What does it mean to invest in women?

What does it mean to invest in women?

Investing in women is good business. At BII, we’re committed to closing the gaps between men and women. We do this in three ways.

First, we invest in companies where women are already meaningfully represented as leaders, employees and customers, and which have gender-inclusive workplace cultures, policies and practices. This includes companies like Kashf Foundation, which is boosting female entrepreneurship across Pakistan by providing women with access to finance.

Second, we partner with companies to implement gender-focused initiatives, such as improving female representation and inclusion in the workforce, or tailoring products to respond to women’s preferences and needs. We know this kind of transformation doesn’t happen overnight. But six years on from launching our gender strategy, we can clearly see how this work is positively impacting women. Our new evaluation on the impact of investing in companies with female owners and leaders explores this. ?

Third, we’re championing the growth of the gender lens investing industry. We’re a proud founder of the 2X Challenge, which today has grown into an industry body – 2X Global – with over 100 members applying a gender lens to their investments. We’re also encouraging investors to use innovative financial products to maximise impact on women’s lives. Our new toolkit demonstrates how effective gender impact bonds can be as an investment tool to advance gender equality in Africa.?

Read on to find out more about some of these projects.


Boosting female entrepreneurship in Pakistan

In this video, meet Sweta, an entrepreneur based in Karachi, Pakistan. Thanks to Kashf Foundation – a company providing micro-loans to female entrepreneurs – Sweta is growing her jewellery business.

Last week we announced our $15 million follow-on investment in Kashf Foundation, which currently serves over 750,000 customers.


Fostering women’s professional development in off-grid solar

We worked with off-grid solar business Sun King to improve gender balance and inclusion of female mid-managers, as well as up-skill and mentor women in more junior roles.


Championing the growth of gender lens investment

In our latest podcast we spoke to Jessica Espinoza, CEO of 2X Global, about the evolution of gender lens investing, and the challenges and opportunities for investors.


Supporting innovative finance

In partnership with UN Women and FSD Africa, we’ve launched the Gender Bonds Toolkit to demonstrate how effective gender impact bonds can be as an investment tool to advance gender equality in Africa.


Exploring the impact of?women in leadership

Our new evaluation examines how businesses in our portfolio – especially those with female owners and leaders – have supported women as employees, suppliers and consumers. It provides valuable lessons for assessing the impact of investments on women.


If you would like more information about BII, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can also follow BII on Twitter/X and LinkedIn, and receive the latest news on our activities and investments by signing up here.



Dr. Justus Aluka

Individual and family services

4 个月

great opportunity

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Fanie van Rensburg

Project Manager at Find me a farm

5 个月

Support my Mega Farming and Foodsecurity project in South Africa ????. www.imfsp.net. [email protected] Only way to invest in women is the employ them and make them financially successful.

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Subarna Newar

Founder at Go Green Nepal Pvt. Ltd.

5 个月

Hi, how can we apply for support? I'm a female entrepreneur with many innovations but due to a lack of resources, the struggle to upscale is there, my projects involve working directly with marginalised farming communities, and also the women of those societies are not allowed to participate where there are men however their engagement is possible with a few things I've been working on, e.g. production of banana fibers from banana waste including a few bio-degradable sanitary napkins, etc.

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Bhim Bahadur Khatri

Manager-Market Services at Swisscontact, Nepal Agriculture Market Development Programme (NAMDP) Phase-II (Sahaj)

5 个月

Good work if BII. We have pool of more than 50 impactful women led enterprises if BII is interested to collaborate.

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M Waqas Ahmad

As a proud Generation Xer, the qualities of being resourceful, independent, and balanced are the ones that define me. I have used these qualities to carefully craft my career as a Business Professional.

5 个月

Financial inclusion thrives when women are empowered economically. BII's investment in Kashf Foundation not only supports #femaleentrepreneurs but also advances #financialinclusion in Pakistan. By providing resources and opportunities, we break barriers, empower women, and create a more inclusive and prosperous #society for all.

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