Vukara

We are building the ecosystem for equality at VUKARA, where women founders in the Global Majority* are connected with backers who contribute expertise, networks, and capital. *Global Majority refers to people who make up approximately 85% of the world’s population and are indigenous to the global south, and or, have been routinely racialised as ‘ethnic-minorities’ (Rosemary Campbell-Stephens). For many founders, the funding gap is not only about cash. It is the cost of expertise, strategy, legal advice, marketing, finance, operations, introductions, and access to decision-makers. VUKARA enables backers to contribute their valuable time and networks as a form of business backing in addition to capital. VUKARA is rooted in the word VUKA. In Zulu and Xhosa, it means to “wake up” and “arise”. In Swahili, it is the act of “crossing over”. Together, they define the most critical stage of the founder’s journey: the transition. Founders are often left to cross this 2–5 year threshold without sufficient resources to build. We see this period as an opportunity for founders and backers to redefine the future together. We close the funding gap by matching founders and backers who can support with expertise, network or capital. From the Catalyst Now community, we hope to gain collaboration opportunities, learn from peers tackling structural inequality, and scale our impact.