Africa’s Female Founders Are Forced To Play A Rigged Game Investors Created & Refuse To Fix

When Nour Emam, Co-Founder and CEO of Egyptian femtech platform Daleela by Motherbeing, recounts a moment from her entrepreneurship journey, it encapsulates the daily deep-seated challenges female founders face.

“One moment that sticks with me was during a pitch where, despite solid traction and user growth, an investor asked, ‘But how do you know Arab women even want to talk about these topics?’” she tells WT.

This loaded question wasn’t just about market validation, Emam says, but a subtle reminder of the systemic bias that boxes women, particularly those daring to disrupt sensitive sectors like women’s health.

For Emam, a notable entrepreneur, doula and reproductive health activist whose company confronts taboo topics around sexual and reproductive health among women, the question was less about risk assessment and more about challenging centuries of silence and stigma surrounding women’s bodies.

Africa is paradoxical. It leads the world in female entrepreneurial activity, with women representing 26% of total entrepreneurial endeavours. And yet, female-led startups remain grossly underfunded. In 2024, while male-led ventures attracted around USD 2 B, per one research, female-led startups secured a mere 2% of that.

Another research estimates a staggering USD 42 B funding gap for Africa’s women entrepreneurs. Such figures paint a picture of a market rich in potential yet strangled by entrenched biases and an ecosystem that still largely sidelines women.

More than a Capital problem

Akinyi W. Ooko Ombaka, Head of Portfolio Success at Madica, explains that the challenges are rooted in a web of intersecting issues. “The challenges faced by women-led businesses intersect and compound across multiple channels,” she notes.

Investor bias, she explains, often pigeonholes female founders into ‘traditional’ sectors like education or care economies, which are viewed as less catalytic for rapid growth. Yet, beyond the bias, Ombaka argues that the real game-changer is access to networks; be it mentorship, sponsorship, or robust community connections.

“From a strategic and cultural perspective, we’ve failed to address these challenges as an investment community because our interventions do not take diversity, equity and inclusion seriously. Tactically, we haven’t invested the resources to back these founders in a meaningful way,” she adds.

Madica’s approach, however, offers a counter-narrative. With a portfolio that includes over 50% female founders, Ombaka says Madica has honed a rigorous due diligence process and crafted an 18-month support program tailored to each founder’s specific needs. But she candidly admits that such an intensive, hands-on approach is resource-heavy, and few funds have the capacity—or the will—to replicate it.

Ombaka challenges top African VCs to radically change their playbook. “The numbers already demonstrate that having diverse teams and investing in women-led businesses is not only smart but also profitable,” she says.

“Investing in African businesses requires more—more time, more capital, more support. If you aren’t willing to play the long-term game, you’re in the wrong place or you haven’t found the right partners to do it.”

For Ombaka, acknowledging what hasn’t worked is the first step toward actionable change. “We must be actionable in our approach by sharing more instances of what’s working and tag-teaming best practices to build upon,” she stresses, hinting at a collaborative future where co-investment and founder-first approaches become the norm.

A Founder’s Battle

For Emam, the journey is as much about building a community as it is about securing funding. Reflecting on the investor’s question about Arab women’s willingness to engage with taboo topics, Emam is unapologetic.

“If I were a man building a crypto app or a logistics platform, I wouldn’t be asked to prove that my audience was ready for innovation. But as a woman building for women, I’m expected to justify our right to speak openly about our health,” Emam asserts. Such biases, she adds, are not merely annoying but actively stymie progress and reinforce an inequitable status quo.

Emam’s response to these challenges is both practical and empowering. “Build your audience before your investor deck,” she advises emerging founders. By fostering a community and accumulating tangible user engagement, female founders can create an unassailable narrative that data and human stories alike support.

Her journey with Daleela by Motherbeing, which uses an AI-powered assistant to empower Arab women in managing their sexual and reproductive health, is a testament to this strategy. Her approach has not only built credibility but also forced investors to confront their preconceptions with hard evidence: millions of views, thousands of comments, and robust conversion rates that tell a story of significant market demand.

Emam, recognised as one of the BBC 100 Most Influential Women of 2024, is also pragmatic about the current VC ecosystem. “The short answer is: we need both,” she explains when asked whether women should entirely retreat from the traditional VC model.

While alternative funding ecosystems—bootstrapping, revenue-first models, community-driven funds—are proving their worth, abandoning the VC route altogether would mean ceding influence in shaping the future of tech investment. Instead, the goal, she believes, should be to redesign the table.

