Subject: Setting the pace for Q4 and news from the field

2X Investor Meet-ups around the world, CGEF applications open, LP training in Tokyo and Project Catalyst begins

Dear Friend,


September set the pace for the last quarter of 2023: purpose-driven and active. It also marked a poignant moment in the field of gender lens investing with the passing of Suzanne Biegel. Suzanne was a world-renowned and respected pioneer whose fierce and enduring leadership blazed the trail for our community. 


Some of you will be opening this newsletter from Luxembourg, where our 2X Annual Member Meeting is underway. This convening, co-hosted by the European Investment Bank, brought together over 200 representatives from across the investment ecosystem for solutions-oriented dialogues, networking and inspired action to step up systemic shifts that will unlock gender-smart capital at scale.  


At the Meeting, we launched the Envisioning Fair Futures handbook, which takes us 20 years into the future to envision scenarios at the intersection of gender and climate. These scenarios explore the power, potential and opportunity our actions can have.


We are also proud to announce the 2X Ignite Asia-Pacific cohorts for the GP Sprint and Launch Pad programmes. Meet the fund managers shaping the future of gender-smart investing in the Asia-Pacific region here. 


Moreover, the deadline of the first round of grant funding under the Climate Gender Equity Fund (CGEF) is drawing near (October 6). Launched by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), with Founding Members Amazon, Visa Foundation and Reckitt, the Fund seeks to catalyse gender equity in climate finance. 


Lastly, we are honored to take Suzanne’s seminal work on private markets fund scanning, Project Sage, forward as Project Catalyst. This collaborative initiative between 2X Global and Sagana is a global scan of gender lens in private equity, venture capital, and private debt funds. Contribute to this initiative by completing and sharing this survey.


In Community,

2X Global team

News from the field

Mainstreaming gender lens investing.

Mainstreaming gender lens investing. Fundraising only from women VCs in their first round actually makes it harder for women founders - read why in this HBR piece. Criterion Institute outlines six reasons to include a child lens into gender lens investing. Ritu Verma examines the gender imbalance in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Why does a gender gap persist in pension savings - a study brings insights from the United Kingdom. Tips and advice are here on how investors can lead change through gender lens investing. The recent G20 Summit in New Delhi, included a strong call to action on gender equity, particularly in the area of women’s economic empowerment. The European Investment Bank published the "Financing in Africa Survey 2023," providing unique insights into the evolving financial landscape across the African continent.

 
Gender and Climate Investing. 

Gender and Climate Investing. How can pension funds advance nature positive investments? Lee Backhouse, senior manager of pension fund Scottish Widows, offers insights. Tracy Gray of 22 Fund shares perspectives on the climate investment landscape in an interview with Axios. Canada announces it will provide  $7 million to the Catalytic Climate Finance Facility for climate finance projects in developing countries, particularly those targeting women and girls. The Ford Foundation shares an annual update on their COP26 pledge to support Indigenous Peoples and local communities forest guardianship and tenure rights. A $100 billion opportunity to save money could be realised if developed nations would deliver on their climate adaptation and mitigation pledges to low and middle income countries.

 
Leadership, Culture and Policy

Leadership, Culture and Policy.  A new study upends conventional beliefs about the division of labour in early human societies as it shows that women actually hunted extensively. Meet 34 women who are shifting the landscape for tech investment on the African continent. Latin America’s Finance and Economy Ministries issues their first-ever commitment to align their fiscal strategies with the transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient economies. UN Women shares this feminist foreign policy (ffp) brief that strengthens the integration of gender equality objectives across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Take a look at the results and reflections of UNDP one year after implementing its Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025.

 
Development

Resilience (GBV, Financial Inclusion, Security). There are still stumbling blocks in offering fit for purpose financing programmes for women for their businesses in Latin America, per a new IDB and UN Women report. Building food security and gender equity at the same time - a case study on how Alphamundi Foundadtion supported Asili Agriculture’s approach to this in East Africa. Recommendations on designing cash transfer programmes for women to enhance well-being and safeguard against intimate partner violence. Read this guide for Internet service providers and technology companies interested in incorporating a gender-sensitive approach to their work. Compare the conditions of women in APEC before and after COVID19 through this Women and the Economy Dashboard. These Standards of Practice for Gender Lens Investing, developed by a consortium of partners, aim to activate three leverage points within the financial system: investment analyses, structures, and processes. 

 
Data and Tools

Data and Tools. Private equity firms and institutional investors have intensified their focus on gender and ethnic diversity, but the road ahead remains long. Female GPs and Senior Managers are an undervalued asset in European VCs. What does the landscape look like for women's movements right now in terms of focus, budget and funding as the SDG deadlines approach? Equileap and Indxx join forces to launch a first of its kind US women in technology index. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has become the first multilateral development bank to offer a financing tool that rewards countries for achieving nature and climate objectives. Asses your own knowledge, attitudes and practice, to address intersectionality at a programme or policy level using this Resource Guide and Tool. The push for better standards of transparency and reporting on sustainability issues in finance, continues with the launch of the Sector Standards Project for Financial Services. A new survey helps provide a fuller picture of small business financing in Africa and the Middle East.

 
Care Economy

Care Economy. By improving and expanding the care economy, Women’s Agenda argues that we can boost economic opportunity and advance the green transition. The draft global roadmap for action that emerged from the Women Deliver conference in Kigali, is designed to propel commitments and investments to transform the care economy. This brief developed by data2X outlines key priorities for gender data across the 5R framework for care and a call for comprehensive a gender data agenda. This IMF analyses confirm positive impacts of government spending on early childcare and education to boost female labor force participation.

 
JEDI, Power, and New Economic Systems

JEDI, Power, and New Economic Systems. In addition to scoring companies on gender equality across 19 criteria, Equileap has now added five additional criteria on these important topics. Textio research digs into racial, gender and age bias in performance management and how it shows up in language. The UNDP has brought a new research paper on how social issues can be embedded into sustainable finance. Morgan Stanley announces the largest ever cohort for its Inclusive Ventures Lab, an incubator for underrepresented founders of tech start-ups. Veris Wealth Partners has published a new report on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, honing on what has contributed to the persistent wealth gap between Black and White Americans.

 

Community Calendar

2-3 October 2023

This year's GSG Global Impact Summit 2023 focuses on three key themes: mobilising capital, achieving full transparency in measuring impacts, and accelerating impact and social economies. Join them in Malaga, Spain.

2-5 October 2023

Building Bridges is a collaborative initiative that gives a voice to a large community of decision-makers, advocates, experts, and financial actors from both the Global North and South. RSVP here.

4, 10 October, 2023

2X Global is convening existing and aspiring gender lens investing practitioners in Copenhagen and London. Join these in-person events through the links above.

4-5 October 2023

The GIIN Impact Forum 2023 is designed to advance and scale the impact investing market by bringing all of the crucial elements of the world’s impact ecosystem together in one place. Register to join the event in Denmark.

5 October 2023

Join Unconform and the Academy for Sustainable Innovation online for the Leadership Talk: Designing Gender Inclusive & Climate Positive Future. Register online.

6 October 2023

Alongside PRI in Person 2023 in Tokyo, 2X Global is hosting an Asia-Pacific Gender Lens Investing LP Training and Networking event designed for investment professionals. Learn more.

16-20 October, 2023

8th World Investment Forum, Abu Dhabi: the Empretec Women in Business Awards will be held during the Forum, acknowledging the contributions of women entrepreneurs. Learn more.

17-19 October, 2023

The GLI Forum 2023 in Latin America is the first regional convention focused on advancing equality to boost economic development in the region. Join the event in Colombia.

23-24 October, 2023

EBRD is hosting a conference that aims to promote new research and evidence on gender, entrepreneurship and access to finance and the 'missing middle' in developing economies. Learn more.

The Climate Gender Equity Fund (CGEF) seeks to catalyse gender equity in climate finance. The Fund is accepting proposals to access grant funding for organisations led by and benefiting women on the front lines of climate change. Applications close on October 6th.

 
Learn more

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