Rebellion is the birthright of all women; it’s the fertile ground from which we grow and develop
and become all that we can be. I am a rebel and it is through that rebellion that M-Kyala
Ventures was birthed five years ago.
I’m thrilled to share something my team and I have been pouring our hearts into, our first ever
Impact Report. It’s proof of what happens when you refuse to accept that ‘women are risk-
averse’ or that ‘it’s difficult to design programmes for women.’
These statements used to infuriate me, but they don’t anymore because while this ignorance is
an expression of bias, it is also the consequence of a systemic construct that has presented the
ever-continuous narrative that women, youth and those that are differently abled cannot be
included as a constructive opportunity but rather as a special disadvantaged group that has to
be pitied to be served.
M-Kyala exists to shatter those narratives with evidence, to show that when we think about
representation in how we address entrepreneurial needs, we can envision a sustainable
financial future. Inside this report, you’ll meet entrepreneurs such as Hellen Munyasa in
Uganda, who is transforming plastic waste into textile thread while paying waste collectors
nearly three times the market rate and more who are transforming food systems, building
green enterprises, creating jobs, uplifting livelihoods, and making profit while driving ripples of
social impact across their communities.
You’ll read about our research mapping women’s entrepreneur networks across Sub-Saharan
Africa, revealing over 1 million women supporting each other through networks that formal
business ecosystems often overlook. You’ll discover our approach to how we design accelerator
programmes that attract, retain and provide value to women entrepreneurs, and so much more
on what we’ve been up to over the years.
It will take more than 100 years for the world to achieve gender equality, but today we each
can participate in forward thinking actions that will enable access to resources and capital for
women, youth and the differently abled to start, grow and scale enterprises.
This work is hard, it is underfunded, it is rigorous but it is meaningful. Being at the frontline of
this impact has been the anchor and joy of these 5 years. As we go forward our goal is to reach
1 million women by 2030 and invest upwards of $20 million dollars in gender strategic scalable
business models.
Transforming finance for women is not the work of one organisation, but a collective
movement. If you believe, as we do, that women’s economic power is central to a fair and
sustainable future, we invite you to partner with us.
Find the M-Kyala Impact Report here
By Carolyne Kirabo, Founder and CEO of M-Kyala Ventures