It’s no secret that the tech industry has a massive gender gap problem. From female-led startups to accessing investors, women are underrepresented, underpaid and underfunded. According to data from Africa’s Funding Landscape, in 2019, out of the 98 African startups which raised over $1 million, only 13 were co-founded by women, which is a whopping 13.3%. Of the 13 startups, only 3 are identified to be of African descent. Disappointing, yet not surprising.
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While women are becoming more co-founders and CEO’s, it’s still incredibly clear that there’s a lot more work to be done in levelling the playing field within the tech ecosystem. Odunayo Eweniyi (Co-Co-founder & COO, PiggyVest ) and Eloho Omame (Managing Director, Endeavor Nigeria) are on a mission to do just that through FirstCheck Africa.
From Left: Eloho Omame ,Odunayo Eweniyi
FirstCheck Africa is a female-focused angel fund that plans to “advance equity, capital and leadership for a generation of women through technology and entrepreneurship”. According to their announcement on their medium page, FirstCheck Africa has big plans to do big things. For starters, in 2021 they’re investing up to $25,000 each, ‘ridiculously early’, in up to six women in Africa with bold entrepreneurial ideas. They also plan on developing a community of middle-tier female angel investors who want to learn about tech and angel investing and are also interested in putting their money, whatever the amount, behind ventured-backed technology companies in Africa.
If there’s one thing women know how to do, it’s do the damn thing and lead. While mentoring and panel discussions are important, Odunayo and Eloho are tackling the ‘over-mentored yet under-funded problem’ that women face in tech. By fixing capital access for female tech entrepreneurs in Africa, they plan on increasing the pipeline for female entrepreneurs, addressing the gender biases that are often ignored and closing the gender confidence gap women often face when trying to gain access to capital.
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Through their women-led women-focused investor community, FirstCheck Africa is doing amazing work making it easier for women to raise capital and invest in tech. We’re excited to watch them lead the charge (as women do so well) in fixing gender inequality in the tech industry.
