Ivy is an early stage venture and impact investor with over ten years’ experience across venture capital, impact funds and advisory in Africa. As Manager, ESF Catalytic Investments at FSD Africa, she works to widen the range of capital reaching the businesses building Africa’s future, driven by a conviction that African businesses deserve capital that fits what they actually need, rather than reverse-engineering themselves to suit the capital that happens to be available. Over her career she has invested in 16 ventures, deploying more than $6.9m across nine markets in sub-Saharan Africa, sourcing high-potential companies, structuring catalytic capital and supporting founders hands-on from pre-seed to Series A.

Before FSD Africa, Ivy was Head of Portfolio at Gather Ventures, backing ventures that create climate resilience and drive asset creation for women and girls across Africa. Earlier she invested at Enza Capital, a $60m pan-African venture fund, and at Acumen, where she focused on energy access in East Africa. She began her career in advisory and enterprise support at I-DEV International in Nairobi and at Shona in Uganda, where she helped a cohort of social enterprises raise $1m. Ivy holds a Bachelor of Business Science in Actuarial Science from Strathmore University and is an active angel investor. Outside work, she enjoys travelling with her husband and singing along to made-up tunes with her daughter.