An Open Letter To Africa’s Female Founders on Women’s Day

March 8, 2022

Dear African female founder:

We know that at a time like this, with all the women’s month campaigns, panels and events coming at you from all directions, it’s easy to feel, well, flattered. These moments matter. You should take a beat to celebrate your potential and your hard work.

But, the fact is, you are in one of the most overlooked groups in startups & tech globally. The numbers are there for everyone to see: $5 billion of capital funded startups in Africa last year. Just 1% went to companies without a male founder and most of that to women who are either not African or not based on the continent. Taken over the last 10 years, the share has averaged about 3%, which means the trend isn’t improving even as record amounts of capital are flowing. It’s also true that all-female (~10%) and mixed-gender (~20%) co-founding teams consistently attract significantly less capital than their all-male peers. As one study found, by as much as 50%.

Whether you’re building solo or in a co-founding team, you’re part of a community that’s been systematically under-funded by investors that can and should do better. The dynamics may be different, but the situation is as underwhelming in Africa as in Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the United States.

Continue reading on our website.