African women are leaning in at investment firms

Small, Africa-based private capital firms are placing more women in senior decision-making roles than larger, foreign ones, a new report shows. The Gender Diversity in African Private Capital 2026 report by the African Private Capital Association (AVCA) found that in firms with five employees or fewer, women make up 50% of investment team members and 44% of investment committee (IC) seats, above industry averages of 39% and 33%, respectively.

A major advantage small firms have over their larger peers is flexible hiring practices and diversity friendly environment, seen as key to build a robust leadership pipeline that strengthen the prospects for women to advance into senior decision-making roles at the firms as they scale.

“Smaller firms typically operate with less hierarchical rigidity and bureaucracy, allowing greater flexibility in hiring practices and creating environments where diversity can flourish organically,” the report notes.

While big firms are more likely to have formal diversity policies and structured recruitment pipelines, these have not yet translated into comparable outcomes at senior decision-making levels. According to AVCA, firms with more than 50 employees, women hold just 34% of investment team roles and 26% of Investment Committee seats.

Experts however, argue that representation in key decision making roles alone does not automatically translate into influence. Ignite Her 4 Africa Founder, Esther Wambugu-Obado, told bird, “representation only turns into real power when firms are willing to give up control, not just share space.”

“That means trusting women with actual decision rights, like voting seats on investment committees, ownership of deals from sourcing to cheque-writing, and clear routes to Partner that aren’t dependent on informal sponsorship or ‘being in the room long enough,” Ignite Her 4 Africa Founder, Esther Wambugu-Obado, told bird.

She cautioned that women are often present in investment teams but remain excluded from final authority.

“Too often, women are expected to execute rather than decide. The shift happens when firms intentionally change how authority is assigned, who speaks last in Investment Committees, and who is accountable for capital outcomes,” she said.

Overall, women account for about 38% of investment professionals in Africa, exceeding the global average of 35%, and far outperforming Asia and Europe, both at around 24%.

While senior partner and managing director roles across large firms remain overwhelmingly male, the stronger middle and senior management bench sets Africa apart from rest of the world.

Industry analysts say this creates a shorter, more attainable path to parity, provided firms convert the pipeline strength into promotions and capital allocation power.

“This is where Africa’s opportunity lies.The challenge is less about entry and more about progression,” said researchers in the AVCA report.

AVCA attributes more female representation in investments committees to improved female educational attainment and professional access across Africa, alongside a growing openness among fund managers to recruit from a more gender-diverse talent pool.

Despite the growing numbers of women on investment teams, capital allocation has remained heavily skewed especially for women-led startups, which have long struggled to attract venture capital at scale.

“The main challenge is that startups with a woman co-founder tend to struggle to raise larger rounds, particularly when you look at the number of companies able to close funding of at least US $100,000,” said Africa: the Big Deal in an analysis.

Data from Africa: The Big Deal shows in 2025, less than 1% of total disclosed startup funding on the continent went to women solo founders and all-women founding teams. Some 8% flowed to gender-diverse founding teams, while the majority(91%) was captured by men solo founders and all-male teams.

Wambugu-Obado argued that the biggest disconnect is how decision-making power, risk, and ‘pattern recognition’ still operate at the top.

“Even where women are present, capital allocation is shaped by long-standing investment culture and risk perception that unconsciously favour familiar founder profiles and growth narratives,” she said.

Women-led startups she said are more frequently assessed on downside risk rather than upside potential, especially when final decisions sit with male-dominated investment committees.

“Until firms change who holds cheque-writing authority and how risk is evaluated at IC level, increased representation alone won’t translate into equitable funding outcomes, ” said Wambugu-Obado.

Women fared far better in grant funding, though grants remain a marginal part of Africa’s startup financing landscape, accounting for just 1.5% of total startup capital deployed last year, about US$46 million out of US$3.2 billion. In 2025, 20% of grant funding went to women solo founders and all-women teams, while 42% was allocated to gender-diverse founding teams. Men solo founders and all-male teams received the remaining 38%.

“If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the absolute amount of funding raised by startups with at least one woman founder nearly doubled between 2024 and 2025, from US$152 million to US $275 million, an 81% year-on-year increase, showing momentum, even from a low base,” according to Africa: the Big Deal.