Alumni Profile: Dr Afua Basoah

Dr Afua Basoah (DPhil Clinical Neurology, 1999) is a neuroscientist, strategist and venture capital leader whose career has bridged science, business and social impact. She is Co-Founder of Fern Capital Group, a £25 million investment fund focused on advancing innovation in women’s health across the United Kingdom, Europe and four markets in Africa (Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa).

After completing her DPhil in Clinical Neurology at Green Templeton College, Afua began her career in healthcare communications and strategy, advising global pharmaceutical companies on market access and emerging health challenges. Her work highlighted a persistent underinvestment in women’s health—despite women comprising over half the global population and driving the majority of healthcare decisions. This insight inspired her to establish Fern Capital, a fund designed to deliver both commercial success and measurable social outcomes.

Fern Capital’s early investments include companies developing caterer defining technology: a real-time hormone monitoring implant and a diagnostic tampon for cervical cancer, both designed to improve accessibility and set a new standard of care for women globally. Afua’s scientific training underpins the fund’s focus on clinically validated, evidence-based innovations.

Reflecting on her time at Oxford, Afua describes the Institute of Molecular Medicine as ‘a place that encouraged deep, new thinking and cross-discipline collaboration – It shaped my understanding that real impact comes from connecting the dots across the healthcare ecosystem’. She credits Professor Karl Morten, for mentoring her towards inclusive, impactful research and remains connected to him- as he continues to engage her in academic events hosted by the university.

Today, Afua continues to bridge commercial strategy and social impact, combining scientific insight with a global perspective on access, inclusion, and investment.