The first investment fund dedicated to women in Francophone Africa.
WIC Capital was launched in March 2019 by the Women’s Investment Club Senegal to catalyze financing and support for women-led businesses. WIC Capital has invested in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire and is expanding its investment focus to all of Francophone Africa.
Our story
In Senegal, access to financing for women entrepreneurs remains very limited and is still largely confined to traditional financial mechanisms, such as banks and microfinance institutions. Statistics show that 43.9% of Senegalese women entrepreneurs who borrow money do so from relatives, while only 3.5% use financial institutions to access credit.
Beyond the difficulties in accessing financing, the development of women-led businesses is also hampered by the lack of capacity-building platforms and appropriate technical assistance.
As a result, these companies struggle to scale up, and 99% of them remain very small businesses, despite their strong growth potential.
Aware of the financial, technical and operational challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, but also of the enormous economic opportunities that this segment represents, a group of Senegalese women leaders came together to found the Women’s Investment Club (WIC) Senegal.
In March 2019, WIC Senegal launched WIC Capital, the first investment fund dedicated to women-led businesses in Francophone West Africa.
Why invest in women?
95 Mrd USD
Gender disparity costs sub-Saharan Africa $95 billion each year in GDP gap
320 Mrd USD
Globally, women-led businesses face a $320 billion credit access gap, despite a lower default rate.
14% performance
In Africa, companies in the top quartile for female representation on executive committees have an operating profit 14% higher than the average.
90% reinvested
In developing countries, women reinvest 90% of their income in the education, health and nutrition of their children, thus constituting a major lever for economic and social development.
- privileged access to modern financial instruments
- access to business networks
- access to technical support
- Collective strength
- Rigor
- Commitment
- Ambition
Our approach
WIC Capital's objective is to identify and develop a portfolio of promising SMEs that will contribute to the development of the economies of Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and West Africa.
WIC Capital is a sector agnostic fund that invests between €100,000 and €2,000,000 through a mix of equity and quasi-equity structured as self-liquidating in companies founded by women, at least 50% owned by women, or with a predominantly female presence on the value chain.
WIC Capital Team
Fund I's Investment Committee
Fund I ‘s Board of Directors
Fund II‘s Investment Committee
Management Team
