About Andia Chakava

Andia has over 20 years experience in fund management and 10 years of driving women economic empowerment goals. She is one of the first female fund managers in Africa and a global thought leader in gender lens investing. Andia is an entrepreneur and has served at senior executive and non-executive levels for investment and fund management companies, government entities, women economic empowerment institutions and civil society organisations. This has exposed Andia to a broad ecosystem which covers the private sector, women entrepreneurship, interface with development finance institutions, private equity players and business development support providers.

Andia has been instrumental in supporting women’s leadership and advocating for gender diversity and equality in the workplace. Andia has worked collaboratively with various women networks to improve their agency, upskill their member base and strengthen partnerships. She has designed and implemented research and technical assistance programs and created partnerships with financial and development finance institutions to innovate products and drive more capital to women entrepreneurs in Sub Sahara Africa.

Andia is passionate about impact investing and supporting grassroot communities in emerging markets. She has designed and launched two fit for purpose investment funds in Kenya and advised other Pan African and global funds. She is currently leading the development of a $30 million Pan African gender lens impact investment vehicle called ‘Afrishela’ at the Graca Machel Trust where she serves as Investment Director. This experience has allowed Andia to intimately understand the first hand challenges and experiences of first time and emerging managers with a gender lens. As a result Andia has focused on supporting and advocating for diverse, first time managers.

Andia is a non executive director of 2X Collaborative, Chair of the investment advisory council for Canada’s Equality Fund and Founding Chairperson of New Faces New Voices Kenya. Andia’s experiences have exposed her to a broad ecosystem which covers the government, private sector, women entrepreneurship, interface with development finance institutions, banking, fund management, insurance and private equity players, business development support and ecosystem providers, donor relations and civil society engagement.

Andia has other complementary abilities such as entrepreneurial experience and mindset, institutional relationship management, unique client solutions, business unit operational management, women in leadership support, policy formulation and advocacy, that she has progressively gathered and been exposed to throughout her professional career.

Andia has an Economics degree with honours from York University in Toronto Canada and a Masters in Business Administration with merit from Bayes (formerly Cass) Business School in London. In 2018 she won the National DIAR inclusion and diversity ‘Business executive champion’ award in Kenya and was also recognised for being the most influential women in Africa in Financial services by CEO
Magazine in the same year.

Andia continues to work within fund manager and women networks to co-create mutually aligned solutions.

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