Nyala Venture has today announced the appointment of its inaugural FSDAi Nyala Facility Advisory Board and Nyala Venture Investment Committee. The Advisory Board and Investment Committee encompass a broad range of expertise from the gender lens and impact investing space, combined with extensive governance experience and a growth mindset. The members are set to deliver support and guidance which will boost the development potential of Local Capital Providers (“LCPs”) in Africa who use alternative approaches, best suited to providing essential financing for Small and Growing Businesses (“SGBs”), whilst expanding on existing gender-smart approaches to financing SGBs.
Diago Dieye, Managing Director, Nyala Venture: “We are privileged to have seasoned professionals, who are committed to building a new asset class of Local Capital Providers in Africa join us on this journey as part of our Advisory Board and Investment Committee. This is a significant milestone as we endeavor to provide adequate funding to Small and Growing Businesses through Local Capital Providers, with a priority for gender lens investing.”
Anne-Marie, Chidzero, Chief Investment Officer, FSDAi: “I am delighted and extremely proud of our gender diverse governance structure composed of seasoned professionals who will steer the FSDAi Nyala Facility to catalyze a new class of asset allocators in Africa serving Small and Growing Businesses and driving more capital into the hands of women investors and business owners. I am also pleased that we have an Investment Committee of incredible women from diverse geographies, though predominately African, who have outstanding accomplishments in the world of capital. With the critical and astute eye of our Board and Investment Committee, Nyala Venture and its partner, the Collaborative for Frontier Finance, are well placed to build a nascent asset class of young, African, gender diverse, and innovative asset allocators on the continent.”
Drew von Glahn, Executive Director, Collaborative for Frontier Finance: “For years, Africa’s entrepreneurs and Small and Growing businesses have lacked access to appropriate growth capital. With Diago’s leadership Nyala Venture will be able to “lean in” and provide the catalytic capital for local capital managers as a critical component in addressing this gap. Now, she and the team will have the support and deep knowledge from a high caliber Investment Committee and Advisory Board. We are highly appreciative of the diversity and experience these individuals bring – further allowing Nyala to be a leader in driving large scale capital flows to Africa’s Small and Growing Businesses, in particular women led enterprises.”
INAUGURAL FSDAi NYALA FACILITY ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS:
- Anne-Marie Chidzero, Chair of the Advisory Board
- Geetha Tharmaratnam, Board Member
- Aunnie Patton Power, Board Member
- Steven van Weede, Board Member
INAUGURAL NYALA VENTURE INVESTMENT COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Geetha Tharmaratnam, Chair of the Investment Committee
- Nana Appiah-Korang, Independent Member
- Claire Labrunerie, Independent Member
- Isabelle Lessedjina, Independent Member
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About Nyala Venture
Nyala Venture is a Fund Manager, set up as a joint venture between Cardano Development and Total Impact Capital Europe. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) contributed to the seed capital of Nyala Venture. As a Fund Manager and through the various funds it raises, Nyala Venture aims to contribute to boosting local economies. With a priority for Gender Lens Investing, Nyala Venture provides capital and capacity strengthening services to Local Capital Providers (LCPs), which are best equipped to finance and support Small and Growing Businesses (SGBs), the most important business segment in any economy. The first fund managed by Nyala Venture is the FSDAi Nyala Facility (FNF). The capacity strengthening services of the Facility are provided in partnership with the Collaborative for Frontier Finance.
About FSD Africa Investments
FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi) is the investing arm of FSD Africa, a specialist development agency working to make finance work for Africa’s future. FSDAi deploys early-stage, risk-bearing capital to unlock green economic growth, benefiting both people and planet. Our investments are catalytic, serving to crowd-in larger volumes of private capital, and patient, with long-term horizons. We use a range of equity, debt and grant-based investment instruments specifically designed to accommodate early-stage commercial risk, drive high market development impact and generate acceptable risk-adjusted financial returns on investment. FSDAi’s distinctive approach focuses on backing ambitious management teams with innovative financing solutions that fill a critical gap in the existing financial system – gaps requiring an investor with appetite for proof-of-concept investment risk. In this way, innovation potential and scalability lie at the heart of each and every investment decision we make.
About Cardano Development
Cardano Development (CD) is an incubator and fund manager, established in 2007. Through careful risk-management analysis in data-poor settings, CD identifies scalable solutions that help to make frontier financial markets more inclusive, investible, and sustainable to unlock lasting economic value. CD creates solutions for local currency, credit, and liquidity risks in these markets. With over USD 6 billion assets and USD 1.5 billion capital under management, CD supports its scale-up funds and a number of start-ups with ongoing management services, financial support and corporate governance oversight. Cardano Development works with reputable partners including foundations, governments, impact investors, institutional investors and commercial partners.
