Sopuruchi Onwuka

Gender diversity in African business leadership is increasingly being shaped by performance rather than advocacy alone, according to new research on the continent’s private capital industry.

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The report, released by the African Private Capital Association (AVCA), shows that female-led companies in Africa are outperforming their male-led peers, strengthening the case for more inclusive leadership at the highest levels of business. On average, companies led by women recorded a 32 percent increase in revenue between 2023 and 2024, compared with 14 percent growth for male-led teams over the same period.

While Africa continues to outperform many global peers on gender representation in private capital, the research highlights significant gaps, particularly among larger firms. Smaller investment firms tend to be more inclusive, while women remain underrepresented in leadership roles within large firms and portfolio companies.

The findings suggest that years of advocacy by groups such as the Women in Energy Network are beginning to influence perceptions of women’s leadership capacity. However, the report argues that growing confidence in women-led enterprises is increasingly driven by measurable business results rather than cultural or psychological shifts.

A review of the research by Oracle Intelligence noted that governments and businesses across Africa are gradually overcoming gender bias in leadership appointments. The report also found that women lead most of the businesses in which they hold significant ownership stakes, while male leadership in companies where men dominate ownership has declined.

According to AVCA, women lead 48 percent of firms where the majority of partners are female. In contrast, men hold just 8 percent of leadership positions in firms dominated by male partners. Despite this, only 7 percent of private capital-backed companies in Africa were founded by women, pointing to persistent marginalization by private investors.

AVCA Chief Executive Officer Abi Mustapha-Maduakor said in the report’s foreword that the case for gender diversity in private capital is well established but remains far from fully realized. She noted that recent momentum to measure and address gender gaps in global capital markets presents an opportunity to accelerate progress in Africa.

The report is the first in a three-part research series examining gender dynamics across fund ownership, investment decision-making, and the leadership of portfolio companies. Mustapha-Maduakor said Africa’s experience remains underexplored in global discussions on gender diversity, making it essential to establish a strong evidence base tailored to the continent’s realities.

While the research found that Africa performs well in several areas, it also revealed uneven progress. One-third of private equity firms and nearly two-fifths of venture capital firms on the continent have gender-balanced senior management teams, more than any other emerging market sub-region and roughly double the average in developed markets. Women account for 44 percent of the total workforce and 38 percent of investment teams, indicating a relatively inclusive entry- and mid-level pipeline.

However, representation declines sharply as firms grow and seniority increases. Women make up just 33 percent of Investment Committees and 32 percent of Boards across the dataset. The report stresses that these gaps have tangible consequences.

Revenue data from comparable portfolio companies show that female-led firms consistently outperform male-led peers at both founder and chief executive levels. Investors with greater gender diversity on their Investment Committees are also more likely to back these companies, underscoring the commercial value of inclusive decision-making.

Beyond inclusion, the report argues that gender diversity is closely linked to economic growth, social progress, and organizational performance. Applying a gender lens across the investment value chain, it said, could unlock underutilized talent and improve outcomes for investors and businesses alike.

Mustapha-Maduakor emphasized that the findings align with global research rather than challenge it, but said the report’s Africa-specific focus sets it apart. Grounded in local data and investor perspectives, the research enables Africa’s private capital ecosystem to benchmark itself with greater relevance.

She added that future studies will explore Gender Lens Investing in greater depth, with the goal of moving beyond representation toward practical strategies that drive meaningful change across the industry.