Three girls fund managers chosen to obtain Visa’s grant funding from the African Girls Affect Fund Initiative

Three girls fund managers from Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa have been chosen to obtain Visa’s grant funding from the African Girls Affect Fund Initiative (AWIF), a collaboration between Normal Financial institution and the United Nations Financial Fee for Africa (UNECA).

SME.NG (Nigeria), Altree Capital (Kenya) and Maia Capital (South Africa) are the chosen recipients and can utilise the grants for his or her warehousing capital must put money into women-owned entrepreneurs throughout a variety of sectors.

Final yr Visa introduced a grant to the AWIF as an extension of the She’s Subsequent program, a worldwide advocacy program for women-owned companies which have been expanded to Sub-Saharan Africa to additional champion and strengthen African girls enterprise homeowners as they construct, maintain, and advance their companies

“We’re proud to increase our efforts to empower girls entrepreneurs to the fund administration area. Girls fund managers in Africa proceed to face quite a few challenges in constructing sustainable companies. Their progress continues to be sluggish resulting from systematic obstacles and investor bias. Our collaboration with AWIF will speed up the multiplier impact of funding throughout your entire worth chain the place women-owned companies exist” says Aida Diarra, Senior Vice President & Head of Sub-Saharan Africa at Visa.

Girls fund managers in Africa proceed to face quite a few challenges in constructing sustainable companies. Analysis reveals slow-moving progress within the visibility and inclusion of ladies fund managers resulting from systematic obstacles and investor bias. With African girls accounting for simply 7.6% of personal fairness and women-led companies receiving solely 7% of Non-public Fairness (PE) and Enterprise Capital (VC) in rising markets, this highlights the alternatives that exist to scale back the present gender gaps.

“While you put money into girls, you additionally put money into their communities. Investments that go into the fingers of ladies fund managers not solely go in direction of the expansion and sustainability of the businesses they put money into however the girls who’re a part of the worth chain of those firms. We’re proud to have chosen managers who’ve demonstrated their means to help the expansion and improvement of their communities, and thru the grant, these managers will now be in a greater place to scale up their efforts and impression the lives of many extra women-led companies,” says Lindeka Dzedze. World Markets Head of Strategic Partnership at Normal Financial institution Group.

The collection of the grant recipients was via a due diligence course of managed by the appointed funding supervisor of the AWIF Initiative, Riscura. The rigorous choice standards had been in alignment with the goals of Visa’s She’s Subsequent programme and AWIF that are to assist women-owned companies thrive and to help and develop girls fund managers, respectively.

Dinao Lerutla, the Managing Associate of South African-based fund supervisor, Maia Capital, describes her organisation because the nexus between non-public capital and inclusive development. “At Maia Capital, we’re very intentional about guaranteeing that our investments positively and immediately impression the low-to-middle earnings households in South Africa and generate a return for buyers. Now we have a bias in direction of girls companies and companies that promote gender inclusion all through the worth chain. By way of our focused investments, we hope to contribute to financial restoration that’s sustainable and inclusive. For this reason our funding themes embody training, healthcare, housing, clear expertise, monetary inclusion, and gender inclusion” she provides.

Jenni Chamberlain, CEO of Altree Capital Kenya, is the Funding Supervisor of the Altree Kadzi Gender Local weather Fund is without doubt one of the chosen fund managers. The Fund invests with a gender-lens and climate-smart strategy in sub-Saharan Africa, with a powerful East African presence.

She explains: “Now we have 4 funding pillars that we deal with once we have a look at an funding, particularly, girls entrepreneurs, girls in management (the enterprise will need to have 30% or extra of ladies in administration or on the board), employers of ladies (over 30% girls in employment) and/or merchandise & companies that may enhance the lives of ladies.

The Altree Kadzi Gender Local weather Fund will utilise the funding to put money into women-led and women-oriented firms, additionally driving sustainability and local weather adaptation and mitigation methods.  By deliberately specializing in girls and local weather, Altree will present help not solely to the investee firms but in addition to firms within the larger funding worth chain, guaranteeing gender-equity mainstreaming and sustainability.

“There are quite a few obstacles to African girls accessing finance for his or her companies; women-led companies are an vital but missed sector of the economic system. These firms are rising quickly and entry to finance will enhance their development trajectory exponentially. Altree will show the power of those firms to supply robust returns for feminine entrepreneurs and buyers alike. Not solely are girls most affected by local weather change however girls are early adopters of local weather mitigation and adaptation applied sciences and options, in addition to robust profit multipliers. Supporting women-led and oriented companies empowers girls, ensures local weather motion, and can remodel economies and societies” Ms Chamberlain provides.

Thelma Ekiyor, the co-founder of SME.NG, says her funding platform is pushed by a gender lens funding philosophy specializing in the underside of the pyramid.

The agency leverages non-public capital, public sector investments and philanthropic donations to deploy capital to impact-oriented feminine entrepreneurs. As an indigenous gender lens impression investor, SME.NG is dedicated to offering non-financial help that addresses the challenges women-owned companies face, alongside monetary capital. SME.NG is differentiated by the truth that it has a presence throughout eleven states of Nigeria slightly than being concentrated in Lagos or Abuja, which makes its attain and impression important. Among the small enterprise SMEs.NG will put money into embody companies like NicNax Firm – an organization that collaborates with native farmers to course of wholesome breakfast and snack choices. Well-liked manufacturers are granola and peanut butter, at the moment out there at most retail shops and eateries in Lagos. SME.NG can even put money into Smiley’s Cellular Kitchen – an organization that sources natural tomatoes from small-holder farmers and processes them into Nigerian “stew” bases, tomato and peppers purees and pastes.

“Now we have recognized girls companies which have the potential to succeed throughout completely different sectors and we intentionally put loads of emphasis on how girls are impacted within the worth chains of those firms. The grant from Visa and AWIF will assist us strengthen our funding pipeline,” says Ms Ekiyor.

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