In our world today, capital still flows unevenly with women entrepreneurs receiving less than 2% of global venture funding.
As the co-founder and managing general partner of Enygma Ventures, a private investment fund backing women-led startups across Southern Africa, Sarah Dusek has made it her life’s mission to change that story by redefining what it means to invest with purpose.
Her journey from building luxury safari camps to empowering Africa’s next generation of founders is not just remarkable—it’s revolutionary.
Born in the United Kingdom and now proudly based in South Africa, Dusek’s path to venture capital was anything but linear.
Her entrepreneurial story began in the USA. There, she and her husband Jacob co-founded Under Canvas, a glamping (luxury camping) company that would transform outdoor hospitality across America.
By blending sustainability with sophistication under Canvas, they turned camping into a billion-dollar tourism trend, earning recognition from Forbes and Fast Company as one of the most innovative hospitality brands in the U.S.
But after selling a majority stake in 2018, Dusek felt an unmistakable pull toward something deeper—impact that transcended borders.
That vision led her to Africa, where she saw both an enormous gap and a tremendous opportunity: women entrepreneurs bursting with innovation but constrained by access to capital and mentorship.
In 2019, she launched Enygma Ventures, an early-stage investment fund created specifically to support women-led startups in Southern Africa.
Through a partnership with Startup Circles, Enygma combines capital investment with intensive mentorship and strategic business acceleration.
The result? A pipeline of sustainable, scalable businesses led by women who understand their markets better than anyone else.
Dusek’s approach is both pragmatic and deeply empathetic. She recognizes that funding alone doesn’t solve the systemic challenges women face in entrepreneurship—what they need is visibility, confidence, and networks that amplify their voice.
In just a few years, Enygma Ventures has funded dozens of startups across South Africa, Zambia, Eswatini, and Namibia, cutting across sectors from fintech to education, fashion, and renewable energy.
Dusek’s leadership style is distinctly human-centered. She draws heavily from her own entrepreneurial journey—bootstrapping a business, navigating rejection, and scaling globally—to mentor founders through the emotional and operational challenges of building a company in uncertain markets.
In recognition of her impact, Dusek has been featured on Forbes Africa’s Women Building the Future, CNN African Voices, and Quartz Africa Innovators. She was also named one of Business Insider’s Top 100 People Transforming Business globally.
Yet for all her accolades, she continues to position herself not as a gatekeeper of capital, but as a bridge—linking global investors with Africa’s most promising female founders.
Beyond venture funding, Dusek is also a thought leader in the movement toward conscious capitalism.
Through speaking engagements and her investment philosophy, she advocates for building businesses that balance profit, people, and planet—a model she perfected with Under Canvas and is now extending into the African innovation ecosystem.
Today, as Enygma Ventures expands its reach across the continent, Dusek envisions a future where women aren’t just recipients of investment—they’re defining its direction.
Sarah Dusek’s story isn’t just about venture capital; it’s about rewriting the DNA of opportunity in Africa, one woman-led business at a time.
