The Issue
• 93% of the funding is raised by start-ups with a male CEO.
• Less than 1% of funding to African start-ups went to women founders in 2021
• No any female only founded start-up raised more than US$ 6 mio.
The Main causes
• Less women founders in sub sectors like fintech which attracts the most investor financing
• Women founders are less likely to pitch for equity financing, preferring bank loans which are notoriously hard to get
• Women founders are less confident in their ability to pitch to investors and in their start-ups ability to grow
Three Main Challenges for female entrepreneurs
1) Access to high-quality training
2) Access to financing
3) Poor support systems for female business owners
Our goal
• Increased number of women-led businesses in Africa
• Job creation
• Expanding economic opportunities for women
• Support women led start-ups at their early stage of development to accelerate their growth and reach Series A financing
The Solution
Her Start-up program was initiated by KSH Foudation with the support of Tomorrow Foundation and eha Impact Ventures.
1) KSH Foundation, Tomorrow Foundation and eha Impact Ventures will select female founders and CEO of active tech-enabled start-ups from all the African continent
2) The applicants selected will perfom an intensive 4 months high-level entrepreneurship training from the Founder's Institute, world largest pre-seed start-up accelerator program
3) Learners who will successfully complete the training will be entitled to pitch their company business to the Investment Committee of the program including Tomorrow Foundation, KSH Foundation, and EHA Impact Ventures
4) Companies selected by the investment committee will receive a seed funding of 5,000 US$ on average in the form of a convertible loan
5) Companies will also benefit from mentoring and support during 1 year.
About KSH Foundation
KSH Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides enablers in the form of mentorship, technical/intrapersonal assistance, and funding to young Nigerians who are driven to innovation in tech-related fields whilst helping create products and services with significant impact on development in Nigeria. While the foundation believes in equity, it is also aware of the social challenges faced by women and as such focuses most of its program, particularly on women. KSH Foundation was founded by Khalil Halilu, EVC & CEO of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure in Nigeria. He is also a successful tech-entrepreneur as the founder of West Africa's First Eco-friendly Technology hub, Founder and CEO of last mile delivery nigerian start-up ShapShap and several social impact digital applications.
About EHA Impact Ventures
eha Impact Ventures is a philanthropic impact investing enterprise that supports early stage, high-impact, female-led businesses in Africa. Unlike traditional business financing, it offers flexible and innovative financing paired with high-quality, local, shared business resources to ensure business growth and success.
eha's vision is to improve the wealth and health of African women, their families, and communities with 3 focus areas:
- Empower Female Entrepreneurs
- Invest in Female Founded Enterprises
- Support leaders in the Impact Investing Community
eha was founded by Evelyn Castle, a pioneering health executive and impact investor. After spending a decade working in the health sector in Africa, she is now committed to building Africa’s impact investing ecosystem, with the specific goal of supporting female-owned small and medium-sized enterprises.