Growth Gateway: Women economic empowerment in Africa, fund enablement, key learnings
Gender-lens investing in Africa needs change from investors, startup ecosystem actors, and venture capital (VC) partners to close a gap where women-led businesses receive less than 2% of VC funding.
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This Boston Consulting Group analysis builds the case for investing in women’s economic empowerment in Africa, centred on investors and informed by more than 50 interviews. It shows women‑led and women‑centric ventures receive just 2% of venture capital, representing a sizeable funding gap with smaller average ticket sizes.
The report diagnoses 5 barriers, including:
- biased networks and committees
- development finance constraints
- inflexible instruments
- over‑mentoring without funding
- sourcing mismatches
The report offers practical solutions, from inclusive processes and tools to diversified capital such as SAFE agreements, convertibles, concessional debt and revenue‑based financing. It recommends measurable gender key performance indicators (KPIs) and tailored technical assistance, with case examples demonstrating performance with purpose.
Three versions of the document have been produced for different audiences:
- investors in African businesses
- startup ecosystem actors, including accelerators, networks, angels, development finance institutions and corporates
- venture capital limited partners (LPs)