Alitheia IDF

Press release

November 12, 2019

FinDev Canada invests in gender-lens fund to bolster women-owned SMEs in Africa

Press Release

The investment in Alitheia IDF Fund will improve women’s access to finance in sub-Saharan Africa

Expected Development Impact

Market development

Enabling SME growth: The Fund’s mandate is to invest in locally-owned or -managed SMEs. Although SMEs create 80% of all new jobs in emerging markets, their growth is considerably hindered by a lack of finance. By 2023, it is expected that AIF will finance 12 high-growth SMEs in sectors with a high potential for job creation and economic value-addition and where women are predominant as entrepreneurs, leaders, workers and consumers. Sectors of focus will be: Agribusiness, Consumer Goods and Essential Services;
Supporting quality employment: By 2029, AIF investees are expected to provide a significant number of permanent, quality jobs and contribute meaningfully in direct economic value through taxes, salaries and profits. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio companies are also expected to contribute to indirect job creation and indirect economic value-add through their support of local supply chains.

Women’s Economic Empowerment

The Fund’s investees in the essential services sector are expected to provide at least 100,000 women with access to basic services and empowerment tools

Women's Economic Empowerment

At the Fund manager level, AIF’s leadership is composed of all women and the workforce are composed of primarily women teams, and the investment committee is made up of a vast majority of women;
At the portfolio level, At least half of the Fund’s investees will be women-owned or women-led and AIF is committed to invest in SMEs that are aligned with AIF’s criteria and to support them to increase women’s representation in their leadership, management, and workforce;
Consumer goods and essential services, two of AIF’s priority sectors, offer good employment and management opportunities for women. Up to 30% of AIF’s investees will have at least 50% women in management, or a demonstrated strategy to do so, and more than 400 women will directly benefit from quality employment from AIF’s investees. Additionally, it is estimated that AIF’s agribusiness investees will create 5,000 indirect employment opportunities for women by having women-inclusive supply chains;
The Fund’s investees in the essential services sector are expected to provide at least 100,000 women with access to basic services and empowerment tools such as financial services and access to education;