Episode 156 - Investing in Women and Africa with Adesuwa Rhodes
Subscribe to the Podcast:
Despite the size and scale of the continent, there aren’t many female fund managers in Africa.
Today’s guest is trying to fix that.
Adesuwa Rhodes launched her firm, Aruwa Capital, because she saw untapped investment opportunities in West Africa in the small to lower mid-market. Aruwa has a specific goal to close the gender gap in Africa and become a case study that shows the business value of investing in women as fund managers, entrepreneurs, consumers and stakeholders in society.
She joins the show from her home in Lagos, Nigeria.
All opinions expressed on this podcast, including the team and guests, are solely their opinions. Host and guests may maintain positions in the companies and securities discussed. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as specific investment advice for any individual or organization.
Episode Transcript
Transcription is done by an AI software. While technology is an incredible tool to automate this process, there will be misspellings and typos that might accompany it. Please keep that in mind as you work through it.
John Coleman: Welcome back to the Faith Driven Investor podcast. This is John Coleman. And I'm very excited about our conversation today with Adesuwa Rhodes. He's the founder and managing partner of Aruwa Capital Management. I had the good fortune of running into Adesuwa the first time a couple of years ago, right as she was starting Aruwa. And it's been a privilege to watch her since she since closed her first fund as she's made a number of investments which we'll get to talk through today and has embarked on her second fund here shortly. And it's just a real success story of a number of things, including her own personal leadership journey, gender lens investing, investing in women and investing in emerging markets. So Adesuwa, we're very excited about this conversation. Thank you for joining the podcast today.
Adesuwa Rhodes: Thank you, John, for having me. Really excited to speak to you today.
John Coleman: Absolutely. So maybe let's dive in first on kind of the topics. I want to get to your personal story. But, you know, part of what you're doing is investing with a gender lens or investing in or alongside women as a part of your strategy at Aruwa. And you have a LinkedIn banner image, for example, that reads, Women don't need a seat at the table. We're creating our own tables. Talk to us a little bit about what's motivating about that for you and what investing with a gender lens or in women looks like for you at Aruwa.
Adesuwa Rhodes: Yeah, that is a very important quote for me, and it holds significant meaning to me because it reflects my own perspective on how best to advance women's economic empowerment and women's progress. It really embodies the idea that women should not be waiting for opportunities to be given to them or rely on existing structures or systems to grant them a place at the table. But we need to be proactive. We need to take the initiative if we want to forge our own paths to success and our own path to leadership. And this was really, you know, particularly relevant for me as I looked at, you know, the number of women that were capital allocators on the continent in Africa. You know, for my previous fund, we were fundraising for about four and a half years. And I looked around and I saw that there were really only less than ten women founded and led private equity funds on the whole continent, you know, a continent of 1.3 billion people. Women make up 50% of the population. So it was very clear to me that there are systemic barriers that are preventing women from starting and running their own funds. And if we continue to wait for those opportunities to be given to us, you know, nothing is going to change. So that part really just embodies, you know, be the change you want to see in the world. Take initiative, be proactive and create your own table. Even if your table is small to begin with, you can create your own table and, you know, be in charge of your own story. So that was really what prompted me to set up Aruwa because I wanted to, you know, in my own small way, hopefully be an example for other people to look at so that when they're looking around and trying to find other, you know, women and applying funds in the continent, at least they can see one more and that may encourage them to, you know, battle themselves and that may encourage them to start up their own funds. And and as we see more success stories of, you know, women creating their own tables, I'm hoping that will also make room for more people to want to support women that are looking to do so. So, yeah, it's really kind of important that as women, you know, we take our own steps rather than, you know, asking for permission. We take our own steps, you know, to try and influence and impact other women. Because as women see us, they are also encouraged, you know, setting up Aruwa and you know, where we are now. It's such a blessing that women reach out to me and, you know, they say, well, look at seeing what you've done in Aruwa. You know, I have confidence to start my own business. So I have confidence to start my own fund because I you know, now I know that it's possible. So that was really the kind of the onus of setting up Aruwa was trying to be that change. And, you know, I was asking for permission for a long time. And I thought, you know, it's better to be the change and create your own table that can influence others.
John Coleman: I just wanted to pick up on that of, you know, serving as an example to others, because I can definitely see that Adesuwa. I noticed you're quite active in terms of media, in terms of social media, in terms of encouraging others. But in your personal journey, where did you get the confidence to take that perspective? Who was it in your life that really encouraged you to take that path if there was anyone? And how did you come to the decision that you could be a leader in this space and an encouragement to other women?
Adesuwa Rhodes: Yes, I don't think it was any one particular person. I think my faith played a huge. Role in that. So, you know, we were fundraising for this one for four and a half years. I had a lot of conviction. And you know, what I had built on the ground in Africa because I was headhunted by a European private equity firm to set up their Africa business. I had a lot of conviction in what I built, but we just weren't making headway. So, you know, in my prayer time, you know, I was praying. I was fasting a lot, you know, just trying to ask God for direction and what to do, because I quit my job at Jp morgan to embark on this journey. So I always kind of seek advice from the Holy Spirit and pray. And, you know, what am I what should I do next? And I felt very strong leading that, you know, everything that has happened in your life so far is for this time. And it was really at that time that I took the decision to buy out my previous partners, you know, exited my investments, sold some of my shares on my Jp morgan bonuses, and approached the partners and said, look, I want to buy this out. And, you know, I rebranded the company to Aruwa in July 2019, and I was just 29 years old at this point. So a lot of people were looking at me like I was crazy, you know, They were like, well, you know, the fund hasn't worked. I'll just go back to Jp morgan. But I felt a very strong meeting from God that, you know, you've gone through all this. You've got in the track record from Jp morgan, you've come back to Nigeria. This is your chance to be that example. This is your chance to really leave a legacy and, you know, leave a life of impact where you could be an example to other women that may not have the courage to bet on themselves. You know, as a black young woman, you know, it could be something very, very powerful to be that example in the world because there's really not enough of us. So, yeah, it wasn't really one person. It was really in my time of quiet prayer and reflection that I got that leading to do this and get that courage and get that confidence, even though I just come out of what people would have deemed a failure because we never raised that $100 million fund. So, yes, I looked crazy, actually, to a lot of people, but it was my faith and my trust in God that if he has placed this on my heart, then he will fulfill purpose and he will fulfill what he's told me. So it was really my faith that kept me going. And, you know, it's been a seven year journey until Aruwa finally closed. And I don't think you can do that just by human capacity. It was definitely in my faith. It was definitely the encouragement that I got from Scripture. It was definitely the encouragement that I got that, you know, God can be trusted to keep his promises. If you said something, he will fulfill it. So it was definitely my faith that got me to where I am today. If I didn't have my faith, I would have quit a long time because.
John Coleman: Well, and it is you know, I didn't highlight this as part of the introduction, but you had a very institutional quality background, so to speak, with Jp morgan, with other firms. I mean, you're obviously well-educated in demand. You had this remarkable career path before you if you chose it, and yet you chose to strike out on your own and start something new and build something as the leader. And even as you tell this story, to really emerge from something that didn't work out exactly as you had planned. But to take an even bigger risk on yourself is so inspiring, I think. And, you know, you hear it with a lot of entrepreneurs in retrospect, where they bet on themselves and the mission that they were following. But that also takes a lot of courage. And it's so fascinating to me to hear the role that faith played in you. Getting comfortable with that.
Adesuwa Rhodes: Yeah, I know it was very important, and I think if I didn't have my faith, I would have quit. And, you know, when we announced the, you know, thankfully by the grace of God, we were able to announce that I was subscribed first because, you know, final close for Aruwa last year. And it was very important to me to make it known publicly that, you know, I give all the glory to God, because without him, I wouldn't have stuck it out and I wouldn't have, you know, had the faith, the courage, the confidence to keep going despite, you know, rejections, delays, you know, you know how fund raising is. It it takes a lot of no's before you get the yes. So it was really my faith that that pushed me through it, for sure.
