Our investment
Description of the investment.
Description of the investment.
We are supporting Aruwa Capital Fund II, a female-founded and led West African fund, investing in consumer, healthcare, cleantech and fintech. Aruwa targets the early-stage (Pre-Series A) VC segment that is underfunded in Nigeria and Ghana with ticket sizes in the range of $0.5-2.5m and seeks to be the first institutional investor in target companies.
Impact information
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
What?
| Impact |
|---|
Improve economic productivity for businesses and increase economic opportunities and jobs through investments in technology-led and innovative companies. Support gender-balanced owners to effectively execute on gender-lens investing (GLI) strategies. Climate change mitigation through investment in cleantech solutions. The Fund will invest in 100% 2X-aligned and 75% Black-owned and led ventures and has committed to deploying 30% of the fund into climate finance-eligible investments. |
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How?
| Primary | Secondary |
|---|---|
|
Core impact objective is business growth and creation of employment and economic opportunities by investing in early-stage ventures and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by investing in early-stage innovative companies supporting use of clean energy. |
Economic Enabler: Aruwa II will invest in sectors generating input that enhance economic productivity, e.g. technology and diagnostics. We will revisit the EE rationale during DD. Catalysing Market: Potential to demonstrate (i) effectiveness of investing in GLI strategy funds with gender-balanced investment teams; and (ii) viability of gender-smart businesses to operate at scale, therefore changing behavior of various market players towards the African VC market. |
Who?
| Stakeholder | Geography | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Entrepreneurs |
Nigeria |
Meaningful and inclusive job creation in line with country benchmarks and fund track record. |
| Employees |
Ghana |
The fund will be invested in women-own and led businesses, majority of which will be local entrepreneurs. |
| Suppliers and consumers |
Commitment to investing in cleantech, representing 30% of the portfolio. |
How much?
| Scale | Depth/Duration |
|---|---|
|
At the time of screening, an estimates of 1789 people were employees by Aruwa portfolio companies. The new funds expects to create up to 2,500 direct jobs. |
Contribution/additionality
| Contribution/additionality |
|---|
|
BII's financial additionality to the fund is rated as High. Our investment contributes to a successful Second close and reaching the target fund size. |
Risk
Execution RiskRelates to the risk that businesses will fail to scale and therefore deliver expected impact. These are inherent risks to the VC model and is aligned with commercial risks. External RiskMacro environment including local currency risks for the manager which can affect fund economics. Mitigated in portfolio valuation exercise. |
Impact score
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Impact score (at point of investment)
The Impact Score is a tool to help us manage our performance against our strategic impact objectives. It is designed to incentivise investments that support our productive, sustainable, and inclusive objectives. The Impact Score shown is based on the 2022-2026 Impact Score methodology. You can find out more here. The Impact Score is published for investments made from 2022 onwards. The Impact Scores are calculated at the point of investment. We publish the Impact Scores of new investments annually, once the information has been externally assured by an independent third party. |
|---|
10.800000000000001 |
Environmental and social information
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Environmental and social summary
A high-level description of the environmental and social aspects of the investment. This may include a summary of key environmental and social risks identified during environmental and social due diligence (ESDD); key elements of an environmental and social action plan (ESAP); or ways in which we plan to support the investee improve environmental and social standards, such as through their environmental and social management system (ESMS); as well as any other priority areas agreed with the investee.
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Environmental and social risk
A risk category rating, which indicates the level of environmental and social risk associated with an investment. For an explanation of the categorisations used, see here. We consistently provide an environmental and social risk category for all investments screened from 2023 onwards.
Environmental and social summary
Working closely with ElectriFI, we agreed an ESAP with Aruwa focused on updating its Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) and strengthening ESG capacity.
Environmental and social risk
Medium-Low
Reporting and Complaints Mechanism
The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to [email protected] or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.
For any other general enquiries contact us at [email protected]
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Key facts
- First published
:
When the investment was first published on the website database.
- September 2025
- Last updated
:
When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.
- June 2026
- Project number
:
An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.
- D6674
- Status
:
The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).
- Active
- Region
:
The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.
- West Africa
- Country
:
The countries where the investment delivers impact. Where impact is delivered in multiple countries, this is indicated.
- Ghana, Nigeria
- Sector
:
We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.
- Business and consumer services, Manufacturing
- Investment policy :
- Catalyst
- Investment type :
- Fund
- Start date :
- April 2025
- Amount :
- $5m
- Currency of investment :
- USD
- Fund manager:
- Aruwa Capital Management
- Domicile
:
The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.
- Mauritius
We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.
Type of investment portfolio that each investment is made under. Since 2014, we have run two investment portfolios: Catalyst and Growth. In addition, our Kinetic Portfolio enables us to manage concessional investment strategies.
For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.
For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.
For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.
For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.
For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.
For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.
The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.
For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.
The currency in which the investment was made.
- First published
-
Gender and climate finance facts
- Climate finance
:
Indicates whether the investment is climate finance qualified or partially climate finance qualified and the type of climate finance (adaptation, mitigation or both). We define climate finance using the multilateral development bank (MDB) and the International Development Finance Club (IDFC) Common Principles climate finance methodology. See Common Principles for Climate Mitigation Finance Tracking and Common Principles for Climate Change Adaptation Finance Tracking. We provide the climate finance qualification and type for commitments from 2020 onwards, which is when we launched our Climate Change Strategy.
- Partially qualified : 30%
- Climate finance type
:
Mitigation: Indicates investments which, by avoiding or reducing GHG emissions or increasing GHG sequestration, contributes substantially to the stabilisation of GHG concentrations in the atmosphere – at a level which prevents dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system consistent with the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement
Adaptation: Indicates investments aimed at preventing or reducing the risks or vulnerabilities posed by climate change and increasing climate resilience. This includes both adapted activities and enabling activities to manage and reduce physical climate risks
Dual: Indicates investments directed towards activities contributing to both climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation and meeting the respective criteria for each category
The climate finance type of the investment is determined at time of commitment.
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- Mitigation: 30%
- 2X gender finance
:
Indicates whether the investment is ‘2X qualified’ using the 2X Challenge criteria. You can find out more here. It only applies to investments made from 2018 onwards, when the 2X Challenge was first launched.
- Fully qualified
- 2X qualification criteria:
:
2X Criteria the investment qualifies under. See 2X Criteria for more information.
-
- Entrepreneurship — Owner
2X threshold 51%: Investee already meets threshold - Leadership — Board of Directors/Investment Committee
2X threshold 30%: Investee already meets threshold - Leadership — Senior Management
2X threshold 45%: Investee already meets threshold - Indirect/Portfolio
2X threshold 30%: Investee commits to meet threshold
- Entrepreneurship — Owner
- 2X sector
:
Indicates the specific 2X sector benchmark the investment qualifies under. See 2X Criteria for more information.
- Financial and Insurance Activities
- 2X country
:
Indicates the specific 2X country benchmark the investment qualifies under. See 2X Criteria for more information.
- Nigeria
- Climate finance
Investments made by this fund into companies:
For further information about these companies, visit https://aruwacapital.com/
| Investment name | Country | Region | Sector | Fossil Fuel or Renewable Exposure | Start date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onchek Fashion Company Limited | Nigeria | West Africa | Manufacturing | September 2025 | Active | |
| Toasties | Nigeria | West Africa | Business and consumer services | September 2025 | Active | |
| Yikodeen | Nigeria | West Africa | Manufacturing | September 2025 | Active |
