Aruwa Capital Management, a leading equities and investment firm in Lagos, has revealed that its first institutional fund received more applications than projected and raised more than its $20 million target.

An early state growth equity and gender lens investment firm, Aruwa Capital was formed and is managed by women.

Visa Foundation served as the fund’s initial institutional and anchor partner. Other investors, such as Mastercard Foundation Africa, thereafter joined.

Nyala Venture, a growth fund, is supported by Financial Sector Deepening Africa Investments and well-known family businesses from Europe, America, and Africa.

Here Is What You Need To Know

• Adesuwa Okunbo-Rhodes, who has more than ten years of experience in investment banking and private equity from prestigious international companies like J.P. Morgan, founded Aruwa Capital Management in 2019.

• Adesuwa Okunbo-Rhodes, the managing partner of Aruwa Capital, stated in a press release she personally endorsed that the investment gap women in Africa faced was that they made up 40% of all small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), but they only received 1% of startup capital. She attributed this to the absence of female capital allocators in the area.

“Through its investment strategy, the Fund aims to create more sustainable and scalable pathways for economic growth and inclusion in the region. The Fund will invest $500 thousand to $2.5 million in women focused small and growing businesses in Nigeria and Ghana, targeting investments in critical sectors such as healthcare, fintech, renewable energy, and essential consumer goods. Aruwa invests in innovative businesses, poised for scale, that provide essential goods and services to the rapidly expanding female economy, and businesses that are founded or led by women or have gender diverse teams,” she said.

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The statement continued by stating that the Fund has made six investments totaling more than 45% of its capital into a diverse portfolio of rapidly expanding businesses. It also stated that the Fund has built a solid reputation for careful investment selection and active, hands-on support of management teams locally to enhance company performance.

Also, Najada Kumbuli, Head of Investments at Visa Foundation, said: “Visa Foundation is pleased to be the first institutional investor in Aruwa Capital Management. We deeply believe that in order to address the financing gap that women-led small businesses face, we need to empower and invest in more women led investment funds like Aruwa.

“We were impressed by Adesuwa’s track record and her approach at tailoring the Fund’s financing to small businesses’ needs. We believe the team’s deep commitment to driving equitable and inclusive economic growth through investments will meaningfully support the business owners and the communities they operate in.”

For his part, Samuel Akyianu, Chief of Party at the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund (MFAGF) said: 

“We selected Aruwa Capital as one of our first investments because we were impressed by the team’s grit, conviction and depth of analysis, their value addition for early-growth stage SMEs in Nigeria, and their commitment to drive impact for women and youth. We look forward to working with the team to help make Aruwa Capital a success story.”

Bart Schaap, Managing Director at Nyala Venture, noted: 

“With our investment, we are putting our weight behind local and innovative capital providers in Sub Saharan Africa with a focus on gender lens.”

Being the first female solo GP in Nigeria to raise an institutional first fund of over $10 million, Adesuwa has created history today.

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Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert. 
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh