Gray Matters Capital / coLABS

The Gender Lens Portfolio

Investing in boundary-pushing innovation that demonstrably impact women and girls at scale

coLABS is a gender-focused investment portfolio seeking to invest in bold, innovative, and scalable enterprises that have the potential to dramatically improve the lives of women.

At coLABS, our “gender lens” strategy moves beyond focusing on individual women as leaders or a part of the management team. We strategically fund entrepreneurs and early-stage ventures that provide services and/or products that intentionally impact women. We believe that leveraging women and their critical role in the community can help bridge gender-gaps and improve the quality of life for women and their families.

Selected social enterprises and founders to receive:

Seed Funding: We provide between USD 100,000 and 250,000 to teams that fit our investment criteria, advance through our due diligence process, and are successful in pitching their businesses to our Investment Committee.
Technical Support: We help you formalize your advisory board to provide you technical expertise and access to stronger networks.
Strategic guidance: We provide our portfolio companies strategic guidance and feedforward to help strengthen your business and pivot as required.

What do we look for in early-stage companies?

Impact on Women:

You have a product or a service that is tackling a critical barrier faced by women
Your enterprise works towards creating better futures for women
You are intentional about impacting women and that the impact them is not a byproduct of your business model

Scalable

You have a scalable business model with solid potential for rapid growth within the next 5 years to exponentially impact the lives of women
You are ready to scale your business to maximize both social impact and financial return

Innovative

You are bringing something new to market
You are innovative in who you serve (target market), how you serve them (model), and/or the door you’re opening for women (impact)

Early Stage

You have tested your idea and seen it to be sustainable
Revenue-share is the appropriate type of investment for your enterprise
You are market-driven and post-revenue

Team

Have a gender diverse team with strong local representation
Run by entrepreneurs who are nimble and laser-focused on their customers

Focus or sector – We are specifically looking for post-revenue enterprises that are leveraging technology to provide women access to:

Access to financial capital
Healthcare (i.e. telehealth, remote patient monitoring, diagnostic routing, reproductive health)
Supply chain, specifically around the distribution of essential goods and services
Skill building and job placement
Education

Current regional focus – East and West Africa

How do we invest?

Seed investments from USD $100,000- $250,000
Revenue-share investment terms over 5 years (no debt, equity, or grant capital)
12 months of strategic advisory support rom recruited industry experts to reach proof-of-concept for your venture

How to apply?

For more information on the application timeline and details, visit the coLABS website.