Ishmael Wins Africa Impact Trailblazer Award for Gender-lens Investing

Nume Ekeghe

Co-founder and Managing Partner of Alitheia Capital, Tokunboh Ishmael, has been named the 2026 Impact Trailblazer of the Year at the Africa Impact Investment Awards, in recognition of her contributions to advancing impact investing and gender-lens private equity across the continent.

The award, presented at the Africa Impact Summit in Lusaka, Zambia, honours individuals who have made significant contributions to Africa’s impact investment ecosystem.

Ishmael received the recognition for co-founding and helping build Alitheia IDF, Africa’s first and largest dedicated gender-lens private equity fund, alongside Polo Leteka of IDF Capital. Together, they have led the fund’s investment strategy, portfolio development and management, helping establish gender-smart investing as a commercially viable investment approach backed by measurable outcomes.

Commenting on the recognition, Ishmael said the award reflected the collective efforts of investors, founders and partners who shared the vision of proving that impact investing and commercial discipline could coexist.

“This recognition is a tribute to the founders, investors, partners and team members who believe that inclusive capital could be both disciplined and transformative. We set out to prove that gender-lens investing is not a concessionary idea; it is a rigorous investment strategy. The evidence is now stronger, and the opportunity ahead is even larger,” she said.

Alitheia Capital currently manages three investment funds, Alitheia IDF, uMunthu I and uMunthu II. Through the uMunthu funds, the firm has deployed more than $20.5 million across Nigeria and Ghana, supporting businesses operating in agribusiness, agri-tech, financial technology and mobility.

According to the firm, investments made through Alitheia IDF have contributed to the creation of more than 220,000 direct and indirect jobs, improved the livelihoods of over 104 million people and supported progress across 10 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.