Jo Opot, the founder of Gather Ventures, grew up in Kenya and is deeply aware of the obstacles African women face in building wealth.

She notes that legal recognition of women’s rights to inherit property in Kenya was only enacted in 2012.

This inspired her to focus on helping women not just earn income, but also secure ownership of assets to create generational wealth.

“Many women work hard to build wealth with their partners. But when those partners die, the property often goes to the man’s relatives, not the woman,” Opot told AFROTECH. “We want to change that.”

Launched in 2021, the Gather Impact Fund prioritizes startups that promote both environmental resilience and women’s economic advancement.

About 80% of the fund’s investments go to businesses led by women and working on environmental solutions.

Some of these include Mobility for Africa, which offers women-friendly electric tricycles for transportation, and Giraffe Bioenergy, a company that produces clean cooking fuel from cassava, a drought-resistant crop widely cultivated by women.

Gather Ventures offers flexible funding solutions such as grants, equity, loans, or working capital, depending on the needs of each business. The goal is to avoid forcing entrepreneurs into accepting unsuitable forms of financing.

The fund focuses on industries where women are already active, such as agriculture, as well as fast-growing fields like construction and technology, where female representation is still low.

Jo Opot believes more attention should be directed toward climate adaptation, especially for low-income communities that suffer the most from its effects.

She also emphasizes the importance of making gender considerations a core part of climate finance.

“Women have proven to be effective agents of change. Investing in them is not just fair—it’s strategic,” she said.

Through Gather Ventures, Opot and her team aim to reshape climate funding by centering African women and their communities at the heart of the solution.