“That means more women writing checks, more funds prioritising gender-lens investing, and more founders holding VCs accountable for their pipelines,” Emam suggests.

Numbers That Speak

Broader industry data underscore these personal accounts. African startups have seen funding declines across the board with male-led ventures continuing to pull in billions, while female-led initiatives languish.

Studies from Disrupt Africa reveal that out of nearly 2,600 startups surveyed, only 17.3% had at least one female co-founder, and a mere 11.1% were helmed by a female CEO. In Nigeria alone, only 10% of funded startups were female-founded, receiving just 0.7% of the total deal volume in a market worth USD 600 M.

The disparity becomes even starker when dissected further. Female CEOs received just USD 48 M in funding in 2024, per The Big Deal, while solo male founders raised USD 430 M and all-male teams secured USD 1.6 B.

Such figures are not isolated anomalies but part of a broader trend that sees less than 5% of Africa’s tech funding going to all-female founding teams over nearly a decade. These statistics reveal an ecosystem where impressive entrepreneurial activity by women is systematically undermined by inadequate access to capital.

However, compared to other regions, Africa does present a slightly better picture. A 2024 Pitchbook report noted that companies founded solely by women in the US and Europe received only 2% and 1.8% of total capital respectively, while Africa’s figure hovered at 8.2%. This relative advantage, however, does little to mask the overall systemic exclusion that women face globally.

Toward a More Inclusive Future

The conversation around gender funding gaps in Africa’s tech ecosystem is not solely about lamenting the status quo. It is also a call to action for all stakeholders, from investors to founders to policymakers.

Initiatives like Madica, which offer comprehensive support and clear investment theses focused on underrepresented founders, demonstrate that change is possible when the right mix of resources, mentorship, and strategic clarity is in place.

Both Ombaka and Emam stress that the road to parity is paved with honest introspection and radical rethinking of existing models. They opine that investors must be willing to reallocate resources, share success stories, and challenge their own biases, while founders are encouraged to leverage community support and build compelling narratives that defy stereotypes.

As Emam succinctly puts it, “In 2025, storytelling is a growth strategy. Don’t just pitch investors—create content, own your voice, build public proof. That credibility compounds faster than you think.”

The stakes are high. With studies estimating that achieving gender parity could boost global GDP by up to USD 12 T, the economic imperative to empower female entrepreneurs is undeniable. The challenge is to transform these figures into actionable change.

South Africa’s hearX Merges With Eargo To Form LXE Hearing In Landmark Deal

South African-born health-tech company hearX has merged with U.S.-based Eargo to create LXE Hearing, marking one of the largest tech mergers in South African history. The deal, backed by a USD 100 M investment from Patient Square Capital, positions LXE Hearing as a leader in affordable, high-quality hearing health solutions.

Founded in 2015 in Pretoria, hearX pioneered mobile-based hearing screening and later launched Lexie Hearing, the first over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid available in major U.S. retailers. The company gained global recognition, earning a spot on TIME’s 100 Most Influential Companies list in 2023.

The merger combines hearX’s technology-driven approach with Eargo’s expertise in direct-to-consumer hearing aids, streamlining product development and customer experience. hearX CEO and co-founder Nic Klopper will lead LXE Hearing, signalling a South African-led expansion into the global hearing aid market.

HAVAÍC, a South African venture capital firm that has backed hearX since 2019, hailed the deal as a major milestone for African innovation. Managing Partner Ian Lessem emphasised the merger’s significance, stating, “From its early days as a Pretoria-based startup to a globally recognised leader in health-tech, hearX showcases Africa’s entrepreneurial potential.”

LXE Hearing will operate Eargo and Lexie Hearing as its core brands, combining expertise across design, clinical research, and mobile technology to make hearing aids more accessible to the estimated 44 million Americans with hearing loss.

The merger cements hearX’s global impact while keeping leadership and key operations rooted in South Africa, reinforcing the country’s growing influence in health-tech innovation.

Ivorian Fintech Djamo Raises USD 17 M For Digital Bank Push In Francophone Africa

Ivorian fintech startup Djamo has raised USD 17 M in equity funding to expand its mobile banking services across Francophone Africa. The funding round was led by Janngo Capital, with participation from SANAD Fund for MSMEs, Partech, Oikocredit, Enza Capital, and Y Combinator.

