Tokunboh Ishmael - Afrikan Heroes

Alitheia IDF Targets African Women Entrepreneurs With $100m New Fund

December 17, 2021

Alitheia IDF (AIF), Africa’s leading women-led, women-focused private equity fund, has announced the full completion of its USD 100 million fund, with the European Investment Bank (EIB) serving as the final investor. With this latest round of funding, Alitheia IDF becomes Africa’s largest private equity fund in terms of valuation and gender inclusivity.

Alitheia IDF, led by Associate Directors Polo Leteka and ‘Tokunboh Ishmael, invests in growth-stage firms in six African countries: Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Zambia.

Alitheia IDF Associate Director Tokunboh Ishmael

This fund’s mandate is to eliminate the USD 42 billion investment gap between women and male entrepreneurs in order to stimulate African women’s economic power as producers, distributors, and consumers.

Alitheia IDF started carrying out its objective in 2021 by investing in five women-led firms in crucial industries including as agriculture, education, manufacturing, housing, technology, and logistics. Jetstream Africa (Ghana), ReelFruit Ltd (Nigeria), SKLD (previously SchoolKits, Nigeria), AV Light Steel (South Africa), and Chika’s Food (Nigeria) are among the investee companies.

On a worldwide basis, women have huge purchasing power as consumers and are accountable for the family economy, according to Tokunboh Ishmael, Alitheia IDF’s principal partner in Nigeria. Similarly, she said women entrepreneurs are particularly prevalent in Africa’s SME sector, accounting for 58 percent of the continent’s self-employed entrepreneurs.

“They are, however, underserved as consumers and producers, despite their economic strength and presence. The consequences for economic growth are significant, with more than half of Africa’s population’s potential untapped due to structural and systemic issues. With a clear mission to promote women-led enterprises throughout the continent while promoting awareness of gender-responsive investing as a road to inclusive economic growth, we are actively trying to close this gap,” she clarified.

Polo Leteka, Alitheia IDF’s major partner in South Africa, hopes that Alitheia IDF would serve as an example to other investors on the continent, encouraging them to invest in women, stressing that they play a vital role to help Africa realize its economic potential.

“Africa’s growth has been hampered by a historic failure to recognize and capitalize on African women’s economic potential. Alitheia IDF’s aim is to close this gap by empowering women as consumers and producers through a gender-integrated approach and financial capital,” Polo Leteka said.

Women-owned businesses, according to Thomas stros, vice-president of the European Investment Bank (EIB), still struggle to raise funds despite having a track record.

“I am delighted to sponsor a genuinely flagship 2X ‘By Women For Women’ fund that invests in enterprises that create jobs while increasing diversity in Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy. The EIB’s funding for Alitheia IDF is part of our SheInvest program, which aims to raise EUR 2 billion in investments to promote gender equality and women’s economic development across Africa. African. Gender equality, in my opinion, strengthens societies,” she stated.

The African Development Bank, the Bank of Industry of Nigeria, FinDev Canada, the Dutch Good Growth Fund, and the European Investment Bank are among the investors in Alitheia IDF. The fund announced in 2019 that it has raised $ 75 million for its first closure. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, said during the event that Alitheia IDF has met its promise to raise funding for women-led businesses: “Promise made, promise delivered!”

A Look At Alitheia IDF And How It Invests

Alitheia IDF (AIF) is a groundbreaking $100 million fund that identifies, invests in, and grows SMEs run by diverse gender teams in six African countries: South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.
AIF, managed by Alitheia Capital (Lagos, Nigeria) and IDF Capital (Johannesburg, South Africa), is Africa’s foremost women-led private equity fund.

The AIF is dedicated to furthering gender equality by utilizing diversity and inclusion as a means of improving performance and achieving superior results. The fund makes investments in businesses that employ a large number of women, whether as entrepreneurs, producers, distributors, or consumers. Agribusiness, consumer products, health, education, creative industries, and financial and business services are among the areas addressed.

PanAfrican Edtech Startup LAFAAAC Secures Funding From GreenTec

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer

Alitheia Capital Partners 2X Collaborative for Boardroom Gender Parity

November 12, 2021

A new partnership has been announced between the Boardroom Africa, Alitheia Capital and the 2X Collaborative aimed at improving gender parity at top management positions across Africa through the formation of the Board Diversity Charter, an initiative that will combine the power of leading global companies and investors to build and maintain diversity and equity in the boardroom.

