A minority of Africa-focused venture capital companies have female general partners, while just 6.1 per cent of angel investors on the continent are women, according to a groundbreaking study on gender diversity released by Disrupt Africa.
Since launching its research arm in 2016, Disrupt Africa has built up a significant portfolio of publications, most notably the African Tech Startups Funding Report, Finnovating for Africa, and deep-dives into various leading startup ecosystems, available free for all via open-sourcing initiatives with various partners across the continent’s tech ecosystem.
Its latest publication, its 21st in total, is the company’s most ambitious ecosystem research project to date – focusing on gender equality in the African tech startup landscape, “Diversity Dividend: Exploring Gender Equality in the African Tech Ecosystem”.
Powered by Madica, an Africa-focused pre-seed investment programme empowering underrepresented and underfunded mission-driven founders on the continent, and also supported by FirstCheck Africa, TLcom Capital, LoftyInc Capital Management, Google for Startups, RevUp Women by AfriLabs, iceaddis, the International Trade Centre, and Janngo Capital, the report lays bare the lack of gender diversity both within startup teams and funding rounds on the continent.
Disrupt Africa earlier reported that fewer than 10 per cent of African tech startups are led by a female CEO, while less than 15 per cent even have a female co-founder. Women-led African tech startups are significantly less likely to raise funding than their male-run counterparts.
The latter statistic is not altogether unsurprising given the lack of female representation amongst Africa-focused VC firms, which the report also highlights. In all, just 39.6 per cent of VCs investing in African startups between January 2022 and April 2023 had at least one female founder, partner, GP or managing partner. Among the Africa-based VCs active, this number goes up slightly to 47.8 per cent.
Investments were made by 148 angels during the same sample period, of which only nine (6.1%) were female. Angel investor networks and communities around the continent reported to Disrupt Africa for the purposes of this report that the proportion of female membership most commonly stands at around 20 per cent; although often dips as low as five per cent. South Africa’s JoziHub reported the highest female representation, standing at 25 per cent; while the Cameroon Angel Network, Lagos Angels Network and Viktoria Business Angels Network all report a 20 per cent female membership.
The report also features the results of a survey of female founders on the continent, which produced some disturbing results. Let’s recap them below.
The majority of Africa-focused female VCs had perceived bias against them professionally because of their gender, while half felt they had lost professional opportunities directly because of being a woman.
Sixty per cent said their professional position or responsibility had been openly questioned because of their gender, while another 60 per cent experienced lack of cooperation or disrespect from colleagues.
Only 50 per cent said they were paid equally to their male peers.
Half said they had received explicit or inappropriate comments from a male colleague or professional acquaintance.
To download the report for free, please go here, or email Gabriella on gabriella@disrupt-africa.com, or Tom on tom@disrupt-africa.com.
