Venture Capital firm, Janngo Capital is looking to invest US$ 60m in African women-led startups in a bid to bridge the gender gap.
The Abidjan-based VC firm is managed by former Jumia exec, Fatoumata Ba. It has already raised US$ 16.5m. The VC targets to have raised the 60 million dollars by Q1 2020.
50% of the funds will be reserved for financing women-led startups.
Janngo’s plan is to deploy capital in startups across seed to growth stage. Fatoumata’s intention is to help founders pilot and re-risk their business models.
She said, “This is critical and was an essential part of my motivation to take a leap of faith and become an investor myself.”
Various researchers have shown that while Africa has an abundance of female entrepreneurs, there still exists a gender gap in terms of startups funded.
A report by the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) said the funding gap was at US$ 42 Billion.
Janngo is the next in a line of VCs looking to empower women entrepreneurs .
In 2018 Alitheaia Capital launched a fund targeting US$ 75m to US$100m for women entrepreneurs .
Speaking to Quartz, Barbara Iyayi, a fintech growth equity investor said, “These expanded networks give rise to more opportunities that increase the quality of deal flow and opportunities to make strong returns, particularly in Africa where the diamonds in the rough are not easily noticeable.”
