Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, is the daughter of the late Nigerian business magnate, investor, and trained commercial pilot captain Hosa Wells Okunbo. She is the CEO of Aruwa Capital Management. In this interview by SEGUN KASALI, she explains efforts aimed at bridging the gaps for female entrepreneurs regarding access to funding, among other issues.
As the daughter of an illustrious man in Edo State, late Captain Hosa Okunbo, how would you describe your growing up?
It was pleasant. What I saw in my father was that he was always working. There was a lot of sacrifice on his part. From a tender age, I had always seen that hard work in him. These are some of the values that he instilled in me. I had a lot of fond memories with my father. May his soul Rest In Peace. I think in the last year there were a lot of good memories especially working as his Personal Assistant. I remember waking to his message, giving me instructions on what to do for the day. I learnt a lot from him. He was a great man. All these made me to be focused and determined to reach my goals. So, growing up, I just only wanted to follow my own path. It was quite a large family. I went to boarding school at age 11 and I think that sort of gave me a level of independence. But, I think boarding school shaped my character. I was in the United Kingdom at a very young age. I think that transition made me grow up quicker. So, the independent mind-set kind of followed me through to the university. After the university, I applied for a job for myself. Thereafter, I got a job with JP Morgan and the rest is history.
You envisioned a career path growing up?
I think from the age of about 15, I had in mind to be an investment banker. I remember seeing a woman at an investment bankers’ event in London dressed very nicely and also the realisation that investment banking impacts the economy and the financial market got me interested in the career. So, at the age of 15, the whole choices I started to make was targeted at becoming an investment banker. For the fact that I studied Economics at A’levels, University and thereafter applied for internship in investment banking which I got, kind of just followed.
At what point did you come back to Nigeria?
In my final year at the University of Bristol, I got a job in Merger and acquisitions at JP Morgan, where I spent about three and a half years. Thereafter, I got headhunted by an European private equity fund who wanted to sell African fund. So, that was when I came back to Nigeria and established a base here because we were raising African fund and I was the head of fund. So, I started to leverage on my relationships here to help raise the fund. I was doing that for about four and a half years. We did not successfully raise the fund but we were able to spot a very clear gap in the market for women such that there was a huge gap for women entrepreneurs in terms of access to funding or less than two percent of funding at that time was going to female entrepreneurs. So, I felt that there was no way stories would change for female entrepreneurs if we don’t have more women actually writing checks. So, that was really where Aruwa Capital was born in 2019. But, the transition to Nigeria started in 2014.
As one of the few women who own investment houses in Africa, please share with us your personal experience that herald the establishment of this company?
It was really about the fact that as a young African black woman, I struggled to fund raise myself for about four years. At the same time, I saw other people that were successfully raising funds but they were men. So, I said what is the reason for this? When I looked around, it was a phenomenon that was not only in Nigeria but it was something that was occurring globally. So I said, ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ and I decided to be the change I want to see in the world. And that was really how Aruwa Capital was born.
You company identified an untapped investment opportunity, how did it arrive at this?
It is very simple. The data has been proven that female-founded businesses generate two times revenue than male-founded businesses, according to Boston Consulting Group (BCG). It has also been proven by the data from McKinsey and IFC that gender diversity in executive teams, gender diversity on boards increase profitability. That gap means there is not enough gender diversity in the ecosystem. So, it means if you have women that are allocating capital, there is a natural trickle down effect of free will to women and to gender diversity. So, that is the untapped investment opportunity, including the fact that gender diversity increases company’s profitability, reduces risk, and lead to better decision making. So, that is the natural comparative advantage we have in Aruwa.
What is the place of female economy?
Yes. BCG again tells us that women control about 15 trillion dollars of consumer spending. If you are married, I am sure that your wife makes most of your household spending decisions. So, the female economy thus represents these goods and services that cater to women, also the power of women in driving consumer spending in households. At Aruwa, we have two forms of gender strategy- first is businesses that are founded by women or have gender diversity teams. The second criteria is that it could be founded by man but provides goods and services that cater to women. We are the best people to identify those businesses.
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How far have you gone with capital allocation especially as it regards gender imbalance?
I think from our research we have seen that since 2008 there is less than 20 funds that is female owned or female-run and have successfully reached the final close since 2008. Out of these, there are four of us that are black and African. So, how we are changing the narrative for that is really by shaping successes from our own portfolio. If we can make a business case, if we can showcase that, there is a comparative advantage to enhance profitability. That will encourage other investors to back female fund managers because they can say look at Aruwa. So, that is the impact we want to make on the ecosystem.
Do you also share same belief in the report by McKinsey that 28 trillion could be added to global GDP by 2025 if the gender gap is bridged?
Yes, that’s true. But, I think the statistics is old because it was in 2015. I think with how the economy has evolved we saw the effect of Covid-19 and the importance of how the women are doing well in the ecosystem. I am sure the figures have been revised upward now. For any economy to thrive, there has to be gender balance especially in Africa where women play such critical role in the household economy and that is very key for 50 percent of the population to also be contributing to the GDP.
Where do you see Aruwa Capital in the next two-three years?
I think two to three years is too short. This is what I intend to be doing for the next 30 to 50 years. In the next two to three years, we want to showcase some credible exits in our portfolio that can give people confidence that woman investor is as good as anyone else. So, that is one of the major objectives. We also have bigger picture to be Pan African. Right now, we invest in Nigeria and Ghana. So, we want to grow outside of just Nigeria. We want to be real pioneer fund in Africa not just Nigeria.
How do you handle multiplicity of roles as a woman?
Women are very good at multitasking, we are very good at prioritizing. I think for me it is really just the grace of God. I have a very supportive family. With a supportive family and the grace of God, everything is possible.
What is your take about women in leadership positions?
I support the view of women in leadership positions. It is all about decision making. Women tend to make more informed decisions. This has been proven by what we see in the finance industry.
What’s your unforgettable event?
There was one event and that was when I got rejected from Goldman Sachs internship in my second year of the University and I thought my whole life was going to end. That was really what I wanted. But then, I managed to get a job with JP Morgan. And at that point, it necessitated the mantra that I follow now that everything happens for a reason. You should not look at any rejection as a closed door.
How do you feel exceeding your final close target as a company?
We are very happy to have exceeded our final close target of 20 million dollars and we are able to bring on global institutions and investors such as Mastercard Foundation, Visa Foundation and FSD Africa and it is the fund we have been raising for the last three years since October 2019 when we launched. And we are very grateful to God. We have already made seven investments now and the fund is about 60 percent committed. We have got three more investments to do. I am very excited because with Aruwa I will be the first female solo General Partner (GP) that has raised more than 10 million dollars in Nigeria. We are excited to continue to showcase the untapped potentials for women through these funds.
