Gender lens investing is gaining tremendous momentum as investors double down on financing for businesses that increase women’s access to capital, strengthen gender equity in the workplace and/or provide products or services that benefit women and girls. But what about the businesses that have keen social and business interest in greater gender equity but lack the know-how and resources to advance it? Or the businesses that are supporting women but are held back from doing more by capacity constraints? These businesses need both gender-smart financing and gender-smart technical assistance (TA).
This panel will focus on the case for pairing gender-smart TA with gender-smart financing to catalyze business-led efforts to strengthen gender equity. Panelists will present concrete case studies of gender-smart financing + TA, their results and learnings to illustrate the potential of this model in a variety of contexts–from building women’s climate resilience to creating more inclusive workplaces, from Latin America to East Africa. This session will also introduce participants to other exciting contributions among the gender lens investing community to advance gender equity through gender smart investments, including GSEARCH.