John Coleman: Yeah. Fundraising is one of those topics that's not often talked about in our industry, but fundraising time or a second time fund is not for the faint of heart. It's it's in for investors. You know, it's typically not what you're best at, right? It's, you know, I imagine you're quite good at it Adesuwa. But people get into investing to invest, Right.
Adesuwa Rhodes: And this is not my favorite thing to do as well.
John Coleman: And you hear a lot of no's before you hear yeses often. Right? Exactly. And even if you're really good, I want to talk a little bit more about the way that you invest and maybe even dovetail that a bit with your faith story. Now, as I understand it, one of the lens is you use for investments at arua is the gender lens. So it's not just you as an inspiring example, but you building businesses that actually in some way kind of partner with women in the community or uplift women. Can you talk to us a little bit more just about Aruwa and your investment strategy? And then if that's correct, just how that dovetails with gender lens? And what does that mean in the context of an investment strategy?
Adesuwa Rhodes: Sure, sure. So at Aruwa, we are an early stage growth equity and gender lens investor. So we're investing in businesses that have proven their business model, have existing demand for their product and service, but they're just looking for that incremental, you know, scale up capital to pass that inflection point of growth. We are investing in necessities. So health care, fintech, access to power through renewable energy and also essential consumer goods. We're focused on West Africa for now, so focus really on Nigeria and Ghana. I'm based in Lagos, so having that proximity to our investments is very important. But we have an overarching investment strategy, which is our gender lens investing strategy, which is we're investing in businesses that are either led by women, you know, founded by women of co-founded by women, or businesses that have gender diverse senior management teams, or we are investing in businesses that may be led by men, but are providing an essential go to service that improves women's lives in some way. So that is really all gender lens. We want to be able to impact women with our investments, either as founders, either as in management teams, because we believe that if we do that, it really trickles down to the entire value chain of the company where you can see gender diversity in the board, you can see gender diversity in the supply chain, you can see gender diversity in the customer base. So out of the nine investments we've made so far in Fund one, about 62% of those investments are led by women. And we've created about well, we've supported about 96,000 jobs, direct and indirect, and about 70% of those jobs are held by women. So we're very, very excited about the fact that as we invest with this gender lens and being a women that's allocating capital, we have this trickle down effect to gender diversity in our portfolio, which for us is not just charity or ticking a box. We see this actually as an arbitrage opportunity to enhance returns because very few funds are doing this, but also because of the role that women play in societies in Africa, where women are the backbone of families, they're the backbone of communities, they're typically the ones that are working, providing for their families. They're able to reinvest about 90% of their income back into health care and education for their families. So it's actually a significant multiplier effect in terms of social impact through the strategy as well. So we're very, very excited about showcasing that intersection that you can have with strong financial returns and impact. We're not sacrificing one for the other with the strategy. It comes really well together because of our gender that is investing strategy. So we're excited to continue to showcase that.
John Coleman: So much awesome stuff to unpack there. And I want to circle back shortly to this idea of the role of women in West Africa and just get your perspective on where things stand. But before we do that, it might help listeners to understand the model that you're discussing a bit more. If you were able to just tell us about a couple of the companies you're invested in and the way that they achieve those goals that you're discussing, I'd love to hear some stories.
