Women-focused private equity fund Alitheia IDF has raised $100 million to support “gender-diverse businesses” in Africa.

This news follows just one year after raising $75 million, TechCrunch reports. Participating investors include the African Development Bank, Bank of Industry Nigeria, FinDev Canada, Dutch Good Growth Fund, and the European Investment Bank. Closing the round, European Investment Bank (EIB) committed $24.6 million.

The goal of the funding is to combat the present financial gap for women-led businesses in the continent. According to a report, “Female single founders and female-only founding teams have raised less than 1% of the total raised on the continent this year so far.”

“Globally, women have tremendous purchasing power as consumers and controllers of household economics. In the same vein, women entrepreneurs have a significant presence in Africa’s SME sector with African women making up 58% of the continent’s self-employed population. However, despite this economic power and presence, they are underserved as consumers and producers,” said Alitheia’s principal partner in Nigeria, Tokunboh Ishmael, according to TechCrunch.

Alitheia's Support For Women-Led Founders In More Countries

Ishmael believes as the African market continues to exclude women, they are stifling economic growth as more than half the population remains untouched, TechCrunch reports.

Alitheia, which invests in the capital appreciation stage of companies across Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Zambia, hopes its commitment toward women-led businesses will create a prospective future and change the current narrative of the structural and systemic issues plaguing the continent. 

“We are proactively working towards filling this gap with a clear mandate to support women-led businesses across the continent while raising awareness for gender smart investment as a path towards inclusive economic growth,” Ishmael said, according to TechCrunch.

The new funding will help advance Alitheia’s mission to transform the African economy by pumping women-led businesses into its investment formula.