AFFC to boost funding for female founders in Africa

By Chinenye Anuforo

Africa Female Founders Collective (AFFC) has launched its operations with the primary aim of creating 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 who is also the 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 85% of all funding. When gender-diverse founding teams are taken into account, 98% 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. Blessing Adesiyan, founder of Caring Africa, who collaborated with Ibijoke for a ‘Night With Nigerian Female Founders’ which also doubled as AFFC’s first outing, says 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, the issue of caring needs to be solved. “Women should have support at home, which gives time to pursue their goals and objectives,” Adesiyan said.

Ibijoke says female founders stand 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. Omotade Alalade, founder, Moobi Baby says 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 says 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.

Jumoke Olaniyan, Senior Vice President, Business Development, FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited, 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.