Anna Ekeledo, a distinguished innovation ecosystem builder and former Executive Director of AfriLabs, has issued a powerful call for systemic change, stating that funding mechanisms and structural frameworks within Africa's technology landscape must deliberately reflect gender equity.
The Barriers Holding Women Back
While Africa boasts an impressive rate of nearly 47 percent of women graduating in STEM fields at the university level, Ekeledo highlights a severe drop-off in leadership and entrepreneurship. She identifies several fundamental roadblocks causing this disparity.
Limited access to capital remains a primary hurdle, alongside exclusionary professional networks, a lack of targeted mentorship, and deeply entrenched systemic biases. Ekeledo stresses that overcoming these challenges requires more than passive measures; it demands intentionally designing inclusion into the very fabric of the innovation system.
A Blueprint for Intentional Inclusion
For ecosystem builders and innovation leaders, Ekeledo proposes a concrete action plan. She advocates for creating gender-smart investment vehicles and embedding inclusive criteria directly into the governance of hubs and accelerator programs.
A critical shift she emphasizes is moving from mentorship to sponsorship. Mentorship offers advice, but sponsorship offers access and leverage, she notes. Women founders need advocates who will use their social capital to open doors to funding and key decision-makers.
Furthermore, Ekeledo underscores the importance of visibility. Actively promoting the success stories of women founders and leaders helps normalize their presence and inspires the next generation.
The Future: Women as Architects of Innovation
Looking ahead, Ekeledo's vision for the next decade is one where African women are the norm as founders, tech leaders, and policy influencers. To make this a reality, she calls for decisive action.
This includes investing in early STEM and entrepreneurship exposure for girls, setting measurable targets for funding women-led ventures, and guaranteeing that women occupy decision-making seats across all ecosystem pillars.
Ekeledo concludes that the responsibility for this shift is collective. Governments must enact gender-smart policies, investors must commit to diverse portfolios, and hub networks must embed inclusion. Ultimately, for Africa's digital economy to truly thrive, women must be architects of innovation, not just its beneficiaries.
