Growing businesses. Building African communities. driving gender diversity.

Tokunboh Ishmael is a highly accomplished and experienced private equity investor. She is MD and co-founder of Alitheia Capital – a Nigerian-based investment management and advisory business channelling private equity investments to transform businesses in West Africa where funding gaps create unique opportunities.

Tokunboh is a CFA Charterholder, corporate financier and M&A banker having worked on over $5.6 billion M&A deals across the US, UK and Africa. Exceptionally experienced in the energy, oil, gas, technology and financial services sectors, she is now focussed on helping to invest and build sustainable SME growth businesses across attractive, consumer-led sectors including Agribusiness, Financial Services, Healthcare & Pharma, Infrastructure, Transport, Retail and Tech / Telecoms mainly on behalf of discerning institutions, development organisations and corporates looking for a mix of responsible investing, economic impact and social responsibility.

Polo Leteka is a highly accomplished and experienced entrepreneur and private equity investor. She is the Executive Director and co-Founder of IDF Capital - a South African based entrepreneurial financier and advisory firm. Through IDF Capital, Polo has contributed towards channeling investments into women owned SMEs across South Africa.

Polo, an accountant by training, has experience in Public and Private sectors of South Africa in accounting and audits, corporate finance, investment banking, public policy formulation, venture capital and private equity. At a fairly young age, Polo was tasked with leading the process of developing South Africa's first ever Codes of Good Practice on Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment. With this ground breaking work, coupled with her participation in South Africa's version of the Dragons Den, speaking engagements, articles on transformation and entrepreneurship including being a co-author of an entrepreneurship book "..and for all these reasons, I'M IN...", she is a thought leader in areas of economic transformation and development, as well as a key investor in Africa's expanding SME sector.

Mobola is a dynamic professional and an authentic leader with a broad network in the African business community. Her career spans private equity, management consulting and financial advisory in West, East and Southern Africa, and the United States. She has spent the last decade with Alitheia Capital building a portfolio of impact funds and investing in high potential businesses on the African continent.

Mobola has also been an active contributor to the development of the investing ecosystem in Nigeria though her involvement in the Lagos Angel Network, the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (West Africa Chapter) and the Entrepreneurs Ecosystem. Prior to Alitheia, she has worked with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Botswana, Accenture in Nigeria, Howard Frazier Barker Elliott and Nextel Communications, both in the USA.

Mobola sits on a number of advisory boards, and is also a Certified Public Accountant, a WimBoard Institute Fellow and an AJC Project Interchange Alumni

Phokwane is a Chartered Accountant and seasoned investment professional. She has extensive experience in leading and managing due diligence teams, structuring and negotiating terms, presenting investment papers and implementing and monitoring approved investments.

In her previous role as COO of IDF Capital, Phokwane led the Post Investment team supporting and monitoring investments in over 60 SMEs, majority of which were women-owned and led. Prior to joining IDF Capital, she was a Senior Account Manager at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) where she evaluated and sought investment approval for Construction companies and Green Energy projects. In her 5 years at the IDC, she concluded transactions in excess of R2.5 billion including those outside South Africa covering countries such as Lesotho, Kenya and Democratic Republic of Congo. Prior to joining IDC, Phokwane was a Manager in the Corporate Finance unit of Deloitte and has also worked as Credit Analyst with then Absa Corporate and Merchant Bank.

Temilade is a social development practitioner with core competence in research and communications. Through her background in various sectors including education, labour protection, health and gender support, Temilade has amassed experience in project development, monitoring and evaluation and policy analysis at different levels of development intervention through her work at organizations including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), Growing Businesses Foundation, the Centre for Public Policy Alternatives, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Temilade’s role at Alitheia Identity involves ensuring the full integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria to the investment process, and unlocking opportunities for social impact on women through the Firm's investment activities.