WIC Capital

What WIC Capital does

WIC Capital is a private impact-focused investment fund headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, and the first fund exclusively dedicated to women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Francophone West Africa. Founded in March 2019 by the Women's Investment Club Senegal (WIC Senegal, founded 8 March 2015), the fund provides equity and quasi-equity financing of EUR 100,000 to EUR 1,000,000 per company alongside zero-interest rate loans, targeting women-led businesses in all sectors including agri-food, cosmetics, fashion, recycling, education, technology and personal services. Eligible investees are companies founded by women, at least 50% women-owned, or with predominantly female management teams that are operating in a growth phase in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire. The fund runs a structured origination-to-disbursement pipeline (origination, due diligence, Investment Committee, closing) with a 5-year investment period and a 6-year average holding period.

The fund operates an integrated three-pillar model: (i) the investment fund vehicle itself (Fund I and Fund II), (ii) the WIC Academy, a technical assistance program providing pre- and post-investment capacity building, strategic consulting, coaching, mentoring and networking that has supported 300+ companies across 8 cohorts, and (iii) the Women's Investment Club (WIC) network of 120+ women business leaders across Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire that supplies deal origination, sector expertise, mentorship, and governance support via board seats and monitoring committees. WIC Capital does not develop proprietary technology; the platform is a human-advisory and capital deployment operation layered on a member network.

Revenue follows a standard PE/impact fund structure: management fees charged to institutional and private limited partners, carried interest on exits over a multi-year holding cycle, and zero-interest on-lending under the development debt facility. As of the latest disclosures, WIC Capital has invested approximately EUR 6 million (XOF 3,956 million) across 23 portfolio SMEs, with portfolio companies generating EUR 3,538,793 in cumulative revenue (21% from exports to 12 countries) and 394 direct plus 959 indirect jobs since launch. Institutional partners include FSD Africa (USD 1 million loan, December 2023), Mastercard Foundation, FMO, USAID, CFYE, ADA, FIT, Sunu Group, Collaborative Finance and Lamane Partners. The team is small (1–10 employees) and includes professionals with backgrounds at AFIG Funds, Adiwale Partners, Optimaz Consulting, CGF Gestion and CESAG Business School.

Name

WIC Capital

Legal name

WIC Capital

Website

https://wic-capital.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

WIC Capital is a Dakar-based impact investment fund providing equity, quasi-equity, and zero-interest loans (EUR 100,000-1,000,000) to women-led SMEs in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire, supplemented by WIC Academy capacity building and a 120+ member business network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Impact Investing / Gender-Lens Private Equity Fund

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Sector & Blended Finance Arms (IFC-type) (BPADACAJ)

Keywords

• Gender-lens investing
• Impact investment fund
• Equity financing
• SME growth capital
• Technical assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

Dakar

HQ country

Senegal

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Equity and Quasi-Equity Investment Returns: WIC Capital generates returns through equity stakes and quasi-equity instruments (e.g., convertible notes, preferred equity) in women-led SMEs. The fund invests EUR 100,000 to 1,000,000 per company across all sectors, targeting capital appreciation and dividend income from portfolio companies over an average holding period of 6 years.
2. Zero-Interest Rate Loans: WIC Capital also extends zero-interest rate loans to women-led micro and small businesses as part of its financing toolkit, complementing equity investments. Ticket sizes range from 50 to 600 million XOF (EUR 100,000–1,000,000).
3. Management Fees and Carried Interest: As a registered investment fund, WIC Capital generates revenue through management fees charged to fund investors (institutional and private) and carried interest on investment returns, typical for private equity/impact fund structures.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

WIC Capital is an investment fund providing equity and quasi-equity financing of EUR 100,000 to EUR 1,000,000 per company to women-led MSMEs in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire. It is complemented by the WIC Academy, which delivers pre- and post-investment technical assistance (governance, strategy, finance, HR, marketing, digitalization), and by the Women's Investment Club network of 120+ members that contributes deal flow, mentorship, and board-level governance support.

