Nigeria: Eloho Omame, an investor committed to developing start-ups founded by women

Eloho Omame is a Nigerian entrepreneur and private equity investor. She is the co-founder of FirstCheck Africa, a venture capital fund that invests in women’s technology start-ups in Africa. She advocates for inclusion, diversity and equity in the African technology ecosystem.

Since 2022, Eloho Omame has been a partner in TL Com, a venture capital fund that invests in seed and early-stage companies tackling Africa’s biggest challenges. She represents the fund on the boards of several of its portfolio companies.

Throughout her career, the Nigerian has worked extensively in venture capital, entrepreneurship and the technology ecosystem in Africa. In 2021, she co-founded FirstCheck Africa with tech start-up specialist Odunayo Eweniyi, which is a women-led, women-focused angel fund and investor community working to raise more equity and capital. The aim is to help women entrepreneurs in Africa to obtain the financial and social capital they need to create viable businesses. The company invests in pre-seed and seed start-ups with at least one female founder or co-founder.

She graduated in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2001 and obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the London Business School in 2014. She first worked as an analyst at ING Barings (2003), then as an associate at Crédit Suisse from 2003 to 2007. She was then vice-president of Renaissance Capital. From 2009 to 2012, she joined First Bank of Nigeria as Senior Manager and Head of Corporate Development, before becoming Vice President of General Atlantic in 2014, a global growth venture capital firm for which she led investments in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. In 2016, she founded Amari Business Advisory, where she was Managing Director and CEO. A company designing and deploying major ecosystem projects in Lagos, Nigeria.

Eloho Omame was also Managing Director and CEO of Endeavor in Nigeria from 2018 to 2021. A support network for entrepreneurs in West Africa where she is engaged to date as a mentor.  She is also very involved in the technology sector in Nigeria and Africa. She was a member of the Nigerian Startup Advisory Forum 2022. As such, she served on the National Council for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship. In 2018, she was also a member of the Presidential Group on Technology and Creativity. She is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) Digital Economy Policy Commission.