ShEquity

ShEquity invests exclusively in early-growth-stage, gender-smart sustainable SME ventures across Africa. It defines 'gender-smart' as businesses founded or co-founded by women, women-led, or whose products and services disproportionately benefit women. Its mandate requires portfolio companies to meet 2X Challenge criteria and to operate at the intersection of climate impact and gender equity — a dual screen that few African-focused funds enforce simultaneously.

Pipeline development runs through the ShEquity Technical Assistance Facility, a dedicated philanthropy-backed vehicle that prepares gender-smart, climate-focused businesses for investment. The facility provides tailored operational and financial support before any capital is deployed, effectively acting as a proprietary deal-sourcing and qualification engine that reduces early-stage risk. This integrated TA-to-investment structure is unusual for a firm of ShEquity's size in the region.

Sectors include circular economy and bio-economy, renewable energy and energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture and food systems, clean transportation, water resource management, climate technology, and nature-based solutions. Geographically, the firm operates across sub-Saharan Africa, with on-the-ground program activity confirmed in Ghana (per the firm website).

ShEquity makes direct investments into operating SMEs. Its model pairs a proprietary TA facility for pre-investment de-risking with an investment fund that takes direct stakes in early-growth-stage ventures. There is no public indication of fund-of-funds commitments or passive LP positions.

The firm's website names Founder and Managing Partner/CEO Pauline Koelbl as the lead executive. An investment committee is disclosed, with members including Tara Sabre Collier, Tenemba Anna Samake, Dean Hastie, Minayo Sagala, and Caleb Tamfu. Final investment decisions appear to rest with this committee in coordination with Koelbl.

ShEquity has not publicly reported an AUM or specific fund size. Its various investment and technical assistance activities suggest a lean, early-stage capital base, but no verifiable figure is available from firm disclosures or regulatory filings.

The ShEquity Technical Assistance Facility is a distinct, philanthropy-backed initiative designed to prepare SMEs for the commercial investment fund. The two arms operate in tandem: the TA facility de-risks pipeline companies and builds investment readiness, while the fund deploys for-profit capital into the same companies once they meet investment criteria. This integrated architecture creates a proprietary origination-to-exit engine.