Gather Ventures, an impact investment firm founded by Kenyan-born Jo Opot, has launched the Gather Impact Fund, a climate-focused initiative aimed at empowering women-led startups across Africa.
Backed by Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation, this fund is set to redefine climate finance by prioritising women’s economic empowerment and environmental sustainability.
Launched in 2021, the fund targets sectors like agriculture, technology, and construction, where women are under-represented yet hold immense potential to drive change.
Why This Fund Matters: Addressing Dual Crises
Africa faces a dual challenge: the escalating impacts of climate change and persistent gender inequities.
Women, who make up a significant portion of the agricultural workforce, are disproportionately affected by climate shocks, yet they receive less than 1% of startup funding in Africa, according to a 2021 report by Africa: The Big Deal.
Gather Ventures’ climate fund tackles these issues head-on by directing 80% of its investments toward women-led businesses that develop climate solutions, promoting both environmental resilience and economic empowerment.
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Jo Opot’s vision is personal and powerful. Growing up in Kenya, she witnessed systemic barriers that prevented women from building and retaining wealth, such as the lack of legal recognition for women’s inheritance rights until 2012.
By focusing on asset creation and ownership, the fund aims to help women build intergenerational wealth while addressing climate challenges.
How Gather Ventures Stands Out: A Flexible, Impact-Driven Approach
Unlike traditional venture capital funds that often prioritise equity-only investments, Gather Ventures adopts a flexible financing model tailored to the needs of early-stage African entrepreneurs. This includes:
- Grants: Providing non-repayable funds to support startups with limited access to capital.
- Equity Investments: Taking ownership stakes to fuel growth in promising ventures.
- Loans and Working Capital: Offering affordable financing to ensure businesses can scale without being burdened by unsuitable funding structures.
This “instrument-agnostic” approach ensures that women-led startups receive the right type of capital at the right time, avoiding the pitfalls of one-size-fits-all funding models.
The fund targets sectors where women are already active, such as agriculture (the largest employer of women in Africa), while also supporting their entry into high-growth fields like technology and construction, where female representation remains low.
Spotlight on Impact: Portfolio Companies Making a Difference
Gather Ventures’ portfolio showcases innovative women-led startups that blend climate resilience with economic empowerment. Here are two standout examples:
- Mobility for Africa: This company provides electric tricycles designed for women in rural areas, improving access to transportation. In 2024, it deployed 400 vehicles, with plans to scale to 4,000 by 2028, creating hundreds of income-generating opportunities for women.
- Giraffe Bioenergy: Based in Nairobi, Giraffe Bioenergy produces clean ethanol cooking fuel from cassava, a drought-resistant crop cultivated by women farmers. The company aims to produce 45 million litres of fuel by 2028, significantly boosting women’s incomes while reducing reliance on harmful fossil fuels.
These ventures reflect the fund’s commitment to supporting businesses that deliver measurable environmental and social impact.
By focusing on women-led solutions, Gather Ventures is proving that gender equity is a powerful lever for climate action.
The Bigger Picture: Scaling Impact Across Africa
Gather Ventures plans to invest in 25 climate-aligned African startups by 2026, with a focus on scaling flexible, community-rooted capital.
The fund is also exploring partnerships with gender-lens investors and local development finance institutions (DFIs) to amplify its impact.
Jo Opot emphasises that resilience is about more than surviving climate shocks; it’s about ownership, agency, and dignity for African women.
The fund’s alignment with global climate goals, such as those outlined in the Paris Agreement, positions it as a key player in Africa’s climate finance landscape.
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With climate investment flows needing to quadruple by 2030 to meet Africa’s adaptation needs, initiatives like Gather Ventures are critical to bridging the funding gap.
As Jo Opot aptly puts it, “We’re betting on the women who are building that future.” Join the movement to support women-led climate solutions and help create a more equitable and sustainable Africa.
Ronnie Paul is a seasoned writer and analyst with a prolific portfolio of over 1,000 published articles, specialising in fintech, cryptocurrency, and digital finance at Africa Digest News.
