Gender Lens Investing & Disadvantaged Entrepreneurs Fund.
GLIDE is a venture capital growth fund with a focus on investing with a gender-lens in African businesses addressing climate change / sustainability. The Fund provides capital, mentorship and connectivity to women-owned/led businesses, with a portion of the Fund dedicated to disadvantaged / disabled African entrepreneurs.
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Diversity is excellent business:
Diversity is good business: 70-80% of all consumer decisions globally and in Africa are made by women.
Companies that value diversity are able to draw upon a wider pool of talent and display greater employee engagement and retention.
Inclusive work environments are associated with better organizational outcomes, and gender diverse teams make better representative decisions.
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Investing with a gender lens is simply good investing. The relationship between diversity and financial outperformance is proven.
Africa is undergoing social, economic and technological transformational change. The business revolution unfolding here makes it an attractive investment destination for earning robust returns with high impact.
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Women are agents of positive change as they typically invest a higher proportion of their
earnings in their families and communities than men.
Gender equality is a prerequisite for achieving all 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. By advancing women’s equality, the African economy could add 10% to GDP (or US$316 billion) by 2025.
In addition to a board seat, GLIDE will help entrepreneurs to grow their business through:
GLI is an approach to investing that takes into consideration gender-based factors across the investment process to advance gender equality and better inform investment decisions in order to generate outperformance.
Allocating funds with the intent to address gender issues or promote gender equity, including by investing in:
Of fund allocated to African businesses that are: women owned and/or led. owned - 30% direct female ownership; led - 30% female representation at the C-Suite level
Distributed to disadvantaged African entrepreneurs, including the disabled, veterans, ex-convicts and alienated minority groups.
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Opportunities with unique/differential IP. Sectors: Tech, Agriculture, Finance, Energy, Water & Sanitation, Education, Healthcare, Urban Development, Consumer Goods
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Capital, strategic development, access to networks, ongoing mentorship
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Grow/Increase value of post-revenue companies with scalable businesses
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Gender-equity in early-stage businesses
30% direct female ownership OR 30% female representation at the C-Suite level.
• Strong management team with execution excellence, purpose driven with a clear understanding of the market and the solution offered
• Scalable business model generating revenues, with robust growth potential (export potential/substantial market demand), targeting high gross margins
• Strong competitive position within their targeted sector, with differentiated Intellectual Property (IP): a unique product
• Post-revenue with a solid client base
• Repeat customers through annuity and other revenue streams
• Defined exit strategy
• Large % of portfolio: Early-stage businesses with clear product-market fit, traction and revenue growth track record
• Small % of portfolio: Earlier-stage businesses, post-revenue
• The Fund will seek a minority stake in each investee, incentivizing and supporting the entrepreneurs to drive their businesses forward
Wish to join GLIDE? Click below to schedule an introductory call with us. We aim to revert within 48 hours.
You have an early-stage business that fits our investment criteria? Submit your Deck and we will get in touch if we think we might be a good match.
Fill in the form below to book a 30 min introductory call.
We will revert within 24 hours.
Submit your deck and tell us more about your company, for the opportunity to be considered for investment by GLIDE. We reserve the right to contact only the selected startups.
