Africa is outperforming global peers on gender representation within private capital investment teams, though women continue to be underrepresented at the helm of portfolio companies, a new report by the African Private Capital Association (AVCA) said.
Released yesterday, the ‘Gender Diversity in African Private Capital’ report analysed data from 218 private capital investors, 3,099 industry professionals and 1,972 portfolio companies, making it one of the most comprehensive studies of gender inclusion in Africa’s private capital ecosystem.
The report says women account for 38 per cent of investment professionals and 33 per cent of investment committee members across African private capital firms, surpassing global averages of 35 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively.
Women also represent 44 per cent of the overall workforce and 32 per cent of board members, placing Africa above the one-third representation benchmark across organisational levels and ahead of global norms.
Still, the AVCA’s findings highlight a widening gender gap as firms scale. Smaller firms with fewer than five employees record gender parity, with women making up 50 per cent of investment teams and 44 per cent of investment committees.
In contrast, firms managing assets above $1 billion report significantly lower representation – 29 per cent on investment teams and 19 per cent on investment committees.
Given that the larger firms control a greater share of capital deployment, the disparities have important implications for investment decisions across the continent.
While progress is evident at the fund level, female leadership remains limited within portfolio companies. Only five per cent of Africa’s private capital-backed companies are female-founded, while11 per cent are led by women chief executives.
Yet performance indicators suggest strong outcomes where women are in leadership positions.
Female-founded companies employ an average of 48 per cent women and achieve 50 per cent revenue growth between 2023 and 2024.
Companies with mixed-gender founding teams employ 46 per cent women and posted the highest overall revenues, alongside 40 per cent revenue growth during the same period.
According to the AVCA, the data underscores a clear link among gender-diverse leadership, employment outcomes and business growth.
Commenting on the findings, AVCA Chief Executive Officer, Abi Mustapha-Maduakor said the continent has built a strong foundation for gender inclusion in private capital but must go further.
“This report shows that Africa is well-positioned globally on gender diversity in private capital. However, representation alone is not sufficient. The real challenge is ensuring that diverse leadership results in fair access to capital for women founders and executives. “AVCA remains committed to working with industry stakeholders to strengthen practices, improve data and increase accountability to build a more inclusive, competitive and resilient investment ecosystem across Africa,” she said.
