Looking back, looking ahead

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Subject: Looking back, looking ahead

2X Global: Unlocking gender-smart capital at scale

Dear Friend,

This month finds us at a moment of both reflection and anticipation.

Just last week, we published our Annual Report 2025, which was a welcomed opportunity to look back on a year of progress made possible through the collective efforts of our members, partners and team. The report captures how, together, we continued to strengthen the field through convening, standard-setting, research, and catalytic and capital mobilisation initiatives to expand financing for women.

At the same time, our focus is firmly on what’s next and we are in the midst of preparation for our biggest convening of the year - the annual 2X Global Summit.

In just under two months’ time we will gather in Montréal for the 2X Global Summit 2026 - the first time our flagship event will be held in the Western Hemisphere. Hosted in partnership with Global Affairs Canada and FinDev Canada, the Summit comes at an important moment for our field.

Around the world, the ecosystem supporting investment in women is navigating a more complex landscape. Yet this year's Summit is also a powerful reminder that leadership and commitment remain strong - an ethos which is signalled in this year’s Summit theme - Grounded Capital, Global Partners. There is particular significance in convening this global community in Canada. After all, the origin story of 2X Global began in Canada, at the G7 Summit 2018, where the first 2X Challenge was announced, leading eventually to the establishment of 2X Global.

More than eight years later, Canada has remained a champion for the importance of financing women and advancing gender-smart investment, demonstrating that these are not only matters of equity, but essential drivers of stronger economies, more resilient businesses and shared prosperity.

The conversations, partnerships and commitments that emerge from the Summit will help shape the next chapter of our collective work, bringing together leaders from across finance, business, philanthropy and government to accelerate progress where it is needed most.

As we reflect on what has been achieved and prepare for the opportunities ahead, we look forward to continuing this journey together—and to welcoming many of you to Montréal this September.

Keep reading for a selection of the latest GLI news and insights.

In Community,

2X Global Team

Just published: The Business Case for 2X Challenge Qualification

Since its launch at the 2018 G7 Summit, the 2X Challenge has become our flagship initiative for mobilising capital for women’s economic empowerment, with more than 1,000 transactions and US$34 billion invested across 600+ entities qualified against the 2X Criteria to date.

But what does 2X qualification mean for the invest companies? We now have research to answer this question as just this month, together with Kore Global, we’ve published a new report: The Business Case for 2X Challenge Qualification.

The study draws on insights gleaned from surveying 55 funds, financial institutions and companies to better understand the value they associate with 2X qualification.

The findings point to benefits that extend beyond signalling, with 79% reporting a stronger reputation with investors and LPs, 60% saying it had influenced their ability to secure financing and 36% saying it directly unlocked new commercial opportunities.

Explore the Report here.

News from the field

Mainstreaming gender lens investing. In a new piece in the Loan Market Association’s Horizons publication, 2X Global CEO Jessica Espinoza and board director Sukhvir Basran make the case for why gender-lens investing is moving from a niche sustainability concept into a mainstream financial strategy and how standards such as 2X Certification and 2X Criteria have strengthened the field. A buzzy, woman-founded startup Halo Braid, which has developed robotic tools which can cut styling time in half for braids and other textured hair care, has raised $7 million in funding, including from Alexis Ohanian. The company is founded by Nigerian-American engineer and entrepreneur Yinka Ogunbiyi. We’ve heard of the gender pay gap - but it continues even into retirement. In the EU, the gender pension gap is on average twice the pay gap, with women receiving 24.5% less in retirement than men.

Gender and Climate Investing. Under pressure from the United States, the World Bank has said it will “retire” a key climate finance target requiring 45 per cent of its financing to go to projects offering climate “co-benefits”. The wider climate action plan remains in place however and just last year the Bank surpassed the target, hitting 48% of projects. In a new report focused on the energy transition in The Gambia, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has underscored the importance of making women full partners in the country’s energy transition. The study’s findings show that energy poverty weighs more heavily on women particularly in rural areas and identifies barriers to participation in the renewable energy sector. 2X Global has submitted a new input paper to the UNFCCC under the Belém Gender Action Plan, setting out how common standards, blended finance and embedded gender technical assistance can together unlock private capital for gender-responsive climate finance at scale.

