S9-Ep34: Sheba & ShEquity: Empowering Women-Owned Businesses

Guest: Pauline Koelbl

40% of small and medium-sized businesses in Africa are owned by women. But expanding those businesses is tough: in 2022, single female founders and exclusively-female founding teams received only around 2.4% of investments that went to startups in Africa. Pauline Koelbl is out to change that and narrow the extreme gender gap.

Born in Rwanda, Pauline faced the challenges of life as a young refugee yet managed to secure not one but two Fulbright scholarships. Now she leads ShEquity, an impact investing fund addressing the gender funding gap in Africa. Discover how she’s shaping the future for women-owned businesses in Africa in this follow-up episode.

Here's what Pauline and host Maureen Metcalf cover:

1. Why investing in women-led businesses does double duty as an investment in community, much more effectively than with men-led firms;
2. Breaking down the misconceptions around African women in business – and of the African business climate in general; and
3. The far-reaching impacts of the companies ShEquity has invested in so far.

 

Other episodes you'll enjoy:

- ShEquity - A Refugee’s Path to Empowering Women & Their Businesses with Pauline Koelbl

- You Are Enough, You Are Worthy: Leadership Lessons for Women with Betsy Myers

- Epic! The Women’s Power Playbook with Carolyn Buck Luce

For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn. We’re on Instagram,and Twitter, too!

 

RESOURCES:  

Learn more about Pauline’s impact fund, ShEquity, on the web at https://shequity.com.

 

Our host, Maureen Metcalf, posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. 

 

She’s also written several award-winning books on leadership development. You can peruse and purchase them here. 

 

 

Books we’re reading for fun or personal development right now include:

• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
• Every Man a King by Walter Mosley
• Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

-----------------------  

OUR PODCAST TEAM:  

Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf

Editor & Producer: Dan Mushalko

Video & Graphics Editor: Devon Mushalko

Assistant Editor: Luigi Morelli

Majority Investors in this Podcast: Jenna Reik & Mike Morrow-Fox

CONNECT WITH US: 

Facebook: facebook.com/Innovativeleadership 

YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership 

Twitter: @IL_Institute 

Mastodon: @InnoLeader 

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 

Instagram: @innovativeleader 

Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com 

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating! 

-----------------------  

About Our Guest:  

ShEquity’s Founder & Managing Partner, Pauline is a gender-lens/impact investor and a leading innovation expert in developing & emerging economies with over 20 years of experience in international affairs and venture philanthropy. ShEquity provides smart investment to impactful and scalable African female-led and owned businesses. Pauline also has 11+ years of experience catalyzing innovation and supporting SMES/startups across Africa. Her passion lies in innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic empowerment of youth and women.

 

A double Fulbright Scholar and Fellow, Pauline holds an Executive Education in Innovation for Economic Development from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government; a Master’s Degree (MA) in Poverty and Development, Institute of Development Studies (IDS) from the University of Sussex, United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in International Studies (Honors) from the University of Arizona (UoA), USA. In 2022, Pauline was recognized as one of 100 Leaders building ‘Meaningful Business’, combining profit and purpose to help achieve the UN Global Goals.