It was a pleasure to talk to Daniel Adeyemi of TechCabal and share the bittersweet journey of starting and running my own fund Aruwa Capital Management in an industry with significant gender inequality and female underrepresentation.
I had the pleasure of teaching a Due Diligence Masterclass today hosted by Rising Tide Africa, with a view to Demystify the DD process for new and upcoming investors.
I am humbled to have been featured in the local newspapers and highlights on tv, in print and online in Nigeria as they acknowledged my recent recognition by Black Women in Asset Management (BWAM) as one of the 40 Under 40 Black Women in asset management. It gives me so much joy that the local media is playing its part in promoting gender equality by celebrating our achievements and in doing so, providing examples and models for younger women in finance.
It’s such an honour to be listed as one of Black Women in Asset Management (BWAM) 40 under 40 list of women who are shaping the future of asset management. The list celebrates inspiring Black women in asset management who have demonstrated leadership and strong achievements in their professional career. I am truly humbled and grateful to be recognised and to share the space with so many amazing women who are achieving great feats within the asset management space.
It was a pleasure hosting office hours with 3 businesses owned by female entrepreneurs from all over the world. Patapia owned by Rebecca Aime in Uganda, Clay Intimates owned by Insaaf Manuel from South Africa and Impact School from Lesotho. Well done to Meaningful Business for creating the space for learning, connecting and networking with impact driven businesses owned and led by women.
I really enjoyed attending the 2022 African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA) Conference in Dakar, Senegal. It was so nice to reconnect with old friends and colleagues as well as connect with new partners and investors. I had a great time listening and learning from knowledgeable speakers and practitioners on the ground and had two packed days of meetings with existing and new LPs providing updates on the exciting portfolio we have built at Aruwa Capital Management and providing some key updates on our future plans.
It was a pleasure to be on the Fifty Faces podcast hosted by Aoifinn Devitt. We discussed why women need to be allocating capital, what impact investing means in the African context, why women need role models and the landscape for women in Africa as capital allocators and entrepreneurs. I also touched on why I was crazy enough to launch Aruwa Capital Management at just 29 years old because you can’t be what you can’t see!
It was an honour and pleasure to speak at the 24th Annual Africa Business Conference hosted by HBS Africa Business Club at Harvard Business School that took place in Boston. The theme of this year's conference was "Reimagining the Road Ahead" and I spoke on a panel on how to close the financing gaps for SMEs in Africa within the changing global environment. It was a panel representing all the different suppliers of capital including the role the government has to play in bridging the funding gap. I spoke about how the SME funding gap can be closed through innovative private equity funding models and also spoke about how closing the gender funding gap remains an attractive investing opportunity.
It was such a pleasure and honour to be featured by one of the leading publications, Ventures Africa and speak about my journey so far, the biases women face and how Aruwa Capital Management is bridging the SME and female funding gap in West Africa.
The Vanguard’s women team carefully curated in commemoration of the 2022 IWD, a list of 22 lady bosses who have quietly but consistently, continually and tirelessly pursued their passions and vocations, while remaining a beacon of hope and sustainability for the next generation to follow. It was an honour to be featured amongst so many amazing women in Nigeria.
It was great to be highlighted by Business Africa Online as one one of the Top 30 Inspiring Women in Africa breaking the bias. It was great for our work at Aruwa Capital Management to be highlighted.
It was great to speak at the UK Nigeria Tech Summit today about representation and accessibility for women in investment and why we need more women as capital allocators.
Its such an honour to be listed as one of the 50 Inspiring Nigerian Women by BusinessDay as part of International Womens Month and sharing space with so many incredible women and changemakers in Nigeria that I admire.
It was a pleasure to participate on on a panel discussion discussing how gender lens investing, philanthropy, venture capital and policy can help to break the bias and close gender gaps in society for women.
It was great to be featured by Microtraction, with the local VC fund manager highlighting me as one of the Women in Tech breaking the bias in the ecosystem.
It’s such an incredible honour to have been nominated for the Entrepreneur of The Year 2022 Award by One Young World. One Young World is a global network of ambitious young leaders dedicated to sustainable social impact and effecting real change in various industries, solving problems and taking on the world’s major challenges. Their commitment to recognizing and promoting the revolutionary work of young entrepreneurs around the world is truly remarkable and I am delighted to have been nominated alongside such incredible entrepreneurs from all over the world who are making a huge difference and inspiring others with their leadership.