Leadership, Culture and Policy, JEDI. Nancy Plaßmann has taken the helm as CEO of Berliner Sparkasse, marking a change in leadership at one of Germany’s largest banks. A new global study spanning over 3000 companies worldwide, shows that women-led companies are making faster progress on improving gender diversity - not just at the board level but also at the senior management level. Saadia Zahidi is the new Director General at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global trade organisation for the world’s airlines. She’s the ninth person to hold the role and the first woman. The stronger negotiators may well be women. In maddening yet unsurprising news, a new study finds that women are more likely to be hired after taking GLP-1 weight loss drugs. Analysing data from more than 10,000 adults it found that unemployed women who took the weight loss drugs were 27% more likely to find employment within 18 months than their counterparts who didn’t. A new piece in Director Magazine tackles the phenomenon of groupthink, how it is one of the biggest risks facing any company or industry and how board diversity can be a bulwark against it. European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde has urged French healthcare organisations to widen women’s paths to senior leadership positions. In a speech, Lagarde noted that the healthcare sector in France is predominantly staffed by women and identified practices which the ECB has used to increase the proportion of women in senior management to almost 40%.

Data and Tools. A new study from Cornell University and the University of California, Berkeley finds that women leave a stronger impression than men and people walk away more satisfied and with greater trust when negotiating with women - even when both sides get similar results. Even though women are earning, creating and inheriting more wealth than ever before and are leading on household financial decisions, this is not matched by greater confidence or engagement with long-term financial decisions. Read why in St James’s Place’s Financial Health Report 2026: Women and Wealth.

AfDB has launched a new digital playbook designed to help women entrepreneurs secure financing and scale their businesses across the continent.

Care Economy. When Mayor Shoko Kawata announced her plans to take maternity leave recently, the 35 year old found herself in the middle of an intense national debate about it - in a country struggling with low birth rates but also which currently has no legal framework for elected officials to take maternity leave. Kawata, who became Japan’s youngest ever woman city mayor when she was 33, will be making history as Japan’s first ever mayor to take maternity leave.The care economy is one of the most transformative investments of our time argues UN Women in a new brief. The piece advances key stats to make a compelling case that investment in care is not simply a social policy—it is an economic strategy. The Guardian spotlighted an often-overlooked reality amidst the recent sweltering European heatwaves - the ways in which women and low income families often bear the brunt of climate related care responsibilities when the temperature spikes.

Resilience (GBVH, Financial Inclusion, Health, Security).

It’s not an understatement to say that the world feels especially febrile right now - armed conflict, democratic backsliding, tariff wars and more. Amidst it all, our own Jessica Espinoza asks a critical question in her latest piece on Medium - if we had achieved gender parity, would the world even be in this mess? Inclusive credit is both celebrated and hotly contested as a tool for positive development outcomes. In this new research paper from CGAP at the World Bank, researchers go beyond the simple question of whether it ‘works’ to assess who benefits, under what conditions and which product designs actually improve outcomes rather than creating debt stress. Financial inclusion is one thing - having a bank account has opened opportunities for millions of women around the world. But what about financial health? In this blog, Women’s World Banking argues that the conversation needs to shift to financial health - whether women can manage day-to-day finances, withstand shocks and plan for the future and positions financial health as the next frontier for financial inclusion.

Community Calendar

25-27 August

The Asian Venture Philanthropy Network’s (AVPN) Global Conference 2026 is taking place in New Delhi, India this year, exploring the theme ‘A Blueprint for Action in Asia’. Learn more.

8-11 September

Latimpacto’s fifth annual conference under the theme Impact Minds: Connecting Us, is headed to Manaus, Brazil and will bring together capital providers, thought leaders and innovators to explore impact solutions and innovations for Latin America and the Caribbean.

15-17 September

We’re looking forward to the 2X Global Summit 2026, which will be in Montréal, Canada and will be held in partnership with Global Affairs Canada and FinDev Canada. To learn how you can attend: https://www.2xglobal.org/membership.

Partnership opportunities are still available - for more details, contact our summit team at 2XSummit@2xglobal.org.

Explore what's coming up across the 2X Global community

See the Full Events Calendar.

Thank you to our partners and supporters

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Subject: Looking back, looking ahead