Aruwa Capital Management, a female-led private equity firm based in Lagos, has successfully raised $35 million in the second close of its gender-focused fund, Aruwa Capital Fund II. The fund aims to bridge the early-stage financing gap for women-led and gender-diverse enterprises in Nigeria and Ghana.
The recent funding round saw participation from prominent institutions such as British International Investment (BII), which contributed $5 million, the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, Visa Foundation, and EDFI Management Company through the EU’s Electrification Financing Initiative. Notably, Nigeria’s Bank of Industry became the fund’s first local institutional investor.
With this latest round of funding, Aruwa Capital Fund II has reached 90% of its $40 million target, surpassing the $20 million final close of its first fund in 2022. The firm is contemplating increasing the target to $50 million, with a hard cap of $60 million anticipated later this year.
Established in 2019 by Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, Aruwa Capital Management leverages her extensive background in investment banking and private equity at prestigious global firms like J.P. Morgan. Rhodes founded Aruwa with the mission of addressing the funding challenges faced by women-led businesses in Africa.
The fund focuses on key sectors crucial to inclusive economic development, including healthcare, energy access, financial services, and consumer goods, investing between $500,000 and $2.5 million in women-led small and growing enterprises.
Aruwa Capital Fund II has already made two investments: Yikodeen, a local industrial safety boot manufacturer, and Toasties, a fast-growing casual dining chain.
The impact of Aruwa’s first fund was substantial, with portfolio companies experiencing a 22-fold increase in revenue in local currency and attracting follow-on investments at valuations approximately seven times higher than Aruwa’s initial entry. Collectively, both funds have created over 200,000 direct and indirect jobs, with 73% of the companies founded or led by women.
For its outstanding work, Aruwa Capital received the “Impact Investor of the Year 2023” and the 2023 2X Global Woman Manager of the Year awards. As the firm continues to advance gender-lens investing in West Africa, it remains committed to fostering inclusive economic growth and empowering women entrepreneurs across the continent.
(Source: https://techgistafrica.com/funding/aruwa-capital-a-lagos-based-private-equity-firm-raises-35-million/)
