerian tomato and pepper stews, purées and pastes.
“We have identified female companies that have the potential to succeed in various industries and we have deliberately placed a lot of emphasis on how women are impacted in these companies’ value chains. The grant from Visa and AWIF will help us strengthen our investment pipeline,” said Ms. Ekiyor.
