Deployments into Welo Health (South Africa) and TrackRight (Kenya) mark a milestone toward Afrishela's first close and expand access to catalytic, gender- and climate-aligned capital.
Johannesburg, South Africa: Afrishela Investments has announced its first capital deployments into Welo Health (South Africa) and TrackRight (Kenya), in December 2025, marking a milestone in its mission to close the gender financing gap through innovative blended finance solutions.
With initial focus on East and Southern Africa, Afrishela is a gender-lens investment fund promoted by the Graça Machel Trust (GMT). The Fund is raising USD 30 million to channel catalytic capital to women-led enterprises delivering gender- and climate-aligned solutions. It targets the "missing middle": businesses that do not benefit from microfinance, yet underserved by traditional commercial capital.
In a bid to offer an urgent solution to gender lens investing and to build a track record ahead of first close, Afrishela incorporated Afrishela Investments, a Mauritius-based special purpose vehicle, in August 2025. The vehicle is supported by Innpact Advisory and Axis Fiduciary Services, and capitalised by early supporters, including local angels, the promoter, and a European family office. This structure is designed to catalyse Afrishela toward its first close, anticipated during the year.
Afrishela has deployed non-dilutive, revenue-based capital to Welo Health, a women-led digital health platform improving access to quality healthcare by connecting corporate and institutional clients with healthcare professionals through a flexible, technology-enabled model. The funding will support Welo Health's expansion into the SADC region and enable the company to extend its services beyond large corporates to small and medium enterprises.
"This partnership with Afrishela is more than just capital. It is a vote of confidence in women-led innovation in healthcare," said Zanele Abraham-Matome, Founder and CEO of Welo Health. "Afrishela's flexible, non-dilutive funding allows us to scale into new markets, deepen our technology offering, and extend quality healthcare access to thousands more employees, especially those working in SMEs who are typically left out of traditional healthcare arrangements. We are thrilled to work with an investor that understands both our mission and the realities of building as a woman founder in Africa."
Afrishela has also invested in TrackRight through an impact-linked debt instrument. TrackRight is a women-led, AI-enabled logistics platform providing secure freight monitoring, smart locking technologies, and performance analytics for enterprise and cross-border operations across East Africa. The technology also enables carbon-footprint tracking, allowing businesses to monitor their emissions.
"This first external investment is a defining moment for TrackRight," said Ritu Bahal, Founder and CEO of TrackRight. "Afrishela's backing validates the strength of our technology, the urgency of the problem we are solving, and the trust our customers place in us. This capital allows us to move faster by scaling deployments, strengthening our product roadmap, and expanding our footprint across key logistics corridors in Africa. We have built TrackRight with capital discipline and a clear enterprise focus from day one. Bringing in Afrishela as our first external investor aligns us with a partner that understands African markets and the long-term value of infrastructure-grade technology platforms."
Andia Chakava, Founder and Managing Partner of Afrishela, described the deployments as both symbolic and strategic. "These investments signal the kind of women-led, high-potential solutions Afrishela exists to support. Too many women-owned businesses remain underserved despite their growth and impact potential. Afrishela is willing to play a catalytic role to unlock this growth, while also crowding in additional capital," she said.
Through advocacy, investor readiness support, and investor showcases across seven African countries, the Graça Machel Trust and Afrishela have contributed to the growth of the gender-lens investing ecosystem. Afrishela has facilitated more than USD 2 million in financial linkages between investors and women entrepreneurs across six African markets. Afrishela continues to collaborate with stakeholders across the ecosystem to expand access to finance and help close the gender gap.
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About the Graça Machel Trust
The Graça Machel Trust (GMT) is a Pan-African organisation that amplifies the voices and agency of African women and girls to drive inclusive social and economic transformation across the continent. Through movement building, convening, and partnerships, GMT advances women's economic advancement and strengthens pathways for women and girls to lead and thrive.
About Afrishela Investment
Afrishela is a gender-lens investment fund promoted by the Graça Machel Trust. Its investment thesis focuses on women, climate adaptation, youth inclusion, and the integration of low-income communities to drive sustainable, shared prosperity. Afrishela targets early growth-stage, women-owned and women-led businesses in East and Southern Africa, deploying catalytic capital through innovative instruments, including revenue-based finance and mezzanine-style structures, alongside tailored technical assistance. In line with Afrishela's holistic approach to sustainable transformation, Afrishela will aim to donate up to 5% of its fund return bonus toward the advocacy of women's economic advancement work in the long-term horizon.
About Welo Health
Welo Health is a health technology platform that connects corporate clients and health insurers with healthcare professionals to deliver workplace, home-based, and remote health services. Welo's offerings include technology-enabled wellness programmes, virtual doctor consultations, and Hospital at Home services, with nationwide reach and regional support across the SADC region.
About TrackRight
TrackRight is a cloud-based logistics and fleet management platform that enables businesses to track and manage their trucks and deliveries using real-time visibility, alerts, and analytics. The platform supports route optimisation and carbon-footprint reporting to help organisations improve efficiency, reduce costs, and advance sustainability goals.
For media enquiries, contact the Graça Machel Trust Communications Team
Asania Aphane: Asaniaa@gracamacheltrust.org
Sarah Mpata: Sarahm@gracamacheltrust.org
