Nothing Will Work Unless You Do: Women in Private Equity, Entrepreneurship and the Sustainable Development Goals

I remember the moment in my first-year lecture class when I learned about the Sustainable Development Goals: 17 goals, 169 targets, 200 indicators. There was so many, they were so ambitious; it felt too big, too…daunting. It felt way beyond the scope of my university, my class and me that day and felt more like the responsibility of the government or large organizations.

While I was intimidated, what I was not was going to give up. After all, as Maya Angelou said, “Nothing will work unless you do.” I had a desire to be part of something bigger than myself, bigger than my classroom, my university. So, I doubled down on my interest in development and impact investing. I made sure to learn where I could have the greatest impact and that was clear: Job creation by growing SMEs and the SME ecosystem. Then, I acquired the skills and capabilities that SMEs needed most.

Armed with my degree and a conviction to use it for impact, I looked for the right job. I applied to several social enterprises and mission-driven organisations. I had worked for a prestigious investment bank, hoping for a more top-down approach and the scale that this brand name can create. I admit that I enjoyed my time in finance, that I learned a lot, but it did not feel close enough to the action; the impact we had, if any, was indirect.

This is when I discovered Secha Capital. A YouTube search led to a cold email, to two interviews and suddenly I was working for a company that enabled me to use my skills, grow SMEs and do my part to tackle the once-daunting SDGs!

Secha Capital is a Southern Africa impact investing fund. We provide patient capital (for equity) to established Africa SMEs. The goal is both financial returns and job creation; we help achieve this by complementing growth capital with human capital (me!). Plus, the company was founded by a diverse team, including someone who looks like me — a black female.

I joined the Secha team explicitly to work with our latest operating company, RUSH Nutrition. It is a great opportunity to support a female entrepreneur, to be (as Lara calls me) her “right-hand woman.”

With the direct collaboration from Secha Managing Director, Rushil, and the support from the other Secha team members, Hope, Yusuf, Brendan, I’ve been able to implement crucial projects for RUSH — from negotiating with our suppliers, installing an inventory management program, building a sales forecast model, to hiring new distributors, merchandisers and sales people.

At Secha Capital and RUSH Nutrition, I am impact investing personified.

This impact investing model has shown me that the SDGs are not daunting, but inspiring and that I can play a part. For now, it is RUSH. Soon, the other six Secha operating companies. Then, twelve more after that and so on!

Secha proved to me what I can do, but also that a small company like Secha can play the role I once thought the domain of only government and large companies. We contribute to SDGs 5 (Gender Equality), 8 (Good Jobs and Economic Growth) and 10 (Reduced Inequality): The vast majority of our capital has gone to female-founded business and there are over 130 full-time jobs across the portfolio in “heartbeat of the economy” sectors like women’s staples, food, and footwear.

Now, I think of Nelson’s Mandela’s famous quote as a book-end to Maya Angelou’s, when he said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

Kuhle Mnisi (kuhle@sechacapital.com) is a Fellow at Secha Capital. She has a master’s degree in development finance from the University of Cape Town. She previously worked at Goldman Sachs, PWC and Act in Africa