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Africa Female Founders Collective (AFFC)
has launched its operations to create more opportunities for female founders or
female-led businesses in the entrepreneurial landscape to receive adequate
funding in the African ecosystem.
Founded by Ibijoke Faborode, Founder and
CEO of ElectHer, AFFC not only views the role of women in the business space as
critical, but it also sees women in leadership as vital to a thriving economy
and society. However, limited access to funding, among other factors ensures that
women in business do not fully showcase their potential.
Funding to female founders still needs to
be more significant compared to what male founders attract every year. Africa:
The Big Deal, a data insight firm, noted in its report that startups with a solo
male founder or an all-male founding team continued to attract 85per cent of
all funding. When gender-diverse founding teams are taken into account, 98per
cent of all funding was raised by a solo male founder or a founding team with
at least a man.
There are different reasons given for the
gap in funding. Founder of Caring Africa, Blessing Adesiyan, who collaborated
with Ibijoke for a ‘Night With Nigerian Female Founders’ which also doubled as
AFFC’s first outing, said although more women are in the market space, they lag
when it comes to showing up where investors can find them. This is because of
the realities of many women's primary caregivers. Hence, while the men are seen
as providers, the women have to stay back and take care of the home and other
obligations.
For women to take their rightful place in the
business ecosystem, the issue of caring needed to be solved. “Women should have
support at home, which gives time to pursue their goals and objectives,”
Adesiyan said.
Ibijoke said female founders stood a better
chance with investors when they are part of a collective. It is in the
collective that they find support, mentorship and other women who keep them
accountable and inspire them to achieve more.
Women-led businesses that are succeeding
possess some attributes. Founder, Moobi Baby, Omotade Alalade, said two of
those attributes are structure and the ability to keep numbers, which are
critical when pitching to investors or meeting debt finance institutions for
funding. Most female founders do not keep their business properly. Alalade said
it is not just important to keep records and know the numbers, record keeping
must start from the first day the business started.
Other attributes of successful female
founders include being intentional about showing up in the same rooms as
investors to build both trust and likeability, showing competence and selecting
a strong team, according to Efe Braimah, managing director, CrossBoundry
Advisory.
“Your structure is critical and if your
numbers line up, investors will like you,” said Braimah.
Senior Vice President, Business Development, FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited, Jumoke Olaniyan, highlighted the multiple funding sources available including the financial market where founders can access different levels of funding that align with their growth needs.
“Investors are looking for new
opportunities and where to put money,” Olaniyan said.
AFFC is a visionary organization driving
gender responsiveness in the entrepreneurial and investment landscape, powering
high-growth female-led businesses across Africa, towards improved scalability
and Investability, a group more than an organization; but a movement propelling
African women to the center stage of global enterprise.
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