African gender lens investment fund Alitheia IDF unveils final close at $100m

Alitheia IDF, Africa’s first and only women-led and women-focused private equity fund, has announced the final close of its US$100 million fund, which it claims is the continent’s largest gender-inclusive private equity fund.

Alitheia IDF, led by principal partners Polo Leteka and Tokunboh Ishmael, invests in early-stage companies in six African countries: Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Zambia.

The fund’s mandate is to close the more than US$42 billion investment gap between male and female entrepreneurs in order to catalyze the economic power of African women as producers, distributors, and consumers.

In 2021, the fund began putting its mandate into action by leading investment rounds in five women-led businesses: Jetstream Africa (Ghana), ReelFruit (Nigeria), SKLD (formerly SchoolKits, Nigeria), AV Light Steel (South Africa), and Chika’s Food (Nigeria).

The US$100 million close, according to Alitheia IDF, makes the fund the largest of its kind in Africa, and comes after the European Investment Bank (EIB) invested US$24.6 million as the closing investor.

“As consumers and household economic controllers, women have tremendous purchasing power around the world.” Similarly, women entrepreneurs have a significant presence in Africa’s SME sector, accounting for 58% of the continent’s self-employed population. Despite their economic power and presence, African women are underserved as consumers and producers, according to Ishmael.

“This has had a significant impact on economic growth, as more than half of the continent’s population’s potential remains untapped due to structural and systemic issues.” With a clear mandate to support women-led businesses across the continent while raising awareness of gender smart investment as a path to inclusive economic growth, we are proactively working to fill this gap.”

According to EIB vice president Thomas Östros, despite their proven performance, women-owned businesses continue to struggle to raise funding.

“I am delighted to support a true “by women for women” 2X Flagship fund that invests in companies that create job opportunities while diversifying the economy of Sub-Saharan Africa.” The EIB’s investment in Alitheia IDF is part of our SheInvest initiative, which aims to raise EUR2 billion in investment to promote gender equality and female economic empowerment across Africa. “I truly believe that gender equality strengthens societies,” he said.