Adesuwa Rhodes: Sure. Sure. So we invested in a company called Coolbox. They're a provider of solar enabled refrigeration in Africa. So obviously we have a power problem. Over 700 million Africans lack access to electricity. So in off grid areas, we have market women that are selling frozen fish, frozen meat that because of the lack of access to power, they have to throw their products away. And you know, that impacts their livelihood, that impacts their income. What cookbox have been able to do is provide a solar enabled freezer refrigeration system where they can have access to power for up to four days in off grid areas as long as they have access to the sun. And this has been game changing. You know, we have seen sales of this business since we invested grow by more than three xs, about 75% of our customers that are using this product or women. We have so many testimonials from women that have said that, well, now that they have the coolbox they can provide for their family, they can send their children to school. We're selling these units in 18 countries globally, so not just in Africa as well. So again, we're seeing that multiplier effect of impact because as the impact of woman in Nigeria. You're also impacting the women in Cote d'Ivoire or in Senegal or in Kenya. So that multiplier effect, it's really, really strong. So this is a business that's co-founded by women. It's also impacting micro Assamese in off grid areas that are earned by women where not only are we seeing three xs in sales and seeing, you know, rapid growth and profitability, but we're also seeing increase in the livelihoods and the incomes of these women that otherwise wouldn't have a product to sell because of a lack of access to power. So that's one that we're really excited about and scaling up that impact across Africa. So that's one business we've invested in. Another business we've invested in is a company called Omni Retail, their B2B e-commerce business that's digitizing the informal trade. So we have a lot of informal mom and pop shops across Africa that, you know, have very fragmented access to logistics, very fragmented access to fulfillment. They don't have technology to help them manage their stock or have insights into the prices of goods. So what omni retail is able to do is completely digitize their fulfillment process, provide them with, you know, inventory management systems, provide them with working capital. Omni retail right now is working with about 65,000 retailers across Africa. Over 55,000 of those retailers are women. And we've seen that these women are able to grow by over four x once they get this digitized solution and have this app where they can track their goods, track their inventory, track their fulfillment. So, again, this is another way where we're seeing rapid growth on the business side. And this is a business that's doing about $160 million of GMV. They're doing about $50 million of net revenues, seven and a half percent gross margins. You know, probably the best in the industry. But on the other hand, we're impacting growing the businesses of 55,000 women across Africa. So these are the types of businesses that really get me excited where we're able to invest in really, really viable, attractive fundamentals, but also, you know, have enormous impact on women across the businesses that we invest in. So those are just two examples. We have more and I can keep talking forever, but it gives you a feel of, you know, the types of businesses where it's whether it's consumer goods, whether it's renewable energy, where we can see this real impact on women.
John Coleman: That's awesome. Adesuwa Those are great examples and it tees up nicely. This thing we wanted to circle back with, which is just the status and role of women in West Africa. I mean, the inclusion of women in the economy obviously is transparently very good for economic outcomes. Right. It's such a key component that activation is a key component of economic growth at a macro level. But it's also incredibly important for equality, for inclusion, for a number of other things. And it's different in different parts of the world right now. And as you mentioned, Africa is a continent of 1.3 billion people with societies that are dramatically different from one another. I know you're dominantly investing in West Africa, including in Nigeria, where I believe you're based. Would you mind just giving us a window into what is the status of women's rights, women's inclusion, women's economic activity in the countries in which you invest? And how is that changing over the last few years?
Adesuwa Rhodes: Yeah, no. So I think we still have a long way to go. But, you know, I think you'd be interested to know that Africa has the highest rates of female entrepreneurship in the world. Is that. Wow. Yes. Yes. Four times more than Europe. And this goes back to, you know, why impacting women is so critical and has that multiplier effect, that whole continent like Africa, because women are really the breadwinners. And people ask me, so why do women in Africa work so hard? And this is just my own theory. I don't know if it's right or not. But my theory is because women in in somewhere like Nigeria are having about five children on average. Right. They're not waiting around for a man to come and feed their children. You know that maternal instinct, you go out and work to make sure that you provide for the children that you birth. Right. So I think that's why we have such a high rates of female entrepreneurship, is because African women have a lot of children. And what we've seen in society is that that level of entrepreneurship and energy is not being matched with the level of opportunities and the level of capital that these women are able to access. So if we take last year, for example, only 4% of venture capital dollars went into female led businesses. It was 25 x less than the capital that went into the mail at businesses. And that just doesn't sit right with me. In a continent and an economy where we know that women are driving access to basic goods and services for their children, for their communities. Right. So we still have a long way to go. You know, when I started Aruwa that number was less than 2%. So we've made some progress in the last three and a half years, but still, we still have a long way to go. I think what's also interesting in a market like Nigeria is you have that on one side in terms of entrepreneurship. But if you think about female leadership and women in senior positions, we're not doing too badly, actually. So there was a circular that was put out by the central bank. I would say probably seven years or eight years ago. Now that said that boards of the banks had to have at least 30% female leadership. So because of that kind of rule, we've seen a lot of drive to diversity across banks in Nigeria. And I think that's something where, you know, that we're proud of that. You know, we can say, okay, well, in senior leadership, in corporate, especially in financial institutions, we've seen, you know, inclusion of women. And I think that has kind of trickled down in society to make sure that we're taking women seriously and senior corporate positions, not just in the financial industry. But when it comes to female entrepreneurship and giving women the same access to capital, the same access to whether it's loans or equity, we still have a long way to go. And that's why we're excited about what we're doing in Aruwa to make sure that we level the playing field for female entrepreneurs. That's a really big part of our mission.
John Coleman: And what is the you know, you had mentioned how much faith had influenced the investing that you're doing. Another question I had was just about what role faith plays in West Africa. In Nigeria right now, I know it's a remarkably religiously diverse area, so it's a pretty high numbers, especially relative to the west of people who are deeply religious, although that manifests in different ways. How does faith really manifest in the areas in which you're investing right now?
Adesuwa Rhodes: So I think for us at Aruwa, you know, we I would say we're a faith based organization, but we don't have any sort of faith mandate that makes sense, you know, because of the construct of Nigeria and where we are. So we're in the south. Most of the people in the south are Christian, more people in the north are Muslim. So just by the factor, even if we don't have a mandate to only invest in Christians by de facto, I believe all of our portfolio company founders except for one, are Christians. So that kind of gives you that makeup in terms of how we are the area that we're in, in terms of kind of the religious makeup. But I would say that faith for us, you know, I think it's being able to pray with entrepreneurs, being able to, you know, support them in difficult moments. Yes, we're investors, but, you know, treating them like human beings as well. I think the fact that we are all of the same phase where we can bump into each other in church, I think it puts a different dimension as well to the investing story and to the investing partnership. So I think for us, it's great that we're able to have kind of common faith with the people that we are investing in, but it's not a prerequisite. And I would say that faith in our markets is a huge driver. You know, as you said, a lot of people are religious, whether that manifests as Muslim and Christian. But it's a huge driver of what keeps us all sane and what can be sometimes, you know, challenging conditions. So, yes, I would say faith continues to play a role for all of us in this part of the world.
John Coleman: Yeah, it is such a fascinating place and I love to hear those stories and how it's incorporated in the work that you do. You had kind of ended there by talking about how you are in a, let's say, a dynamic part of the world right now where things change. And we've talked a lot about the gender lens investing, but haven't talked a lot about investing in emerging markets yet. And I know many of our listeners are actually in emerging markets at Sovereign's. We've done more in Southeast Asia, for example, than we have in Africa. But investing in emerging markets comes with its own opportunities. It comes with its own risks. Talk to us right now. Just about how you approach investing in the emerging markets you're in and what different types of factors you have to pay attention to that a U.S. or a European investor, for example, might not. And what opportunities does that create that might not exist in the U.S. or Europe, for example?
Adesuwa Rhodes: Yeah, sure. So I think for us, we think obviously that there is tremendous opportunity investing in Africa and investing in the markets we invest in. We think that, you know, this is really the last frontier for growth. You know, a population of 1.3 billion. People. Africa will account for over half of the global population growth in the next 30 years. You know, we have, I think, the highest percentage of young people in the world. So we see this as really the last frontier for growth when it comes to, you know, how are you going to make attractive financial returns in the next, you know, decades to come? But as you said, it does have its challenges. You have to think about macroeconomic stability. So there are certain, you know, policies that may come in place that may, you know, alter macroeconomic slightly. They may be governments that come in place that change a policy that, you know, a business might have been profitable for them for a number of years. So I think the way that we think about it at Aruwa is how do we invest in defensible sectors. So I think in emerging markets, my view is you have to be a bit more focused. You can't be a jack of all trades. Like maybe you can be in the U.S. where you're a generalist and you're investing in anything that's exciting. I think you have to tailor your strategy to be able to withstand the shocks that come whether a macroeconomic shock or political shock that come in emerging markets. So how do we do that? We make sure that we're investing in defensible sectors and necessities, things that the rapidly growing and urbanizing population will always need for the next 30 years. We're always going to need health care. We're always going to need access to financial services. We're always going to need access to power. We're always going to need essential consumer goods like food or, you know, other fast moving consumer goods. So I think that for us at Aruwa, we want to make sure and make it clear that to invest successfully in emerging markets, there has to be some element of focus, which is why, you know, we're based here on the ground in Lagos. We're investing in just Nigeria and Ghana because we're based in Lagos. In Nigeria. We have that proximity to our investments. We have that proximity to entrepreneurs. So I think focus is very key. Another thing I would say is we believe that you also need to be a little bit more hands on in terms of not only corporate governance but also operationally as well. So we are very, very hands on with our entrepreneurs and helping them think through strategy and helping them, you know, implement finance, function upgrades, helping them think about the KPI they should be tracking. And we also sit on the boards of these businesses. So I would say that those are some of the nuances that are probably in our strategy because we're investing in emerging markets that maybe if we are sitting in, you know, New York or city in London, we may not have those nuances. So I hope I answer the question. I kind of went off on a tangent.
John Coleman: No, you absolutely did. And, you know, I think, again, one of our partners, I think you met Henry Kastner. Africa is such a big focus of his right now, because I think what he sees and what many of us see is that it is the future in many ways. Right. I mean, you mentioned 1.3 billion people now, but it's one of the few areas in the world. And again, I know it's a diverse set of countries within the continent, So I'm painting with a broad brush. But I think it's generally true that populations are growing. Right. Even Asian countries population growth has declined dramatically. China, for example, has a shrinking population right now. Japan does with the West, has obviously struggled to have fertility rates above replacement rate so that the economies aren't growing organically. Africa is still booming. There is a lot of opportunity left through modernization because some of those countries have not yet fully developed and there's a lot of focus on the area. And as you're pointing out, there are these leverage points like working with women who are so central to the economy that can help you operate there. But it is important to have a local partner, we think, because understanding each of those countries, communities, areas in Africa, in Lagos, you know, in all these places is infinitely complex. And so having someone like you as a partner, someone who knows the area, is incredibly important, I think, for outsiders to just grasp that complexity.
Adesuwa Rhodes: Yes, I completely agree. And you're absolutely right. You know, Nigeria is going to be the third largest population in the world in 30 years. So that's somewhere you want to be investing and especially investing in necessities that that growing population will continue to need. So I completely agree. You know, we think it's the last frontier of growth. We think that, you know, if you really want to make attractive returns, then Africa should be in your portofolio.
John Coleman: Can I ask you about one specific challenge of investing in emerging markets that we hear a lot and I know Nigeria has experienced recently, recently, which is currency fluctuation for non Nigerian investors, for example, for folks from Europe or the U.S. or somewhere else. Currency fluctuations can introduce a series of risks that they might not otherwise have to take. I know Nigeria's currency has experienced some challenges recently. How do you think about that in the way that you invest?
