Photos: Aruwa Capital\YouTube Screenshots
Lagos-based investor Aruwa Capital raised $35 million for a fund aimed at increasing bets on African businesses founded and run by women.
The firm, which writes checks of up to $3 million per investment, particularly hopes to carve a niche by tapping into “a very strong arbitrage opportunity,” taking advantage of the limited investor competition in Africa’s women, Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, Aruwa Capital’s founder, told Semafor.
Aruwa raised its first fund in 2022, deploying a $20 million pool in nearly a dozen businesses across fintech, health, and e-commerce logistics in Nigeria. For its second fund, the firm hopes to eventually raise $50 million by the end of this year, with Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, Visa Foundation, and British International Investment already signed on as investors.
Funding African businesses remains compelling and appealing for global investors with “relatively cheap valuations compared to other markets,” Okunbo Rhodes said.