The British Deputy High Commissioner in Nigeria Ben Llewellyn-Jones kindly hosted 100 Women in Finance Nigeria at his residence in Ikoyi for a networking breakfast to mark the end of Amanda Pullinger CEO of 100 Women In Finance’s trip to Nigeria. Mrs. Bola Adesola the Chairman of Ecobank Nigeria delivered the keynote address about the purpose and effectiveness of peer networks such as 100WF. The event also had in attendance a lot of the female CEOs and CIOs from Nigeria’s pension fund industry who can play a pivotal role to ensure better gender balance within private equity
It was a pleasure to host a power lunch at GAIA AFRICA for 20 senior women in finance in Nigeria where we continued our discussions on building a more diverse finance industry and developing the next generation of women leaders in finance through 100 Women In Finance in Nigeria. We had several immersive conversations centered on the need to promote and boost the visibility of women in Nigerian financial institutions. The percentage of senior women occupying high-level roles within the Nigerian finance industry today is far higher than in the developed markets and other emerging markets, but many of these women are not known. This is one key challenge myself and my colleagues in the 100 Women In Finance working group in Nigeria, to provide women in finance a platform to be visible, network, boost retention of junior women in the industry and close the existing gender gap across all levels of the finance industry.
It was a pleasure hosting the Global CEO of 100 Women In Finance Amanda Pullinger to a cocktail reception at the Capital Club in Victoria Island, Lagos - the first of a series of events marking the exploration of a launch of 100WF in Nigeria this week. During the event, I moderated a panel discussion with Elizabeth Uwaifo Partner & Founder at ASAFO & CO., NkemdilimUwajeBegho, Board Member of Stanbic IBTC and Olaitan Martins Group Executive, Corporate Banking First Bank of Nigeria Ltd. as they shared their experiences as women occupying top positions in the finance industry. We were delighted to also have in attendance, top female CEO’s of Banks, Capital Allocators, and CFO’s including Bola Adesola, the Chairwoman of Ecobank Nigeria Bolaji Balogun CEO & MD of Chapel Hill Denham, Tokunboh Ishmael, CFA Managing Partner Alitheia Capital, KunleElebute Senior Partner at KPMG, Cecilia Akintomide, Dr Ola Brown amongst others.
I am excited to host Amanda Pullinger, the Global CEO of 100 Women In Finance this week in Lagos as one of the members of the 100 Women in Finance Nigeria working group helping to establish Nigeria as one of the 100WF global locations. I’ve been a member of 100 Women in Finance for a while now and have benefitted so much from the access to global capital allocators, peer networking, multiple educational resources, and various speaking engagements. It's lonely at times as a senior woman in finance and organizations like 100WF make the journey so much smoother for women across all levels in finance.
It was a pleasure to talk to Michael Matias an active angel and VC investor in the US on the 20 Minute Leaders podcast which showcases thought leaders from around the world, with an audience of primarily entrepreneurs from Stanford University. We spoke about several interesting topics including the VC boom in Africa today, my passion about closing the gender funding gap, the persona I bring to investee companies who are aiming to improve gender diversity in their companies and some of the challenges female entrepreneurs face once they have raised that first round of capital.
Adesuwa was invited by Meaningful Business to speak at the inaugural MB100 Forum, sponsored by EY. She spoke about what Aruwa Capital looks for in its investments to ensure positive social impact whilst generating strong financial returns. She spoke alongside global impact investors.
Adesuwa hosted Aruwa Capital Management first webinar as part of our investor education series titled “How to Enhance and Diversify your Investment Portfolio whilst making social impact”. With inflation at 16% in Nigeria and options for investment in fixed income yielding less than 7% on average, its important for investors to know the alternative investment options available in Venture Capital and Private Equity in Africa that have potential for attractive long term returns and positive social impact.
Adesuwa was invited by Private Equity Support in Kenya to talk through Gender Lens investing and how SMEs can access this asset class during the 'Financing the growth strategy – Private capital options available and the engagement process' session during the Business Clinic.
Adesuwa was featured by Businessday Nigeria as the cover story for the global Women’s Hub magazine where she shared her journey so far, why she set up Aruwa Capital and her definition of success.
Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes is recognized as one of this year’s MB100, an award celebrating leaders combining profit and purpose to help achieve the United Nations global Sustainable Development Goals. She was honoured amongst so many men and women in leading global organizations such as Marisa Drew of Credit Suisse, Alisée de Tonnac of Seedstars, Eunice Sampson of Dangote Industries Limited, James Mwangi of Equity Holdings Group, Kate Brandt of Google, Lena Pripp-Kovac of IKEA, Michael Dean of AgFunder and so many more. The award is led by Meaningful Business and sponsored by EY.
Adesuwa was invited by the Women in Energy Network in Nigeria to give a masterclass on private equity and venture capital and how to diversify your investment portfolio whilst making impact
Adesuwa is interviewed by Inclusive Business Action Network (iBAN) for their publication CLUED-iN. This month’s edition is focused on what’s needed to support women founders and narrow the gender funding gap. Her interview is titled “Creating More tables, not just seats at the table: Narrowing the gender funding gap by investing in women capital allocators”.
Adesuwa was invited to speak at the Going Global Summit hosted by Business Africa Online and Afrigrants Foundation. She spoke on a panel about Raising Global Capital alongside industry leaders Akintoye Akindele, Lydia Idem and Sherif Nessim.
Adesuwa was a guest on the podcast to discuss why it is critical for women to be capital allocators, the value of having women-led companies, and the importance of having access to capital when starting a company.