Gender-Smart Investing: Best Practices in Gender-Smart, Post-Investment Support

The Gender-Smart Enterprise Assistance Research Coalition (G-SEARCh) is a group of six like-minded impact investors that strive to build the evidence and a strong business case for investing with a gender lens. The Coalition’s research spanned 31 Technical Assistance (TA) engagements across 21 SMEs and analyzed the business and social outcomes of seven different types of TA engagement.  This interactive session will share these lessons learned and then pick up where the research ends to explore how investors and SMEs can identify, structure, and implement best practices in advancing gender equity, whether through TA or individual and industry efforts. We will begin with a 15-minute review of the insights gained from the G-EARCh report and then use them as a provocation to explore more perspectives, strategies and lessons from other investors, entrepreneurs and philanthropists in the room. Participants will then discuss their experiences, needs, challenges/opportunities in smaller groups and capture key ideas.  The last quarter of the session will  be spent sharing key takeaways, and new ideas for advancing gender equity within impact portfolios, as well as new opportunities for collaboration and learning.