Alitheia Identity partners Capria to Finance SMEs in Nigeria, Africa

Alitheia Identity Managers have partnered with Capria Ventures, a global impact investment firm that works with local fund managers to accelerate the flow of capital in Nigeria and other emerging markets.

Female entrepreneurs, women-led and gender-diverse management teams are particularly set to benefit from the partnership. Commenting on Capria’s selection of Alitheia Identity for funding and support, Anne-Marie Chidzero, Managing Partner at Alitheia Identity said “Together with the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) commitment of USD 12.5mn in the Alitheia Identity Fund, partnering with Capria to access their extensive network and resources will enable me and my colleagues, Polo Leteka and ‘Tokunboh Ishmael, to finance and support growth businesses, particularly those led by women and gender-diverse teams”.

The Alitheia Identity SME Fund is a pioneering Sub-Saharan Africa fund investing in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with high growth potential realized through efficiency and regional expansion strategies.

A key philosophy of the fund is that high performing female entrepreneurs are not present where typical fund managers seek investments, resulting in significant lost opportunity for such entrepreneurs to scale their business and lost opportunity for fund managers to back formidable high-growth businesses. McKinsey reports that this gender gap is not just a moral and social issue but also part of a critical economic challenge, with over $12 trillion of global GDP growth left on the table.

“Alitheia Identity Fund is looking to leverage this missed opportunity to deliver attractive returns for its investors” says ‘Tokunboh Ishmael, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Alitheia Identity.

On the announcement of the AfDB Board decision to invest in AIF, the Bank’s Special Envoy on Gender, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi said: “The project has excellent gender effects that will arise from the increased opportunities for women.” Capria launched the first global accelerator for impact fund managers in September 2015 and recently announced the launch of Capria

Emerging Managers Fund, a USD 100mn fund taking anchor LP positions that will invest in equity and debt funds targeting early-stage impact businesses across Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

Capria’s financial supporters include Ceniarth, Sorenson Impact Foundation, Bill “This fund is coming at an opportune time when many of our businesses are seeking to grow export earnings through regional expansion and greater positioning within and beyond the African continent” Polo Leteka Co-founder and Managing Partner of Alitheia Identity Gates, Mohandas Pai, and the International Finance Corporation, a division of the World Bank.

HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE