Sarona Asset Management invests in private companies in emerging markets that aim to deliver strong financial returns and have the potential to create large numbers of quality jobs, both directly and indirectly, through their impact on suppliers and broader economic productivity. In this article, we look at how Sarona’s SGGM1 impact fund puts this mission into action—supporting over 83,000 jobs in 2024, with 44% held by women, and focusing on fair wages, safe conditions, and employee training. We also highlight the role of impact investing in education, consumer goods, finance, and technology across emerging markets.
According to the WEF Future of Jobs report, while the global unemployment rate is at a historic low of 4.9%, the picture is uneven. Low-income countries have seen unemployment rise (5.3% in 2024 vs. 5.1% in 2022), and women and youth remain disproportionately affected. Female unemployment stands at 5.2% versus 4.8% for men, and global youth unemployment is still elevated at 13%. This underscores why Sarona’s investments in emerging markets, with 44% female employment in SGGM1, are so vital.
In 2024, sixty portfolio companies supported by the funds Sarona invests in directly employed 83,231 full-time staff across emerging markets, including 38,308 positions held by women—representing 44% of the total workforce. These jobs offer stable employment in regions where quality work is often scarce and critical to economic development.
Sarona’s focus goes beyond job creation to ensuring that jobs are high quality—providing fair wages, safe working conditions, and career pathways that drive long-term inclusive growth. Job quality is one of our three core impact pillars, alongside advancing gender equity and addressing climate change. Our portfolio companies deliver lasting, dignified employment, while we work with fund managers during the investment and monitoring process on key issues such as fair pay, labour rights, and workplace health and safety. Sarona is a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and aligns with 2X Global benchmark for gender-lens investing
Fund Employment Footprint Spans Five Continents
In 2024, SGGM1 portfolio companies supported over 83,000 jobs, in the countries with higher unemployment rates. The decrease in total portfolio employment compared to previous years is mainly due to the exit of several companies from the portfolio. Despite this decline, portfolio companies’ jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa remain high, largely because the remaining portfolio is predominantly concentrated in the region. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to account for nearly 46,000 jobs supported. South Africa remains a key employment hub, with approximately 17,000 jobs supported by portfolio companies operating in the country. particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In Asia, the portfolio supported over 15,000 jobs. Vietnam played a central role, with around 13,000 jobs supported, reflecting the region’s growth in technology and manufacturing. In North Africa and the Middle East, portfolio companies supported over 13,000 jobs. Tunisia led this group with about 8,000 jobs, driven largely by the expansion of local manufacturing. Latin America contributed just over 8,000 jobs, while companies in Europe supported close to 800.
Sectors That Drive Jobs: Consumer Goods, Tech, and Finance
Across the portfolio, the consumer goods, technology, and financial services sectors supported most of the employment. Companies in the consumer goods sector supported nearly 20,000 jobs, with women holding 47 percent of those positions.
One example is Société d’Articles Hygiéniques (SAH) in Tunisia, a women-led company founded by Jalila Mezni, who was recognized in Forbes Middle East’s 100 Most Powerful Businesswomen 2025. SAH manufactures hygiene products under the “Lilas” brand and has steadily expanded its operations across North and West Africa. Between 2017 and 2024, the company grew its workforce from 2,257 to 5,659 employees.
As one of Africa’s largest non-food FMCG companies, SAH focuses on producing affordable, high-quality hygiene products for women, babies, and households. Its product range includes baby and adult diapers, feminine hygiene products, disposable bathroom and facial tissues, and kitchen towels. The company’s mission is to improve access to essential hygiene products across Africa—contributing to the health, dignity, and wellbeing of millions of low-income consumers.
Technology companies supported 18,689 jobs (37% held by women), while financial companies reported 14,361 jobs, with 48% of roles held by women.
Healthcare and education also stood out, with healthcare showing 75% female representation—a strong indicator of gender inclusion. In Nigeria, Emzor Pharmaceuticals stands as a leading women-founded pharmaceutical company. Founded by Dr. Stella Chinyelu Okoli, Emzor manufactures and distributes over 100 generic medicines, including the widely trusted Emzor Paracetamol. In 2024, the company employed 990 people, 30% of whom were women. Emzor also increased its workforce by 26% and served over 7.7 million clients, with 17.6% coming from underserved areas such as Northern Nigeria.
Emerging Markets Continue to Deliver on Job Growth
Since the fund’s investment, SGGM1 portfolio companies have created 58,550 new jobs, including 26,329 for women. Asia saw the highest number of net new jobs, adding 28,000, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa with 23,000, and MENA with 9,000. Latin America added 5,000 new jobs, while Europe showed no net job change. Higher job growth in Asia reflects the strong performance and scalability of SGGM1’s Asian investments, particularly in India and Southeast Asia. Notably, this occurred despite Asia representing a smaller share of total portfolio exposure (maximum ~25%) compared to Africa. In a few cases, such as Colombia and Ecuador, portfolio changes led to net job losses due to investment decisions and portfolio management.
Among the countries where job creation was strongest, South Africa added 12,900 new jobs, Vietnam added 11,200, and India added 10,300. Nigeria and Tunisia each added over 5,000 jobs. These figures reflect where company growth translated most visibly into employment opportunities.
Several portfolio companies illustrate how this growth takes shape. Retailability is a private-label clothing retailer operating in Southern Africa. It owns brands such as Edgars, Legit, and Beaver Canoe and now employs more than 8,000 people, 78 percent of whom are women. Since investment, the company has added nearly 5,000 new jobs. Retailability focuses on providing affordable fashion to low- and middle-income consumers across the region while creating inclusive employment.
Companies operating in financial sector created 13,100 new jobs, including 6,400 for women. Baobab, a financial services group active in seven African countries, played a key role. With 4,397 employees as of 2024, up from 3,491 in 2016, Baobab contributes to financial inclusion while also offering decent work. The company meets 2X Challenge criteria, with 42% female staff and 48% female clients. Baobab serves early 500,000 customers, 65% were previously unbanked.
Technology added 8,500 jobs (5,400 for women), continuing its role as a high-growth, skills-based sector. Healthcare added 6,500 jobs with 61% female representation. Industrials created 5,200 jobs, including 3,900 for women—mostly in logistics, light manufacturing, and infrastructure-related work.
Education accounted for 3,200 jobs, nearly half held by women. Other sectors—consumer services, energy, and transportation—added between several hundred and just over a thousand jobs. While smaller in absolute numbers, these roles support vital services in their communities.
Jobs for Women: 26,000 and Counting
Since its inception, SGGM1’s portfolio has created more than 26,000 jobs for women, accounting for nearly half of all employment generated across emerging markets. Much of this growth has been concentrated in sectors that are both labour-intensive and fast expanding. Consumer goods, financial services and technology together account for more than 70% of the positions. The geography is equally telling. Portfolio companies located in Vietnam and South Africa are the largest sources of new employment for women, with 6,500 and 5,600 jobs respectively. Across Africa as a whole, 4,000 positions were added, while India and Tunisia contributed 2,800 and 2,100. These gains highlight how investment flows into private companies can translate into measurable employment outcomes for women.
Employee Wellbeing and Job Quality in 2024
In 2024, portfolio companies continued to strengthen job quality, recognizing that decent work is not only about creating jobs but also about providing good working conditions, meaningful benefits, and opportunities for growth.
Among the 60 Sarona portfolio companies surveyed, many focused on offering employee benefits that support physical and mental health, work-life balance, and financial security. Health insurance was the most common benefit, provided by 80% of companies. Other frequently offered benefits included maternity leave (63%), paternity or adoptive leave (53%), dental insurance (49%), and disability coverage (46%). Some companies also offered retirement plans, life insurance, or stock ownership.
Several companies went further by providing additional support, such as childcare assistance, housing allowances, transportation support, free meals, vision insurance, wellness supplements, and occasional gifts or financial aid.
Training and professional development remained a key priority. In 2024, over 48,000 employees—about 50% of the total workforce—participated in programs to build new skills, improve performance, and support career advancement. According to WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025, 39% of current skills are expected to be disrupted or outdated by 2030, and 59% of the global workforce will require training. Employers highlight resilience, flexibility, analytical thinking, and leadership as the top skills needed. AI, big data, and green skills are the fastest-growing technical competencies
Workplace safety also received attention. While 56% of companies reported zero occupational injuries, 537 employees—about 0.7% of the total workforce—experienced work-related incidents. This corresponds to 6.4 injuries per 1,000 employees. Additionally, there were five work-related deaths reported in 2024, equivalent to 0.06 deaths per 1,000 employees. The sectors with the highest injury rates were Healthcare (57.3 injuries per 1,000 employees), Financials (16.9), and Consumer Staples (10.4).
In response to these risks, many companies reviewed and improved their road safety policies, HR procedures, codes of conduct, and employee feedback systems—particularly in sectors where employees face higher exposure to physical hazards.
Wages: Portfolio Companies Pay More Than National Averages
According to WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025 , by 2030, 52% of employers plan to allocate a greater share of revenue to wages, driven by the need to retain skills and align pay with productivity. Supporting employee health and wellbeing is considered a top talent strategy by 64% of employers
In 2024, SGGM1 companies paid USD 671 million in wages. While slightly lower than in peak years due to company exits, this remains well above the 2017 figure of USD 595 million. The median salary per full-time employee was USD 8,921. Across all 17 countries analyzed, portfolio wages consistently outperformed national averages. In Indonesia, South Africa, India average wages were more than three times the national benchmark, as the companies operate in financial sector. In South Africa, India, Kenya, and Morocco, average wages ranged between USD 16,700 and USD 18,200. Even in lower-income markets like Vietnam, Egypt, and Nigeria, portfolio companies paid significantly above local standards—offering not just jobs, but jobs with dignity. Taken together, these findings offer a clear view of the value SGGM1 continues to deliver. Jobs created. Wages paid. Gender inclusion pursued. Supply chains activated. Local economies strengthened. This is the kind of capital deployment that goes beyond transactions—it builds markets, communities, and futures.
Note: This analysis includes all active Sarona portfolio companies in SGGM1 as of December 2024 across 17 countries that reported both total annual compensation and employee headcount. For national average annual wage benchmarks, we used country level average wage data from https://www.worlddata.info/average-income.php
One Job, Three More: The Ripple Effect of SGGM1 Capital
The direct jobs supported by SGGM1 portfolio companies are only part of the story. In 2024, these companies employed 83,231 people. But the broader impact on communities goes much further. Using the Joint Impact Model, it is estimated that every direct job supports almost three more in the wider economy. In total, SGGM1-supported companies helped create an estimated 342,279 jobs. These include jobs in supply chains and in the local economy through household spending. As people earn salaries from SGGM1 portfolio companies, they spend that income on things like housing, food, transportation, and education. This creates what are known as induced jobs — an estimated 95,690 of them in 2024. At the same time, growing businesses need more goods and services. They hire suppliers for logistics, raw materials, IT support, maintenance, and other services. These supply chain activities supported another 163,358 jobs. This ripple effect shows how SGGM1’s investments reach beyond the companies themselves. The capital deployed into portfolio businesses fuels wider economic activity, supports households, strengthens supply chains, and contributes to job creation across many levels of the economy.
Interested in learning more? Reach out to us at sarona@saronafund.com.
