Carolyne Kirabo is redefining gender-lens investing by building inclusive financing systems for African women entrepreneurs.
Carolyne Kirabo is the founder and Managing Director of M-Kyala Ventures a Uganda-based pan-African investment advisory firm focused on unlocking capital for women and youth entrepreneurs. The firm specialises in sectors such as climate resilience, agriculture, and circular economies—spaces often underserved by traditional financing. With over 15 years of experience in inclusive finance, investment readiness, and development finance, Kirabo is actively working to break systemic barriers that exclude women from equitable funding.
Kirabo journeys to the world of Venture Capital
Before launching M-Kyala Ventures in 2020, Kirabo held leadership roles at prominent organisations including Mango Fund, Yunus Social Business, Mercy Corps Ventures, and Acumen. At Yunus Social Business, she led East Africa’s investment operations, deploying capital to social enterprises through a gender and impact-focused lens.
Through these roles, Carolyne Kirabo observed how traditional financing models routinely overlooked women-led businesses. These insights ultimately drove her to create M-Kyala Ventures—named from the Luganda word mukyala, meaning woman—to centre women in Africa’s investment landscape.
Her impact and strategic influence
Since its inception, M-Kyala Ventures has supported over 500 women and girls across 10 African countries and mobilised more than $1 million in capital for women—and youth-led enterprises. The firm also advises governments, DFIs, and donor agencies on designing gender-inclusive investment strategies and guides over 30 programmes across the continent.
Flagship initiatives include the Canada-Africa Innovation Fellowship, the Women in the Green Economy Accelerator, and strategic advisory roles with institutions like the IFC, USAID, GIZ, the Mastercard Foundation, and ANDE.
A systems-driven model
Kirabo’s approach is rooted in systems thinking. Beyond connecting investors with women-led enterprises, she focuses on building infrastructure—toolkits, pipelines, and frameworks—that embed gender equity into the core of investment ecosystems. Internally, M-Kyala Ventures models its mission by adopting inclusive hiring, partnering with women-led vendors, and implementing progressive workplace policies.
To reach one million women by 2030, Carolyne Kirabo is scaling her impact across East, West, and Southern Africa. Her leadership continues to shape the global gender lens investing movement, positioning her as one of the continent’s most forward-thinking voices in inclusive finance.