Founded in 2021 by Regis Bamba and Hassan Bourgi, Djamo provides digital-first financial solutions for consumers and SMEs in a region where less than 25% of adults have access to formal banking. The company has rapidly scaled operations in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, surpassing 1 million customers and serving 10,000 SMEs.

Djamo offers an accessible alternative to traditional banking, providing users with a personal account, a Visa card without monthly fees, automated savings, investment options, and SME banking tools. The startup is also working on securing licenses to introduce interest-bearing savings and lending services.

“This investment is a major step toward our vision of building one of the most iconic financial services platforms in Francophone Africa,” said CEO Hassan Bourgi. “Millions remain underserved by banks or confined to mobile money ecosystems without real wealth-building opportunities. We are committed to changing that.”

Janngo Capital, which led the round, highlighted Djamo’s impact on financial inclusion, noting that 60% of its users were previously unbanked, and a third are women. “Djamo is not only bridging the gender gap but also unlocking economic opportunities at scale,” said Fatoumata Bâ, Founder and Executive Chair at Janngo.

The equity round, the largest ever for an Ivorian startup, surpasses Djamo’s USD 14 M Series A in 2022 and reflects continued investor confidence in its mission to make banking accessible and affordable.

With the fresh capital, Djamo aims to enhance its platform with improved spending, saving, investing, and borrowing features while accelerating its mission to provide seamless, affordable financial services to underserved populations in West Africa.

Peach Payments Expands Into Francophone Africa With PayDunya Acquisition

Cape Town-based digital payments gateway Peach Payments has acquired PayDunya, a West African payments platform, marking its entry into Francophone Africa. The acquisition expands Peach Payments’ reach into the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) region, with plans to extend into the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC).

Founded in 2015 and based in Dakar, PayDunya operates in six West African countries—Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, Togo, and Mali—offering digital payment solutions for businesses. The fintech boasts 70,000 transactions processed daily serving over 4,000 B2B customers, including Jeune Afrique, VFS Global, and Dubai Port Dakar. Despite starting with just EUR 20 K in bootstrap funding, PayDunya has remained profitable and steadily grown its revenue.

The move aligns with Peach Payments’ broader growth strategy, following its USD 30 M Series A funding round in late 2023, led by Apis Growth Fund II. This marks Peach Payments’ third strategic acquisition since then, following its purchases of Exipay’s in-store payments technology and Operativa, a software development firm.

“This deal strengthens our vision of building a truly pan-African payment ecosystem,” said Peach Payments CEO Rahul Jain. “By integrating PayDunya, we are unlocking opportunities across 12 countries, giving businesses access to over 450 million potential customers.”

PayDunya co-founder Aziz Yérima, who also leads Senegal’s fintech association SEN FINTECH, highlighted the region’s untapped potential. “With rising smartphone penetration and mobile money adoption, this partnership will accelerate e-commerce and digital payments growth in West Africa.”

The acquisition is expected to close in the coming months, pending regulatory approvals, reinforcing Peach Payments’ position as a leading digital payments provider across Africa.

Tanzania’s Sumet Nets USD 1.5 M Pre-Seed To Scale FMCG Solution

Tanzanian FMCG distribution startup Sumet Technologies has raised USD 1.5 M in a pre-seed funding round, combining equity and debt financing from investors, including ABAN, Catalytic Africa, and an Egyptian angel syndicate. The startup plans to close a seed round within the next 12 months.

Founded in 2022 by Hazem Afify (CEO), Abdallah Omar (CCO), and Mahmoud Tawfik (CTO), Sumet is tackling one of Africa’s biggest challenges: Efficient market entry and expansion for brands. The company already operates across all 26 provinces of Tanzania and serves over 6,500 active customers.

CEO Afify emphasised that the funding will strengthen Sumet’s tech stack, optimise its distribution network, and help scale its technology-driven ecosystem for brands.

Traditional FMCG distribution in Africa faces high operational costs, credit risks, and inefficient supply chains. Sumet’s approach leverages data analytics and streamlined logistics to remove financial and operational barriers, enabling faster, more cost-effective market penetration for businesses.

The investment will support expansion into new markets, enhance internal operations, and grow its portfolio of Expido-branded products. Sumet is also committed to economic inclusion, integrating women-led businesses and local entrepreneurs into its digital distribution network.

ABAN CEO Fadilah Tchoumba praised Sumet’s impact-driven innovation, stating that its tech-first approach aligns with the mission to drive sustainable economic growth across Africa.