Meaning and momentum in March

- Tweet0
- 0
- Pin It 0
- 0
- Subscribe to RSS
Subscribe

Subject: Meaning and momentum in March

2X Global: Unlocking gender-smart capital at scale

Dear Friend,

This newsletter arrives in your inbox just days away from the start of March, and with it, the global observance of International Women’s Day as well as Women’s History Month.

This year, these milestones arrive alongside several overlapping seasons of celebration and reflection for more than half of the world’s population, with Lunar New Year festivities underway and the observances of Ramadan and Lent ongoing. To all who are celebrating or observing these important cultural traditions and religious observances, we wish you peace, meaningful reflection, and joy.

For us at 2X Global, March, with its focus on women, carries deep resonance, reflecting the heart of our shared mission: closing the gender finance gap and advancing economic opportunity and equality for women worldwide.

Together with our members and partners, we work every day to turn this vision into tangible progress — mobilising capital, strengthening partnerships, and driving systemic change.

As we mark this season, we invite our community to look beyond a single day of hashtags or social media activation.

Let International Women’s Day serve as an anchor - a moment to recommit to the purpose behind the celebration and to the critical work that remains ahead. Together, we can ensure that the momentum of March inspires sustained action throughout the year and beyond.

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

In Community,

2X Global Team

Request for Proposals: 2X Challenge Marketing Materials & Investee Tools

2X Global is seeking consultants or firms for two assignments related to our flagship initiative, the 2X Challenge. The first is to develop marketing materials that articulate the value of 2X qualification and the second is to develop a suite of tools and templates to help gender-lens investing (GLI) qualified investees strengthen their gender-smart practices and deepen alignment with the 2X Criteria. The deadline for submissions of RFPs is Friday, March 13, 2026.

RFP 1 - 2X Challenge Marketing Materials

RFP 2 - Investee Tools & Templates

News from the field

Mainstreaming gender lens investing. FinDev Canada has committed US$ 25 million to Phatisa Food Fund 3 — a 2X-aligned private equity vehicle strengthening Africa’s food value chains to advance food security, inclusive growth and gender equality across the continent. A major milestone for Triple Jump as its Financial Inclusion Resilience Fund which was borne out of the COVID-19 crisis, is now fully deployed with assets performing in line with expectations and strong demand from financial institutions. Check out this episode of the Women Changing Finance podcast, featuring one of the grantees of our Resilient Futures Fund, Carolyne Kirabo, founder and CEO of M-Kyala Ventures. Carolyne describes how she’s building a gender-smart investment fund in East Africa to shift capital toward women-led businesses by addressing funding gaps and changing how investors show up. Ten investments, serving over 150,000 women across Latin America and the Caribbean - in their first year participating in the 2X Challenge, Deetken Impact, one of the first private investors to join the 2X Challenge 2024-2027, reports on the results coming out of their Ilu Women's Empowerment Fund. A new study from AVCA - the Gender Diversity in African Private Capital report, reveals persistent under-representation of women in private capital leadership and investment teams across Africa, and highlights how gender diversity correlates with stronger returns and more inclusive capital deployment. Australia’s government has pledged a US$ 3 million loan to ARQ SME Finance to expand access to capital for Filipina entrepreneurs, boosting funding support and business opportunities for women-led ventures in the Philippines.

Gender and Climate Investing. 'Just transition’ is one of the most widely used terms in climate change conversations. However as 2X Global CEO Jessica Espinoza points out in her latest piece on Medium, women receive less than five percent of climate investment. She questions just how just can this transition be if women still can’t access the capital which powers progress to a green future? In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency has rescinded its own 2009 “endangerment finding” - the legal basis for federal greenhouse-gas regulation — effectively rolling back vehicle and industrial emissions standards and weakening the country’s ability to regulate climate pollution under the Clean Air Act. Just how transformative is blended finance when it comes to financing the kind of gender responsive climate resilience investment needed in sub-Saharan Africa? A new report from I&P and the Catalytic Climate Finance Facility outlines how blended finance structures are unlocking catalytic capital for gender- and climate-focused funds in Sub-Saharan Africa. Hummingbirds has raised €50 million from Swedfund, Proparco and British International Investment (BII) to scale nature-based solutions across emerging markets, mobilising capital for climate resilience, biodiversity and sustainable livelihoods. What are the ways to power the innovation of women entrepreneurs working in renewable energy? A new case study from Open Capital highlights how scaling proven pilots for women’s access to finance and business in renewable energy across Africa can unlock capital, build capacity and drive women-led participation in the clean energy transition. India’s highest court has ruled that corporate social responsibility must now include protections for biodiversity and wildlife, a major development coming almost 13 years since India became first nation in the world to mandate corporate giving by law.

Leadership, Culture and Policy, JEDI. The African Union has renewed its commitment to financing gender equality, with the bloc noting that Africa’s path to achieving its Agenda 2063 is closely tied to unlocking the economic potential of its women and youth. On the board but not in the C-suite - a new FTSE Women Leaders Review shows that progress toward women’s leadership in the United Kingdom’s biggest companies remains mixed with only 9 women CEOs out of 100. At the same time, women now occupy 43% of board positions across the FTSE 350 companies. How are younger generations influencing the direction of their family foundations and philanthropy as a whole in Canada? In this article from the February Special Report on Philanthropy, next gen philanthropists including Sarah McCain and Stacey Kline share their perspectives and what they’re doing differently. Talking the talk but not walking the walk. New research from Ireland shows nearly half of businesses have scaled back their diversity, equity and inclusion budgets and 43% have axed dedicated DEI roles. Yet 78% of companies surveyed still say they prioritise gender balance. In the United States, the federal government is currently suing a Coca-Cola bottling company for hosting a women’s only networking event.

Data and Tools. 2X Global has developed a new resource: Mapping the 2X Criteria and the OECD DAC Gender Equality Marker. The document provides practical guidance on how 2X-qualified investments can meet the DAC Marker's minimum criteria, clarifies areas of alignment, and addresses common reporting challenges faced by Development Finance Institutions, Multilateral Development Banks, and private investors. How do the 2X Criteria actually help to advance gender impact in investment? FinDev Canada has released the findings from its first independent impact evaluation, looking at its 2X Challenge investments. Read it here. We-Fi and partners have released a new segmentation framework and Practitioner Toolkit to help investors and intermediaries better understand and serve diverse women-led SMEs in emerging markets. Find it here. FINCA has released a policy brief on Measuring Women’s Economic Empowerment, urging the use of context-specific, empirically validated indicators — based on research in Uganda — to improve programme design, evaluation and women’s financial inclusion outcomes.

Care Economy. In Australia, a new pitch from a think tank is calling for the current “childcare-only” subsidy system to be scrapped and replaced with a “choice in care subsidy” payable to options outside of childcare centres – such as parental and kinship care.

In Uzbekistan, policymakers, employers, workers’ representatives, youth, civil society, and international partners are discussing how strengthening the care economy can promote gender equality, expand decent work for care workers, and foster inclusive growth.

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

A call, a taxi, a roof to stay under. Insurance giant AXA has rolled out initiatives in Luxembourg to support survivors of domestic violence — including access to safe transport, emergency accommodation and financial assistance. As AI-powered sexual harassment targeted at women grows, an urgent call to action for regulation that protects women and girls from digital violence.

Community Calendar

3-6 March

The EIB Group Forum 2026 will take place in Luxembourg, bringing together key stakeholders from policy, business, and finance to exchange views on investment priorities that support Europe's policies. Learn more.

9-12 March

The 18th Annual Meeting of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV) will be held in the Dominican Republic, bringing together its membership focused on values-based banking. Register here.

10-11 March

SAVCA will host the Private Equity in Southern Africa Industry Conference, convening private equity industry stakeholders including investors, fund managers, regulators and more. Registration is open.

11-13 March

The Center for Sustainable Finance & Private Wealth is hosting its EPIC Private Wealth Gathering in Singapore this March, under the theme ‘Elevate Purpose, Invest in Change’. Register and learn more here.

24-27 March

The Future of Energy summit, jointly organised by FMO and Solarplaza, will convene a global mix of top project developers, financial institutions and investors, service providers, and asset owners to tackle the strategic challenges of accelerating the renewable energy transition in emerging markets. Register here.

25-26 March

A key event for impact investors in Asia-Pacific, the Impact Investment Summit brings together investors, advisors, foundations, family offices, government and organisations to explore opportunities that deliver financial and positive impact outcomes. Learn more..

Thank you to our partners and supporters

Subscribe

Subject: Meaning and momentum in March