NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Largest gender-inclusive private equity fund in Africa; 2X Flagship fund applying the 2X Challenge criteria; Boosting diversity across Africa.

The management of Alitheia IDF (AIF), Africa’s first women-led and women-focused private equity fund, has announced the final close of the $100 million fund with European Investment Bank (EIB) joining as the closing investor with $24.6 million. With this final close, Alitheia IDF becomes the largest gender-lens private equity fund by value in Africa.

Led by principal partners Polo Leteka and Tokunboh Ishmael, Alitheia IDF invests in growth-stage companies across six African countries: Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Zambia. The fund has a mandate to plug the over $42 billion investment gap between male and female entrepreneurs as a means of catalysing the economic power of African women as producers, distributors, and consumers. In 2021, the fund began implementing this mandate by leading investment rounds in five women-led businesses across essential sectors including agribusiness, education, manufacturing, housing, technology, and logistics. The investee companies are Jetstream Africa (Ghana), ReelFruit Ltd (Nigeria), SKLD (formerly SchoolKits, Nigeria), AV Light Steel (South Africa) and Chika’s Food (Nigeria).

Photo courtesy of Albert Gonzalez Farran / Unamid.