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‘Women-Led Businesses Still Shut Out of Formal Capital’ – Alitheia Capital
‘Women-Led Businesses Still Shut Out of Formal Capital’ – Alitheia Capital
More than 300 screened women-led businesses participated in Alitheia Capital’s W.O.M.A.N. conference, despite most having never accessed formal capital.
Alitheia Capital says the challenge is increasingly about designing financing that matches the needs of viable women-led enterprises.
Entrepreneurs and policymakers identified financial discipline, governance, energy costs, technology and market access as key barriers to business growth.
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September 30, () – More than 300 women-led businesses in manufacturing, agribusiness and nutrition are seeking better access to formal capital, with Alitheia Capital calling for financing structures tailored to the needs of growing enterprises.
The call was made at the third edition of the W.O.M.A.N. conference organised by Alitheia Capital in Lagos, where entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and development partners examined barriers to capital, energy, technology and markets.
The two-day conference, themed ‘Scaling Women-Led Manufacturing, Agribusiness & Nutrition MSMEs: Providing Pathways to Capital, Energy, AI and Markets for Business Resilience,’ focused on helping women-led enterprises move from survival to sustainable growth.
Representing Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems Abisola Olusanya said many women-led businesses continued to struggle to access appropriate financing and growth capital.
“Many viable businesses struggle to move from the stage of survival to the stage of sustainable scale. Closing that gap must therefore be a collective responsibility,” Olusanya said.
She said government, financial institutions, private equity and venture capital firms, development partners and entrepreneurs all had roles to play in building sustainable enterprises.
Financing gap persists despite business readiness
Tokunboh Ishmael, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Alitheia Capital, said the participation of more than 300 screened, revenue-generating businesses demonstrated that many women-led enterprises had already met important thresholds for formal investment.
He said the participating businesses were assessed based on revenue, formalisation and demonstrated growth potential, yet most had never accessed formal capital.
“That is not a problem of ambition. It is a problem of design,” Ishmael said.
Jumoke Akinwunmi, Co-Founder of Alitheia Capital, similarly said the conference showed that the readiness of the businesses was not necessarily the main constraint.
“The businesses are ready. The question is whether the ecosystem around them is ready to respond,” she said.
Ishmael said Alitheia Capital’s investment experience had shown the commercial potential of financing women-led businesses, noting that the firm had more than $250m in assets under management after over a decade of investing across sub-Saharan Africa.
Ifeyinwa Ighodalo Co founder WIMBIZ Photo credit Facebook Ifeyinwa Ighodalo
Governance, technology and energy remain critical
The conference also emphasised financial discipline, business formalisation and corporate governance as important requirements for enterprises seeking external investment.
Ifeyinwa Ighodalo, Co-Founder of WIMBIZ and Founder and CEO of DO.II Designs Limited, said stronger financial management could improve businesses’ ability to attract capital.
“Financial discipline creates business legibility; business legibility creates credibility, and credibility creates access to capital and opportunities for growth,” she said.
Alitheia Capital said its investment-readiness programme provided participating entrepreneurs with practical knowledge covering financial statements, unit economics, governance and capital structuring.
Discussions also examined energy efficiency and green manufacturing as ways to reduce operating costs and improve business resilience.
The second day focused on artificial intelligence, with an AI adoption programme delivered in partnership with Google Hustle Academy to help entrepreneurs apply AI to business operations and marketing.
Alitheia Capital said it would track the participating businesses over the next 12 months, monitoring their access to capital, revenue growth and application of skills acquired during the programme.
W.O.M.A.N., which stands for Women in Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Nutrition, is Alitheia Capital’s annual programme for high-potential women-led businesses.