AFRICA’S women-led startups retained their sparkle through 2023, against the backdrop of one of the darkest periods for global startup funding, raising US$200 million, 7% growth over the previous year, according to a report from Africa: The Big Deal. In 2022, these female-founded ventures had grown by 4%. The amount remains significantly lower than the US$ 2.7 billion raised by their male counterparts but the almost doubling in growth during such a difficult time indicates a growing interest in women-led startups from investors. “Though it remained small, the absolute amount and share of funding going to female-led ventures did grow…