The first institutional fund for the impact investing company Aruwa Capital Management, located in Lagos, has been closed, achieving the $20 million goal.
Visa Foundation, which participated in Seedstars as well, is the fund's first institutional and anchor partner. Other investors include the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, Nyala Venture, and prominent family companies from Africa, Europe, and the United States.
According to the founder of Aruwa Capital Management, Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, "We are extremely grateful for the confidence of world-class institutional investors who have put their trust in us and share our vision for the continent: generating superior returns while having a significant socioeconomic development impact in the countries we invest in." The fund was launched in October 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic. We are ecstatic that we were able to raise 30% of our funds from local investors, who have firsthand knowledge of the operational environment, as well as from well-known worldwide investors. We hope that this trend will continue.
"We chose Aruwa Capital as one of our first investments because we were impressed by the team's grit, conviction, and depth of analysis, as well as their value addition for early-growth stage SMEs in Nigeria and their commitment to fostering impact for women and youth," says Sam Akyianu, Chief of Party at the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund. To make Aruwa Capital a success story, we are eager to collaborate with the team.
She continues, "At Aruwa Capital, we are thrilled to continue demonstrating women's unrealized potential in society through our investment portfolio. We are excited to highlight this in Africa, especially. According to global data, investing with a gender perspective increases financial returns and has a multiplier effect on social impact in local communities because of the role women play.
Adesuwa founded Aruwa to close the funding gap that African women-owned businesses experience. According to the corporation, women own 40% of all small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), yet they only receive 1% of startup financing since there aren't enough female capital allocators in the area.
The Fund's investments in women-focused small and emerging enterprises in Nigeria and Ghana will range from $500K to $2.5M, with a focus on vital industries including healthcare, fintech, renewable energy, and basic consumer products.
Play audio
No comments