Female entrepreneurs in Southern Africa can heave a sigh of relief as a new venture capital fund has been launched to financially support women-led startups from the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Launched yesterday by a married couple Sarah and Jacob Dusek, Enygma Ventures, a Zar 100 million venture aims at “empowering, mentoring, and capitalizing outstanding female entrepreneurs in Southern Africa.”
A statement by the fund reads, “In Africa, 47 percent of businesses are owned by women yet very few have access to appropriate capital sources. Enygma Ventures will empower women to help level the playing field, by closing the gap for funding for women in Southern Africa.”
Enygma Ventures will be driven locally and plans to invest ZAR 2 Mn in women-led startups across the SADC region.
Also, Enygma will not only concentrate on startups like its other counterpart but will focus on other sectors and uniquely non-tech businesses will also have opportunities to be funded.
The new fund will be managed by Lelemba and Sandras Phiri of the Africa Trust Group.
According to Phiri, Enygma Ventures is the first VC fund that is focused on investing in women entrepreneurs in the SADC region.
Phiri said, “We’re taking 10 women entrepreneurs in this first cohort and depending on how ready they are at the entrance we will look to invest within that six months.”
While expressing her view on the latest development, Sarah Dusek said, “I know how difficult it can be for women to think big because we have had so few role models to follow. I also understand the unique struggles and challenges of building a big business, having been a founder and CEO myself. We want to help women think big. We will create flexible financial solutions for them with efficient and strategic deployment of capital whilst also providing helpful tailored support.”