Adesuwa Rhodes: Yeah, no currency risk is top of mind. You know, currency risk is one of the biggest risks to returns in emerging markets, as you rightly said. And in Nigeria, you know, we've seen the currency really devaluation over the last eight years with the previous administration. And what this administration has done is unified the exchange rate. So previously we had an official rate that was at around, you know, call it 460 naira to $1. And then we had a black market rate that is around, I call it 750 naira to $1. So that gap in the official black market rate obviously lend its hand to a lot of bad actors and obviously a lot of speculation and meant, you know, there was a lack of scarcity of dollars in the economy. What the new administration who have just come in in May have done is they've unified the exchange rate where we're now seeing the naira kind of settle somewhere, kind of between 630 to 650. And yes, that's going to hurt because, you know, a lot of people have been pegging their costs and, you know, their forecast to the official rate. But we believe that in the long term, because you're able to drive out bad actors because of that wide spread that would actually encourage foreign direct investment into the country. So how we think about currency risk is because obviously we're raising dollars from our institutional investors and investing dollars into these businesses is to make sure that a good portion of our portofolio are actually generating dollar revenues. So we have a company called Agro...... that exports superfoods to the US and to Mexico. 100% of their revenues are in dollars. We have a business called Remi Industries that manufactures eight different production lines of hygiene goods. They export their hygiene goods across West Africa and earn dollars. We have a business for tailor that is operational not just in Nigeria and Kenya. We have a business called Omni Retail that I mentioned is not just the operation in Nigeria, but also in Kenya and Ghana. So I think as we think of portfolio construction, we want to make sure that we're investing in businesses that have export revenues in other currencies, for example, coolboxs, you know, selling, etc., maybe a refrigerator in 18 different countries across the world, Nigeria just being one of them. So you always have to have, you know, currency risk mitigation in place as you deploy capital in emerging markets. So either investing in businesses that have that natural hedge and it generates revenue in hard currency or another strategy we deploy is investing in import substitution. So as we invest in more local manufacturers, they're actually shielded from a devaluation because they're able to gain market share because a lot of importers are driven out of the market in that scenario. Or another thing we're doing is also investing in very, very rapidly growing businesses between 2021 and 2022. Aggregate growth in our portfolio is about 70%. The average devaluation over the last five years has been about 18% a year. So we have different strategies to pull from as we kind of think of portfolio construction as a whole to make sure that, you know, you can kind of withstand some of the currency shocks and make sure that your portfolio is shielded from that. But over the last two decades in African private equity, that has, you know, currency has been the risk to return. So it's very, very top of mind for us at Aruwa capital.
John Coleman: You know, I want to throw you a fun question and then end with some advice on Africa. And then we always ask the same question for our final one, which is just what are you learning through scripture? A fun question for you is you were a netball player at the University of Bristol and a couple of my my partners and I have had this discussion recently just about how well athletic leadership skills then translate into business, right? There are actually a lot of things you learn as an athlete, especially in a team sport, that then translate into good leadership later. First of all, what's netball? And then secondly, what did you learn playing netball at university that you feel like is helpful to you today?
Adesuwa Rhodes: Yeah, so netball is kind of the English men's basketball, I guess. So it's like basketball, but you can't move. So you grab the ball and you can't move, you have to pass it. And the basket we have doesn't have a backboard, so you have to. Learn how to swish Oh you goals there's no backboard. Yeah so yeah I love netball I played netball in school. There was an opportunity for me to actually play professionally, but my parents said I had to stay in school. I couldn't do that. So when I went to Bristol and I had the opportunity to play for the university team, I was really excited. But a lesson that I learned that was, you know, I was coming from school, you know, I was the captain of the netball team and I was kind of like, you know, quite good. But I came to Bristol and, you know, you're in a bigger environment, you're in the university setting, and there are other people there that are better than me, right? So I didn't get into the first team, I got into the second team and I think that was a big lesson for me that rejection is okay. You know, there are moments in life where you may not always get what you want, but I had an amazing time over those three years in the second team where we actually won a lot of matches and it was a fun team to be in. So even though I was disappointed at the beginning that I didn't get into the first team because obviously I was coming from a background where I was captained the netball team in school and you know, we had been quite successful. It taught me a lesson that God may sometimes place you in a place where you might think that you've been rejected, but it's actually the right place for you. So I think that's something that followed with me because there was another opportunity in my second year of uni where, you know, I really, really wanted this Goldman Sachs internship, but I didn't get it. I got a Jp morgan internship. So I think God has been telling me every time that, you know, you may not always get your first choice, but trust me that I know what I'm doing. And, you know, wherever I place you where you're meant to be. So that was a lesson that I learned. And I'm always learning that, you know, just trust God, even if you think that sort of thing that you want may feel like a failure or a rejection. You content and where you are and trust God that you're in the right place. So that was what I learned from my netball days.
