Tokunboh Ishmael

With more than 25 years of experience in private equity, venture capital, investment banking, technology, and business development, Tokunboh Ishmael is a distinguished leader in gender-lens investing and inclusive finance. She co-founded and serves as managing partner of Alitheia Capital, a female-led impact investing firm that invests at scale in small and growing businesses across Africa to achieve financial, economic, and social returns.

Tokunboh also serves on several boards, including The Earthshot Prize, established by HRH Prince William to support climate innovators developing scalable solutions for climate action, adaptation, and resilience. Prior to private equity, she worked as a Wall Street M&A investment banker completing over five billion dollars in transactions in the technology, media, and telecom sectors, and led the development of software applications within financial institutions in London.

Tokunboh is a Yale World Fellow, and a member of the inaugural cohort of the Aspen Institute’s Finance Leaders Fellowship. She was a Dragon Panelist on the popular Dragons Den Nigeria TV show. She is also founder of the non-profit firm, Yellow Cowries, a financial literacy platform using gamification to teach financial literacy across schools, universities, and business clubs in Africa.

Tokunboh is an alumnus of the London Business School, the University of London, Yale University and the Aspen Institute. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the CFA Institute.