Rihanna-Backed Gather Ventures Champions Women-Led Climate Solutions Across Africa

• Gather Ventures is a socially responsible fund backed by Rihanna's Clara Lionel Foundation
• It centers on strengthening women-owned start-ups to fight climate change in Africa
• The project seeks to create wealth across generations for women, particularly in areas where systemic cultural and legal barriers to economic independence exist

Rihanna-backed Clara Lionel Foundation-backed Gather Ventures has become a prominent supporter of women-founded businesses focusing on climate action on the African continent.

Founded by Kenya-born CEO Jo Opot, the fund focuses on firms that integrate climate resilience and economic empowerment, aiming to create enduring wealth for women in areas where legal and cultural structures previously limited their financial independence.

Opot also indicates that, in Kenya, women did not acquire full rights of inheritance until 2012, which, before that time, locked out many from property and assets in families.

80 percent of Gather Ventures' capital goes into climate resilience projects—projects that not only cut environmental risk but also provide women with long-term sources of sustainable revenues. It is a nod to the reality that poor women are usually disproportionately affected by climate change—droughts and floods, say—although they have the lowest carbon footprint.

Among its investments are Mobility for Africa, which sells electric tricycles to enable rural women to have access to markets, healthcare centers, and schools, and Giraffe Bioenergy, which makes low-cost, clean cooking fuel using cassava.

These companies show how local technology and innovation can address environmental challenges while deepening women's economic roles. Gather Ventures' success signals a larger trend among impact investing: growing recognition that sustainable, inclusive growth means lifting the communities most vulnerable to climate risk.

Through its investment in gender-responsive green solutions, Gather Ventures presents a compelling case of how focused investment can support environmental sustainability as well as social equality.