Aruwa Capital Annual Female Fund Managers List For Africa 2024

For International Women’s Day 2024, Aruwa Capital Management proudly highlights for the second year in a row, the achievements of the 49 women across 35 funds who have overcome obstacles to successfully close funds in Africa. These exceptional women serve as sources of inspiration, leading the way for gender equality in venture capital and private equity.

Back in 2019 when we started this research, we could only see 10 female founded and led funds that had successfully closed their funds since 2008. Last year this increased to 24 female led funds and this year has increased to 35 funds. Every year we continue to make progress as more attention is brought to the importance of women in investment roles, however we still have a long way to go to achieve gender equality.

Female fund managers are three times more likely to invest in a female CEO and twice as likely to invest in a female owned business. In 2023 less than 2.5% of capital went to female led businesses in Africa.

Until we address the disparity amongst capital allocators, this gender funding gap will continue to persist. Bridging the gender funding gap is not only a matter of fairness but also essential for unleashing the full potential of our economies and societies. Female founders are generating 2.5x more revenue than their male counterparts for every dollar invested according to BCG.

Embracing the theme of International Women’s Day 2024 #iwd2024, “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress,” we reaffirm our dedication to investing in women and we are pleased to spotlight the dynamic track record female fund managers bring to the table, the advantages of gender diversity and also highlight the vast untapped potential that is inherent in investing in women.

Let’s applaud these remarkable female fund managers and role models, who despite the challenges, demonstrate the essence of women’s economic empowerment.

We applaud your tenacity and persistence against all odds.