Product overview

WIC Capital operates as an integrated investment ecosystem consisting of the WIC Capital Investment Fund (Fund I and Fund II) providing equity and quasi-equity financing of €100,000 to €1,000,000 per company, complemented by the WIC Academy technical assistance program offering capacity building, strategic consulting, coaching, and mentoring services, and the Women's Investment Club network of over 120 members who provide sectoral expertise and business connections. The fund focuses on women-led SMEs across Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire, with a portfolio of 23+ companies spanning sectors including agri-food, cosmetics, fashion, recycling, education, and technology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WIC Academy: Technical assistance program of the Women's Investment Club designed to equip women-led SMEs with tools needed for strong, structured and sustainable growth. Provides diagnostic, capacity building, strategic consulting, coaching, mentoring and networking services.
• WIC Senegal (Women's Investment Club Senegal)
• WIC Côte d'Ivoire
• WIC Capital Fund I
• WIC Capital Fund II

Products and services

• WIC Capital Investment Fund (Fund I and Fund II) Gender-lens investment fund providing equity, quasi-equity and zero-interest loan financing of EUR 100,000–1,000,000 per company to women-led MSMEs in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire, with expansion planned across Francophone Africa.
• WIC Academy Technical assistance program providing pre- and post-investment capacity building, strategic consulting, coaching, mentoring and networking to women-led SMEs in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.
• Women's Investment Club (WIC Senegal and WIC Côte d'Ivoire) Business network of 120+ women from diverse sectors in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire that contributes deal flow, market knowledge, sectoral expertise, mentorship and active governance participation (board seats, monitoring committees) to WIC Capital's portfolio companies.

Quantifiable outcome

• 23 SMEs funded; 100% women-owned/led portfolio companies
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers23 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Women's Investment Club Senegal (WIC Senegal)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWIC Senegal is the founding organization of WIC Capital. Founded on March 8, 2015 (International Women's Day), it is a business network of around 100 women from the private sector. WIC Capital was launched by WIC Senegal in March 2019. WIC members contribute deal flow, mentorship, and expertise throughout the investment cycle.
• Women's Investment Club Côte d'Ivoire (WIC Côte d'Ivoire)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWIC Côte d'Ivoire was founded in 2018 and brings together women from various sectors committed to promoting women's investment and active participation in economic development. It operates alongside WIC Senegal as part of the WIC ecosystem that supports WIC Capital's origination and portfolio support activities.
• WIC AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWIC Academy is the technical assistance program of the Women's Investment Club, designed to equip women-led SMEs with tools for strong, structured, and sustainable growth. It provides pre- and post-investment support including initial diagnosis, capacity building, strategic consulting, coaching, mentoring, and networking. To date, WIC Academy has supported 300+ companies across 8 cohorts.
• DigiFemmeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigiFemme is listed as a partner of WIC Capital, supporting digital inclusion and tech-enabled solutions for women entrepreneurs.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Adiwale Partners: West Africa-focused PE firm based in Côte d'Ivoire investing in growth-stage SMEs across Francophone Africa. Direct peer for geography and SME focus; notably cited in WIC Capital's analyst team as a former employer.
• Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P): Paris-based impact investment firm managing multiple Africa SME-focused funds (PAIE, IPES, FISE), with operations across Francophone West Africa. Highly comparable as an SME-focused impact investor with similar ticket sizes and integrated TA approach.
• AFIG Funds: Africa-focused PE manager with a strong West Africa presence and long track record investing in growth SMEs. Directly comparable as a regional PE peer; cited in WIC Capital's investment manager's prior work history.
• GroFin: Pan-African impact fund manager providing finance plus technical assistance to SMEs across multiple African markets, including West Africa. Comparable for serving underbanked SMEs with a hybrid capital-and-support model.
• Acumen (West Africa): Global non-profit impact investor with West Africa activities, backing early-stage SMEs addressing poverty, often with gender-lens themes. Highly comparable for impact mandate and target investee profile.
• Novastar Ventures: East Africa-focused impact VC firm investing in early-stage businesses serving mass-market customers, with embedded TA support. Comparable as Africa-focused impact investor with similar thesis, though geography differs.
• Sahel Capital: West Africa-focused PE manager operating FAFIN (agriculture finance in Nigeria) and SEFWA (social enterprises in West Africa). Comparable for West Africa PE mandate and SME focus.

Broad incumbents

• Proparco: French development finance institution (AFD subsidiary) financing African SMEs via direct investments and fund-of-fund tickets. Operates at significantly larger scale than WIC Capital; relevant as both LP/funder and competitor for sourcing.
• FMO: Dutch DFI with broad African mandate including SME finance and fund investments; listed partner of WIC Capital. Operates at vastly larger scale and wider portfolio; relevant DFI/LP counterpart.

Regional players

• Baobab Microfinance: Pan-African microfinance institution lending to underserved micro-entrepreneurs across West and Central Africa, including women-owned businesses. Comparable for serving underbanked women entrepreneurs in the same geographies, though debt-only model differs from WIC's equity approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wic-capital
• Xx.com/WIC_Senegal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments4 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WIC Capital