Gather Ventures, an impact investment firm founded by Kenyan-born Jo Opot, has launched a climate-focused investment fund dedicated to supporting women-led startups across Africa. The initiative is backed by the Clara Lionel Foundation, founded by global music icon and philanthropist Rihanna.
The fund, known as the Gather Impact Fund, was established in 2021 with a mission to drive climate resilience and economic empowerment for African women. It prioritizes businesses that are not only environmentally sustainable but also actively promote gender equity and asset ownership for women.
Jo Opot’s vision for Gather Ventures is deeply personal. Growing up in Kenya, she witnessed firsthand the systemic barriers that prevent women from building and retaining wealth. She points out that legal recognition of women’s inheritance rights in Kenya was only enacted in 2012, a delay that has had lasting consequences.
Many women work hard to build wealth with their partners. But when those partners die, the property often goes to the man’s relatives, not the woman. We want to change that.
Jo Opot
Her goal is not just to help women earn income, but to ensure they own assets and build generational wealth—a critical step toward long-term economic security.
Approximately 80% of the fund’s investments are directed toward women-led businesses that are developing climate solutions. Notable portfolio companies include:
- Mobility for Africa – providing electric tricycles designed for women, improving access to transportation in rural areas.
- Giraffe Bioenergy – producing clean cooking fuel from cassava, a drought-resistant crop widely cultivated by women farmers.
These ventures reflect the fund’s dual focus on environmental sustainability and inclusive economic development.
Gather Ventures distinguishes itself by offering flexible financing options tailored to the needs of each business. These include grants, equity investments, loans, and working capital, ensuring that entrepreneurs are not forced into unsuitable funding structures.
The fund targets sectors where women are already active, such as agriculture, while also supporting their entry into high-growth industries like construction and technology, where female representation remains low.
Opot emphasizes the need for gender equity to be central in climate finance strategies, especially as low-income communities—where women are often the backbone—bear the brunt of climate change. “Women have proven to be effective agents of change. Investing in them is not just fair—it’s strategic,” she said.
Through Gather Ventures, Opot and her team are working to reshape the climate finance landscape by placing African women and their communities at the heart of the solution—not just as beneficiaries, but as leaders and innovators.
