Aruwa Capital exceeds $20m target to boost economic growth

By Cynthia Ezekwe

Aruwa Capital, a female founded and led equity and investment company based  in Lagos,Nigeria has announced that its first institutional fund was oversubscribed and exceeded its expected target of $20million.

A statement by the company noted that the fund aims to create more sustainable and scalable pathways for economic growth through its investment strategy.

The fund’s first institutional and anchor investors include Visa Foundation, Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, and leading family businesses from Africa, Europe, and the United States.

The investment company also plans to invest between $500,000 and $2.5 million in women-focused small and growing businesses in Nigeria and Ghana, targeting investments in critical sectors such as healthcare, fintech, renewable energy, and essential consumer goods.

Speaking on the funding, Najada Kumbuli,head of investments at Visa Foundation, said “Visa Foundation is pleased to be the first institutional investor in Aruwa Capital Management. We deeply believe that in order to address the financing  gap that women-led small businesses face, we need to empower and invest in more women led investment funds like Aruwa.”

Samuel Akyianu, chief of party at the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund (MFAGF) said Aruwa Capital as one of its first investments because it was impressed by the team’s grit, conviction and depth of analysis, value addition for early-growth stage SMEs in Nigeria, and commitment to drive impact for women and youth.

“We look forward to working with the team to help make Aruwa Capital a success story,” Akyianu said.

On his part, Bart Schaap, managing director at Nyala Venture remarked that Nyala, through its investment in Aruwa, is putting its weight behind  local and innovative capital providers in sub- Saharan Africa with a focus on gender lens.

Aruwa was founded in  2019 by Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes  to address the investment gap experienced by  women-led enterprises in Africa, and made history as the first female solo general partner (GP) to raise an institutional first fund over $10 million in Nigeria.

According to Rhodes, the company has made six investments, committing over 45 per cent of its capital into a diversified portfolio of rapidly growing companies adding that it has established a reputation for rigorous investment selection and active hands-on support of management teams on the ground, to improve Company operations and performance.

 Rhodes added that she has leveraged more than a decade of investment banking and private equity experience from leading global organisations such as J.P. Morgan.