The level of representation of women within the leadership of African tech startups has increased over the last year, but there is plenty of work to be done before true gender equality exists in the space.

The second edition of “Diversity Dividend: Exploring Gender Equality in the African Tech Ecosystem”, Disrupt Africa’s annual deep-dive into the state of gender diversity in the African startup and venture capital ecosystems, is powered by Madica, an Africa-focused pre-seed investment programme dedicated to empowering underrepresented and underfunded mission-driven founders.

The report, which also counts Goodwell Investments, SAIS powered by GIZ, and the International Trade Centre’s NTF V programme among its partners, has tracked measurable progress from a gender diversity perspective over the last 12 months, yet what has been achieved can still only be characterised as “baby steps” given the significant disadvantage women face within the ecosystem.

Of the 2,786 startups tracked for the purposes of the publication, 483 (17.3%) had at least one female co-founder. While still a very low number, it represents growth on 2023 figures, when only 350 startups – 14.6 per cent of the total – had a woman on their founding team.

Read more at: https://disruptafrica.com/2024/08/02/steady-growth-in-female-leadership-of-african-tech-startups-report/