Standard Bank, the biggest bank in Africa by assets, is the leading sponsor of the African Women Impact Fund (AWIF), which has proudly supported 10 African women led fund managers with grant funding. This marks a significant milestone in its mission to empower women in finance across the continent.
Through its Foundation arm, the AWIF supported the fund managers with working capital grant funding to strengthen and enhance their operations and investment management capabilities.
The AWIF is a Pan-African gender-lens initiative of the UN Economic Commission of Africa (ECA), UN Women, the African Union Commission (AUC), under the stewardship of the African Women Leadership Network (AWLN). In operationalising the program, AWLN has collaborated with Standard Bank as the lead sponsor and promoter, RisCura Invest as the investment manager and provider of fund manager incubation services, and MiDA Advisors as the strategic advisor.
The initiative was launched in response to the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 8. Last year, Standard Bank’s committed US$10 million into the initiative to be allocated as investment capital that will assist managers in acquiring a solid track record, expand their scale, and diversify their client base.
“Capital allocation coupled with working capital facility is key to ensuring the emergence of African women fund managers,” said Thobile Finca, Programme Manager for the African Women Impact Fund at Standard Bank.
“Reaching this milestone has been a long journey following an extensive build-up phase. We are thrilled to have been able to provide the much-needed support that will aid in the sustainability of the businesses,” she adds.
The Foundation has supported to the ten fund managers with grant funding of R11.7 million. Below is the list of the primary beneficiaries of initial AWIF support:
| FUND MANAGER COMPANY | INVESTMENT FOCUS AND/OR SECTORAL TARGETS | REGION |
| Altree Capital | Gender and Climate | East Africa |
| Aruwa Capital | Women SMEs in Consumer good, healthtech, fintech, cleantech | West Africa |
| Tshiamo Capital | Women SMEs | Southern Africa |
| Raindance | Sustainability and ESG | Southern Africa |
| HealthCap | Healthtech and fintech | West Africa |
| Nisk Capital | Self-sustaining opportunities | East Africa |
| Brightmore | Food innovation, financial inclusion, reneweables, cleantech, and essential services | West Africa |
| Vested World | Agribusiness, Consumer product/services, enabling technology | East Africa |
| Cartesian Capital | Sustainability and ESG | Southern Africa |
Supplementary to limited access to capital, women fund managers face an array of challenges such as the lack of track record; limited exposure to systems and procedures; high up-front costs; very few cases of successful fundraising; resistance to women leadership; and lack of support network.
“We are grateful to the grant provided by AWIF. We have been able to show strength in our balance sheet which has built confidence in our stakeholders, including asset allocators and regulatory bodies. This has resulted in us landing on a firm foundation for long-term growth,” said Nkareng Siwale, founder
and Managing Director for RainDance Asset Management, one of the first fund managers to be financed through contributions made by Standard Bank Securities at the fund’s inception.
AWIF is the bridge and catalyst in the funding gap faced by women on the continent by increasing female representation amongst investors. The initiative has built a robust ecosystem that empowers and supports women fund managers, enabling them to capitalise on investment opportunities more effectively. By promoting women fund managers, AWIF fosters opportunities for investments into the most underserved sectors on the continent including women-owned and women-led enterprises.
Read more about the initiative on AWIF.info.