John Coleman: That's awesome. That's awesome. So I want to ask two final questions and the first is just a parting shot for those looking to invest in Africa or in particular to countries within Africa. We've talked about a ton today, but is there any final advice that you would offer folks looking to get involved on the continent?
Adesuwa Rhodes: Yeah, I think you touched on it, John. I think it's making sure that you partner with a local partner that's on the ground, that understands the environment, understands the nuances of investing in this part of the world and, you know, being in partnership with them as we explore investment opportunities, whether that's through a fund structure like Aruwa or through a co-investment structure where you're making directs alongside them. But I think it's very important to have partnerships with people on the ground because there are definitely nuances to investment in emerging markets and the best people to help you through those nuances, the people that are on the ground that understand the terrain, understand the risks, understand the opportunities, understand how to mitigate those risks. So, yeah, you know, I always say that if you don't have Africa in your portfolio, you're doing yourself an injustice. So, you know, I encourage people that are, you know, allocating capital or investing to be looking at Africa investments because it's really the last frontier for growth. It's really where you can have attractive financial returns. But also if you care about impact, you know, where also there are significant multiplier effects in terms of impact levels, job creation, poverty alleviation that are also possible here. And I just think you can't achieve that in other parts of the world where you can do good financially, but you can also, you know, be impacting lives and having that intersection. I think it is pretty magical. And you can do that here in Africa. So please invest in Africa, but do so by partnering with a local partner.
John Coleman: Excellent advice. And we always close just by asking everyone what are you learning through Scripture right now that you think might be relevant to share with our listeners?
Adesuwa Rhodes: Yes, so. I've been reading a lot about Daniel recently and just kind of his story, so that's kind of what I'm reading right now in my Bible study. And I think that what Daniel teaches me and what Daniel can teach everyone is just being very dogged in your beliefs and not letting society influence you. I don't know if I'm getting too philosophical for this podcast, but I really love I really love how Daniel just didn't give in, you know, to the King and to that what society was telling him to do. He was very, very focused on being contrarian. And I think sometimes to be a pioneer, you have to be contrarian. So I encourage entrepreneurs that are looking to start businesses or looking to, you know, bet on themselves, you know, looking to seek that promotion in the organization. Just believe in, be authentic to yourself. I would say don't be influenced by society or, you know, don't be influenced by what society may be telling you to think. Be confident in your beliefs and, you know, bet on yourself based on your beliefs. That's what I'm learning from Daniel at the moment, so I'm getting encouragement from Daniel to continue to be contrarian and continue to, you know, pursue this gender lens investing strategy, even though sometimes people look at me like a crazy. So yeah, that's the encouragement I'm getting from Daniel.
John Coleman: That is a great word to end on. You definitively are not crazy Adesuwa. You are doing amazing work, again. This is Adesuwa Rhodes, the founder and managing partner of Aruwa Capital Management, investing in West Africa, primarily Ghana and Nigeria and Adesuwa. We've been so privileged to have you on today and hopefully we'll get to do this again in the future. Thank you so much for coming on.
Adesuwa Rhodes: Thank you so much, John. I really enjoyed our chat. Hope to speak soon.