This is coming against the backdrop of efforts by leading development finance institutions committing to advance boardroom gender parity which the CDC Group and DEG signed on to join the Board Diversity Charter to galvanise business community to accelerate female representation in boardrooms across the globe

Tokunboh Ishmael, Managing Director of Alitheia Capital

As the world marks over 25 years since the Beijing Platform for Action, companies and development finance institutions including CDC Group Plc, DEG, and Norsad Finance are taking action to make a meaningful, measurable, and lasting systemic impact on advancing women’s representation in leadership. Signatories of the Board Diversity Charter commit to maintaining boards of at least 30% women while striving to reach gender parity. They annually report on the status of their board composition and aim to broaden women’s equitable participation at all levels of company decision-making while fostering an environment that champions diversity, equity, and inclusion. Companies that have less than 30% women on their boards but intend to meet this quota within 2 years may also signal their support as Pledge Partners.

Gender diversity on boards is a strategic imperative, as evidence continues to demonstrate that companies with diverse boards enjoy better corporate governance, financial, risk management, and social return outcomes that perpetuate business success. A 2019 study (https://mck.co/3D2Rmbo) by McKinsey & Company finds that organisations in the top quartile of gender diversity are more likely to outperform on profitability — 25% more likely for gender-diverse executive teams and 28% more likely for gender-diverse boards.

The initiative was founded by TheBoardroom Africa and Alitheia Capital, two women-led organisations committed to advancing outcomes for women in the private sector and business, in partnership with 2X Collaborative, a global industry body that convenes the entire spectrum of investors to promote gender-lens investing. TheBoardroom Africa is the region’s largest community of board-ready female executives while Alitheia is a gender-lens investing pioneer.

CDC Group and DEG, two major development finance institutions (DFIs), are among the first organisations to sign on to the Charter. In 2020, CDC Group made £1.22 billion in new commitments to businesses in Africa and has now invested in almost 1,200 businesses that directly employ nearly 952,000 people. In 2020, companies co-financed by DEG employed over 2.3 million people and generated local income of EUR 120 billion. Both institutions are also inaugural members of Board Diversity Charter partner 2X Collaborative, a global gender finance initiative that convenes and equips investors with the resources they need to increase the volume and impact of capital directed towards women’s economic empowerment. Other Charter signatories include Norsad Finance, FCMB, Falcon Corporation Limited, The Water Trust, and Woodside Africa Group, among others.

Marcia Ashong, TBR Africa CEO; Tokunboh Ishmael, Managing Director of Alitheia Capital; and Jen Braswell and Jessica Espinoza, Co-Chairs of the 2X Collaborative, will serve on the initiative’s inaugural Charter Committee.

Marcia Ashong, Founder and CEO of TheBoardroom Africa said: “By launching the Board Diversity Charter, we’re telling the world that diversity is not a nice-to-have. It’s a need-to-have. Diversity reflects the reality of our world. A diverse, inclusive board not only sets the tone for management

but also for shareholders, investors, customers, employees, and other stakeholders. The knowledge and skills that diverse candidates can bring are essential to enhancing business performance in an increasingly uncertain world.”

‘Tokunboh Ishmael, Founder and Managing Director of Alitheia Capital said: “Alitheia is pleased with the launch of the Board Diversity Charter and focuses on diversity in the boardroom where key decisions to drive profitability and sustainability are made. This underpins the fact that diversity is both a moral obligation and economic imperative. Serious companies recognise the need to be intentional about diversity for effective decision making, stronger corporate governance and greater innovation to ensure superior returns to all stakeholders.”

Jen Braswell and Jessica Espinoza, Co-Chairs of the 2X Collaborative, said: “Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that women directors are key to corporate value creation and innovation. The 2X Collaborative is proud to support the launch of the Board Diversity Charter because boards are at their best when they have a diversity of perspectives represented.”

The Board Diversity Charter recently debuted an interactive toolkit for boardroom leaders that provides a comprehensive overview of the business case for diversity and inclusion and includes a roadmap for improving boardroom diversity.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry