A propos – WIC CAPITAL

First investment fund to target companies founded or led by women in French-speaking West Africa.

Our story

In Senegal, access to finance for women entrepreneurs is very limited and often limited 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 their relatives and only 3.5% of them use financial institutions to access credit.

In addition to the challenges of access to finance, the development of businesses run by women entrepreneurs is hampered by the lack of platforms providing adequate capacity building and technical assistance.

As a result, these companies fail to scale up and 99% of them remain very small businesses, despite their strong potential.

Recognizing the financial, technical and operational challenges faced by women entrepreneurs and the enormous growth opportunities that this segment presents, a group of Senegalese women leaders came together to form the Women’s Investment Club (WIC) Senegal.

In March 2019, WIC Senegal launched WIC Capital, the first investment fund to target women-led businesses in French-speaking West Africa.

Why invest in women?

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Gender disparity costs sub-Saharan Africa $95 billion each year.

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Globally, women-led businesses face a $320 billion credit gap, despite lower default rates

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In Africa, companies in the top quartile for women's representation on executive committees have a gross operating surplus 14% higher than the average.

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In developing countries, women invest 90% of their income in the education, health and nutrition of their children, thus constituting an effective vector of economic and social development.

Our vision

Creating national champions through the triptych:
• Privileged access to modern financial instruments
• Access to business networks
• Access to technical support

Our commitment

Invest in small and young companies with high growth potential in order to promote the emergence of high-growth companies that will contribute to the economic expansion of our countries.

Our values

Generosity: taste for challenge and permanent openness

Rigor: honest relations with promoters and excellence in work

Commitment: contribution to the economic development of women, Senegal, Africa Innovation: optimal structuring of unions and customization of technical support according to the specific needs of the target.

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 invests between 100,000 and 1,000,000 Euros through a mix of equity and quasi-equity in companies from all sectors, founded by women, at least 50% owned by women, or with a mainly female management team.