Quick Read:
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Africa’s investment teams outperform global averages for women in senior roles, but female founders and CEOs in portfolio companies remain low.
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Small firms lead on gender diversity, while larger firms remain male-dominated.
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Gender-diverse leadership teams accelerate female employment and revenue growth.
Africa’s investment teams outperform global averages for women in senior roles, but female founders and CEOs in portfolio companies remain low.
Small firms lead on gender diversity, while larger firms remain male-dominated.
Gender-diverse leadership teams accelerate female employment and revenue growth.
AVCA, the African Private Capital Association, has launched its Gender Diversity in African Private Capital report.
Covering 218 private capital investors, 3,099 private capital employees and 1,972 portfolio companies, the study is one of the most extensive mappings to date, providing a first-of-its-kind, Africa-focused analysis of how gender leadership influences investment behaviour and outcomes.
According to the report, women account for 38% of investment professionals and 33% of investment committee members in Africa, exceeding the global averages of 35% and 12% respectively. In addition, women represent 44% of the total workforce and 32% of board members across African private capital firms.
Together, these figures demonstrate that gender representation at every organisational level exceeds the one-third threshold – positioning Africa ahead of global benchmarks.
However, the data shows that gender representation declines as firms grow. Smaller firms – with fewer than five employees – report 50% female representation on investment teams and 44% on investment committees, while firms managing more than US$1bn show just 29% and 19% respectively.
As larger firms typically deploy the most capital, these imbalances have significant implications for how funding flows across the continent.
Despite progress at the fund level, women remain underrepresented in portfolio company leadership. Only 5% of companies backed by private capital in Africa are female-founded, and just 11% are led by a female CEO. Yet where women do lead, the performance data is strong: female-founded companies employ 48% women on average and reported 50% revenue growth from 2023 to 2024.
Mixed-gender founding teams employ 46% women and recorded the highest overall revenue levels while achieving 40% revenue growth over the same period. The data suggests that gender-diverse leadership is directly linked to business performance and growth.
Abi Mustapha-Maduakor, CEO, AVCA, said,
“This report reveals that Africa has one of the strongest foundations globally for gender diversity in private capital. But it also makes clear that representation alone is not enough. We must ensure that diverse leadership translates into equitable access to capital for women founders and executives. At AVCA, we are committed to collaborating with key industry stakeholders to drive the practices, data, and accountability needed to build a more inclusive, competitive, and resilient investment ecosystem across the continent”.
The report is available for download here.
