There have been ups and downs in the funding environment for startups around the world and in Africa over the past few years, but one figure has remained stubbornly fixed in place. According to Africa: The Big Deal newsletter which has been tracking startup deals worth more than $100k on the continent since 2019, the percent of funding that goes to all female founding teams in Africa has stayed between 0.5% to 2.4%. Gender diverse founding teams fare a little better, raising a low of 8% of equity funding in the first half of this year and a high of 36% in the first half of 2019.
Much has been written on what needs to be done to close this funding gap, but especially at the early stages, building the right narrative is just as important as strong metrics for attracting the resources needed to get a fast-growing business off the ground. This is where the “The Future is Female” Mentorship Program comes in.
It’s the “first and only public relations and communications mentorship program dedicated exclusively to African female tech founders.” During the course of the three-month program mentees will participate in one-on-one sessions with mentors from Allison+Partners, a global PR firm. They will also attend masterclasses hosted… Read more
As part of the deal, which took place in July, CMM founder Claudine Moore was named managing director of Africa at Allison. She is reporting to Matthew Della Croce, global president and chief client experience officer.
C. Moore Media International Public Relations (CMM), an independent PR agency specializing in the U.S., UK and African markets, has joined Allison+Partners, an integrated global marketing and communications agency operating in more than 50 markets around the world.