Two Nigerian women—Tokunboh Ishmael and Jumoke Akinwunmi, co-founders of Alitheia Capital — have powerfully reshaped Africa’s funding space over the past 17 years. Together, they have built a firm that combines financial inclusion, gender equality, and sustainable development, driving millions in investments toward businesses that impact communities.
Tokunboh Ishmael, the ESG investment expert.
Tokunboh Ishmael is a leading impact and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investor who focuses on financial inclusion, gender equality, and sustainable development in Africa. Her passion for making an impact in finance has seen her secure capital investments worth over $100 million for female-led businesses.
Ishmael is a CFA Charter holder and an Alumnus of the London Business School. She currently sits on several boards, including First City Monument Bank (a commercial bank in Nigeria), Pagatech (Nigeria’s leading mobile payments company), and the African Venture Capital Association (AVCA). She is a Yale World Fellow and sought-after speaker on private equity, gender lens investing, and ESG. She also promotes financial literacy through her platform, Yellow Cowries.
Before co-founding Alitheia Capital, Ismael gained extensive experience in corporate finance and strategic investing. The co-founder has worked in various roles across the USA, Europe, and Africa, ranging from private equity to venture capital and investment banking.
Olajumoke Akinwunmi, the real estate expert
Olajumoke Akinwunmi has over 25 years of experience in the real estate sector as an architect, investment adviser, and development manager. For six years up to 2019, Akinwunmi worked with the Ogun State government as Special Adviser to the Governor on Housing Development, General Manager of the State House Corporation, and Director General of the Bureau of Lands and Survey.
In two years, she led highly technical interventions that brought Ogun State from the bottom to one of the top four reforming States on the World Bank Ease of Doing Business survey. Her work helped the State Government qualify for a large-scale reforestation program.
More so, Akinwunmi was an Interim Managing Director of the Family Homes Funds, the Managing Director at Avante Property Asset Management Services, and a portfolio manager at Shell Nigeria Closed Pension Fund Administrator.
Alitheia Capital
With its headquarters in Lagos State, Nigeria, Alitheia Capital was founded in 2007 as an impact investment firm that promotes sustainable development in Africa. These women have pushed Alitheia’s mission to support businesses that positively impact society, particularly in areas like gender equality and economic inclusion. Since its inception, Alitheia has raised significant funds for women-led companies and those promoting social responsibility, aligning with ESG principles.
The company has been at the forefront of Africa’s venture capital and private equity space, with a direct investment presence in Nigeria and Ghana. It collaborates equally with partners across Southern and Eastern Africa to support SMEs and fund managers beyond financial investment.
The co-founders determined to build a firm that identifies and invests in businesses with high growth potential in Africa. Thus, they invested in SMEs that generate financial returns and promote economic development and social impact in different communities. It has managed over $250 million in assets for over two decades.
Through the Alitheia Clean Energy Fund (ACEF), their financial inclusion funds, Goodwell West Africa Microfinance Development Company (GWAMDC) and its successor funds uMunthu I and II, they have jointly invested over $50 million into SMEs across sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, their gender lens fund, Alitheia IDF, is one of the largest on the continent, with an impeccable portfolio exceeding $100 million.
Over the past 17 years, they have expanded into 20 countries, providing essential services to more than 50 million women and girls. Focusing on sectors like clean energy, healthcare, technology, waste management and recycling, logistics and mobility, consumer goods, agribusiness, manufacturing, and fintech.
Alitheia Capital has invested over $82 million, creating 9.5 million local jobs—66% for women. Currently, 35% of its management team comprises women, and it has served more than 24.6 million customers.
Tokunboh Ishmael and Olajumoke Akinwunmi, through Alitheia Capital, have played a vital role in nurturing Africa’s tech ecosystem and investing in high-impact tech companies as the first institutional investors. They have received numerous accolades and recognition for their work, impacting entrepreneurs and communities by providing Africans with access to a more equitable and sustainable economic landscape.
