Meet the female operators helping Africa’s startup ecosystem scale
This International Women’s Day, we spotlight the female operators supporting Africa’s venture ecosystem and helping founders to access capital, programs, and growth support.
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Venture capital is often defined by the investors whose names appear on term sheets and on event panels. But behind every investment decision, accelerator cohort, or founder support programme is a network of operators who help startups move from idea to execution.<br />
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Across Africa’s venture ecosystem, many of these roles are increasingly filled by women working across programmes, platforms, operations, and early-stage investing. They design founder support initiatives, structure early-stage deals, connect entrepreneurs to capital, and build communities that enable startups to thrive. Their work is rarely in the headlines, yet it is often the infrastructure that makes venture capital succeed.<br />
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This International Women’s Day, we spotlight a group of women whose careers sit at the operational core of African venture capital. From government-backed innovation programs and accelerators to angel networks and venture studios, they are shaping how founders are discovered, funded, and supported across the continent.<br />
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Ireayomide Oladunjoye<br />
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Before stepping into venture ecosystem leadership, Ireayomide Oladunjoye built her career in the public sector, helping shape one of Africa’s most active startup ecosystems from within. She joined Lagos Innovates as Executive Assistant to the Executive Secretary, gaining a close view of how policy, capital, and founder support intersect. She later became Head of Startups, a role she held from 2021 to 2023.<br />
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At Lagos Innovates, an initiative of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, Oladunjoye led programmes designed to strengthen the enabling environment for startups and innovation-driven enterprises across Lagos. Her work focused on building initiatives that connected founders with capital, infrastructure, and regulatory support as the city emerged as a leading technology hub on the continent.<br />
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She now serves as Managing Director of Endeavor Nigeria, the local affiliate of the global entrepreneurial network Endeavor, founded in 1997 and now active in 42 c...
