Gender Funding Gap Widens as Female CEOs Secure Just $48m in 2024, Lowest Since 2020

Gender Funding Gap Widens as Female CEOs Secure Just $48m in 2024, Lowest Since 2020

  • Recent data showed that the amount of capital going to female CEOs has dropped to all-time lows since 2019, with only $48 million raised across Africa
  • The male counterparts secured almost all of the pie with $2.2 billion funding capital raised in the same 2024
  • Founder of Autogirl NG, Chinazom Arinze, said the gap seems to be widening as the economy worsens and investors get even more picky

Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

The funding gap for female-led startups deepened in 2024, with female CEOs raising a mere $48 million—an alarming 75% decline from the previous year.

This is according to the Africa: The Big Deal report. This sharp drop highlights a growing gender disparity in Africa's startup ecosystem, where male-led ventures continue to dominate funding efforts.

A panel at the African entrepreneurship forum discussing widening gaps for male and female CEOs.
The funding gap remains wide across all metrics, and it becomes more obvious when examining the gender composition of founding teams. Photo Credit: Pius Utomi Ekpei
Source: Getty Images

Their male counterparts attracted nearly $2.2 billion in funding, underscoring a stark gender imbalance within Africa’s startup ecosystem, LEADERSHIP reports.

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The total funding raised by female CEOs in 2024 was the lowest since 2020. But their share of the overall investment is also concerning, at just two percent—the smallest proportion since tracking began in 2019.

Fewer female CEOs in the most funded startups

This widening gap highlights a profound gender imbalance in the distribution of venture capital across Africa.

A September 2023 analysis found that only four of Africa’s 100 most-funded startups since 2019 were led by female CEOs. That number dropped to three following the resignation of Cikü Mugambi, the former CEO of logistics startup Kobo360, in November 2023.

The gender funding gap

The funding gap remains wide across all metrics, and it becomes more obvious when examining the gender composition of founding teams.

Startups with gender-diverse teams raised only $123 million in 2024, while solo female founders or all-female teams secured an even smaller $21 million.

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In sharp contrast, solo male founders raised $430 million, and all-male founding teams secured a whopping $1.6 billion.

The percentage disparity is even more striking. Where solo female founders or all-female teams received just 1% of total funding, and gender-diverse teams secured 5.5%, solo male founders or all-male founding teams received 95.5% of the raised funds.

This implies that 99% of total investments went to startups with at least one male founder, compared to only 6.5% for those with at least one female founder.

Worsening economy makes investors picky

In a chat with Legit.ng, Chinazom Arinze, founder of Autogirl Nigeria, said that the trend has mostly remained the same, even though the numbers seem to be worsening.

She noted that the startup ecosystem has not been fair to female CEOs, but the trend seems to deepen as the economy worsens.

She said;

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"As the economy worsens, the structured funders want to give money to less risky options which in their opinion includes male founders."

She added that despite this imbalance, female CEOs continue to be pushing their startups to profitability even without venture capital.

Autogirl NG, for instance, has pushed past the 5-year mark and attained profitability without raising capital externally.

More male founders equal more funding for male CEOs

A business Journalist who chose to stay anonymous told Legit that the situation is not a result of any sort of gender bias.

“After having a lot of conversations with venture capitalists, I think the situation is that there are already a lot of male founders, compared to female founders in any space. So, it follows that more male founders would receive funding.”

He argued that female founders seemed to be securing more grants, than raising capital with investors or venture capitalists. This is because they found businesses in areas like climate change, environmental protection and other sectors that easily attract grants but not necessarily capital investments.

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A bigger bias against female CEOs

The declining numbers are part of a larger trend of underrepresentation of female CEOs in Africa’s startup ecosystem.

Despite increasing global awareness of gender equity in business, the data reveals a widening gap in venture capital investment.

Since 2019, female-led startups have had to jump through loops to secure significant funding, with 2024 marking the sharpest decline till date.

A recent report also showed that investors seemed to be picking startups in some African countries over others due to a combination of social and political factors.

Startup funding in Africa

In related news, Legit.ng reported that Nigeria's Moniepoint raised $110 million recently to attain its unicorn status.

BasiGo in Kenya also raised over $41 million, making it the second-highest-rising startup in Q3 2024.

Yellow Card in Nigeria came in third, with $33 million in Series C funding received from Blockchain Capital Location.

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Startups across Africa continue to raise funding to scale their operations, innovate and expand.

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Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Ruth Okwumbu avatar

Ruth Okwumbu (Business Editor) Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon is a business journalist with over a decade's experience. She holds both a Masters' and B.Sc. degrees Mass Communication from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and Delta State University. Before joining Legit.ng, she has worked in reputable media including Nairametrics. She can be reached via ruth.okwumbu@corps.legit.ng

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