In the world of startups and venture capital, women are often told to “dream big.” But what happens when access to capital remains locked behind biased networks, tech bros, and Lagos-centric funding patterns? Across Nigeria’s South-East and South-South, a quiet revolution is taking place — led by a group of visionary women who are not just unlocking capital but reshaping the rules of who gets funded, and why.
These women are fund managers, angel investors, ecosystem builders, and mentors, driven by one goal: to ensure that women — especially those outside the spotlight of Yaba or Lekki — have a real shot at building scalable, investable, and impactful businesses.
The VC Landscape: A Quick Reality Check
Despite the buzz around women in tech and business, funding numbers still tell a sobering story. According to Briter Bridges, in 2023, less than 10% of venture capital in Africa went to women-led startups, and even less to women outside of major hubs like Lagos, Nairobi, or Cape Town. In Nigeria, the situation is particularly stark in the South-East and South-South, where infrastructure, visibility, and access to investor networks remain limited.
But a group of women are rewriting this narrative — not by begging for a seat at the table, but by building their own venture desks, funds, and communities.
1. Adaeze Sokan – The Gender-Lens Fund Whisperer
Adaeze Sokan, a development economist and gender inclusion advocate, is one of the key voices championing gender-lens investing in Nigeria. Though not a traditional VC, her work through organisations like Ventures Platform Foundation has directly supported female founders, especially those working in education, health, and agriculture sectors, which are often overlooked by mainstream VCs.
While much of her work started in Abuja, she’s been instrumental in programs that include rural and peri-urban women founders from states like Enugu, Cross River, and Delta. Her impact lies in building pipelines of investment-ready women and pushing funders to rethink what innovation looks like.
“When you expand the lens beyond Lagos, you find women solving real, gritty problems — clean energy for rural kitchens, local language edtech, herbal health products going global. They need capital, not just capacity.”
2. Nneka Eze – VestedWorld & Scaling Local Innovation
As Managing Partner at VestedWorld.com, Nneka Eze is leading one of the few impact-oriented investment firms that understands the cultural and structural complexity of Nigeria’s regions. VestedWorld has invested in companies across Africa that are building infrastructure in agriculture, logistics, and fintech sectors where many South-East and South-South women-led businesses thrive but are underfunded.
Though her firm is based in Lagos, Nneka has been outspoken about changing the geographic bias of Nigerian investment. She regularly speaks about the need to support “non-Lagos genius” and build investor trust in regional founders.
Her work is crucial in mainstreaming the idea that women in Aba or Calabar are just as capable of building export-grade businesses, if given the capital and market linkages.
3. Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu – Tony Elumelu Foundation and Beyond
Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, former CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, helped catalyse one of the largest entrepreneur support initiatives in Africa. Under her leadership, TEF not only scaled its reach but also deliberately targeted women and underserved regions, including Anambra, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers State.
Through TEF, thousands of women-led businesses across South-East and South-South Nigeria have received seed capital, business training, and global visibility.
“Access isn’t just about money,” she once said. “It’s about networks, language, and belief. We must change the narrative from ‘empowering women’ to ‘backing winners’ — because these women are already winning against the odds.”
Her new ventures post-TEF continue to align with gender-equity investment and mentorship.
**4. **Eloho Omame – FirstCheck Africa’s Southern Shift
While FirstCheck Africa — the pre-seed fund co-founded by Odunayo Eweniyi and Eloho Omame, who hails from Delta state in South-South Nigeria — is based in Lagos, it is increasingly building a footprint in emerging ecosystems. The fund, which offers first-cheque investments to women-led startups, is one of the few actively seeking deal flow outside the Lagos bubble.
In a recent fireside chat, Odunayo mentioned that they were reviewing startups from cities like Uyo, Umuahia, and Awka — and that tech doesn’t always mean app-based startups.
“We’re funding ambition — whether it’s a founder digitizing food supply chains in Onitsha or an agritech solution run by a women’s cooperative in Abia. The goal is to normalize funding women as a first instinct, not an afterthought.”
Eloho Omame had this to say to female venture capitalists :
“Female-focused VC fund managers in Africa need to do three things better: (1) focus on commercial returns in presenting the opportunity in female-led startups; (2) build high-quality brands, networks, and credibility as critical players in the mainstream ecosystem; and (3) raise larger funds to make concentrated bets, write bigger first checks, and reserve meaningful follow-on capacity”.
5. Grassroots Initiatives: The Unsung Heroes
While national VC firms and funds make headlines, local women-led initiatives are also acting as micro-investors and incubators in their communities:
- Women in tech communities across the states serve as a channel through which organisations and even individuals can fund and support women-led ventures.
- In Uyo, Akwa Ibom Women in Techmakers Network launched a “FundHer” initiative that offers mini-loans and investment readiness coaching for market women entering the e-commerce space. They also provide visibility, community and resources for women in technology in the state.
- In some cities in the south and the southeast, the Girls in Business collective collaborates with diaspora funders to host pitch nights for female entrepreneurs in fashion and food processing.
These initiatives are hyper-local, deeply personal, and incredibly effective, precisely because they understand the real challenges women face: lack of childcare, patriarchal gatekeeping, digital illiteracy, and fear of debt.
Challenges They Face
While this movement is growing, it is not without resistance. Female funders and ecosystem builders often face dismissal or condescension from male-dominated VC circles. Some women founders in the South-East and South-South struggle with visibility or are tagged as “not scalable enough.”
Additionally, gender-lens investing is still an emerging thesis in Africa — many fund managers remain unconvinced of its commercial returns. However, women like Nneka, Ifeyinwa, and Odunayo are building a data-backed case that investing in women pays off with interest.
What Comes Next?
To truly democratize venture capital for women across Nigeria, especially in regions often left out, a few key steps are essential:
- Regional Angel Networks: More women-led angel groups focused on investing in local startups in Port Harcourt, Owerri, Enugu, and Calabar.
- Policy Incentives: Tax breaks or matching funds for VCs that invest in women outside major hubs.
- Media Representation: More stories of successful women-led businesses from the South-South and South-East.
- Diaspora Ties: Tapping Nigerian women abroad to co-invest in ventures back home particularly family-run businesses going digital.
Rewriting the Funding Script
The story of women bringing venture capital to women in Nigeria’s South-East and South-South is not just about money — it’s about reclaiming power, visibility, and autonomy.
By breaking away from exclusionary funding models and Lagos-centric bias, these women are showing us that capital doesn’t just live in Victoria Island boardrooms — it can be raised in Owerri salons, in Aba textile stalls, and in Uyo coding bootcamps.
They’re not just funding women.
They’re backing futures.
Read Also: The-search-for-funding-is-the-major-challenge-for-african-women-in-tech/
