Alitheia IDF fund gets $10m from Open Society Foundation to lend to women

Alitheia IDF, a joint venture fund between Alitheia Capital, a private equity investment in Nigeria, and IDF Capital in South Africa, has landed $10 million from American billionaire George Soros’s Open Society Foundations.

Alitheia IDF is a private equity fund that invests in companies that operate in Southern and West Africa that are either women-owned or that focus on supporting women.

In an announcement last week, Open Society Foundations said its Open Society Economic Justice Programme, via its impact investing arm, the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF), had committed $15-million to two women-led investment funds that advance economic and gender equity.

The remaining $5-million will be invested in the Women’s World Banking Capital Partners II, managed by the non-profit Women’s World Banking.

Alitheia IDF invests in companies that operate in Southern and West Africa that are either women-owned or that focus on supporting women

Open Society Foundations said Alitheia IDF will invest between $1 million and $5 million, with the potential for additional funding at a later stage, in small and medium-sized enterprises that present an opportunity to promote gender equality.

Investments are made in local currencies across Southern and Western Africa, with a focus on sectors with a high representation of female entrepreneurs and strong prominence of women working in the value chain. These sectors include agribusinesses, consumer goods, and essential services.

The fund is the brainchild of Alitheia IDF led by Polo Leteka and Tokunboh Ishmael.

Leteka, who is also the CEO of SA’s IDF fund, told Ventureburn in an email yesterday that Alitheia Capital is now sitting at $75.2-million after the latest capital injection.

While the fund is not tech-focused, the fund managers always look to use technology as an enabler, Radebe said.

The fund is also supported by African Development Bank, Bank of Industry Nigeria, FinDev Canada and the Dutch Good Growth Fund.

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