Focusing our energy and intentionality for 2024

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Subject: Focusing our energy and intentionality for 2024

2X Global: Unlocking gender-smart capital at scale

Dear Friend,

We’ve started 2024 with energy and intentionality - exactly the mindset we plan to carry with us throughout this year as we aim to transform finance, making it more gender smart and inclusive.

Our team members took to snowy Davos, Switzerland last week for the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting and used their platforms to advance the benefits of investing in women’s sexual and reproductive health.

While there, we jointly announced a new partnership between the Women's Health and Empowerment Network (WHEN) and 2X Ignite which will deploy technical assistance to scale up emerging female fund managers and entrepreneurs in Africa. We’re truly excited about this facility which will unlock gender smart capital for SMEs on the African continent.

As it so happens, we will be opening applications next month for the second edition of the 2X Ignite Africa GP Sprint, following the success of the first Africa and Asia-Pacific cohorts in 2023. The GP Sprint is an acceleration programme for female-led fund managers which offers tailored coaching, practical exercises and network facilitation for a select regional cohort of GPs with the aim of expediting their timeline to a first close.

In other 2X Global news, applications are still open for regional research leads for an innovative applied research project at the intersection of gender, climate and the clean energy transition. The project, Improving outcomes for women-led clean energy enterprises through applied research, which we’re initiating together with ANDE, is made possible through generous support from Canada’s International Development Research Centre. The deadline to apply is February 15, 2024. Read our call for proposals for more.

We also have some useful new research and resources out. Our new report, Gender-Smart Climate Finance: The Policy Angle, examines the connection between gender and climate finance, focusing on the importance of gender-smart investments in the broader climate finance and policy arena. Over on our JEDI investing toolkit, we’ve added two excellent new case studies, looking at PayPal’s Economic Opportunity Fund, established in 2020 and methods which Just is using to advance inclusion and empower women from the Global South.

Read on for a selection of GLI news.

In Community,

2X Global team

News from the field

Mainstreaming gender lens investing. Women’s World Banking Asset Management releases its first impact infographic, showcasing the fund manager's recent social performance including insights on gender performance data, highlights from the impact of their gender investing strategy, and more. Why should investors consider impact investing in frontier and emerging markets? This latest discussion paper from Bundesinitiative Impact Investing weighs the benefits and risks. A look at how FinnFund and the EU's Africa Connected EFSD+ programme is investing in digital infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa and how this can help bridge the gender gap. $10.5 billion in global investment in cervical cancer elimination could potentially return $273 billion to the global economy - this open letter from cervical cancer startups calls for investment, innovation and research to eliminate this scourge. Reflections on how finance can be a tool to create greater gender equality, from a participant in a recent ARISE coordinated workshop. 2023 saw female-founded startups raise more VC capital than pre-pandemic levels, but the total amount of money declined for a second straight year, according to Pitchbook. Could linking compensation to impact be the missing piece to avoid ‘impact washing’ and enforce accountability? A new study explores.

Gender and Climate Investing. Debates on phasing out of fossil fuels and the recent conclusion of COP 28, underscore why 2024 has to be the year of transparency in business, asserts chair of the Global Sustainability Standards Board, Dr Carol Adams. A new report from the EU examines the impact of gendered energy disparities, what the energy transition means and the critical role of inclusive policy in this context. Azerbaijan faced intense criticism after it announced an organising committee for COP 29, the United Nations' climate change conference, with 28 men and 0 women. Backlash was immediate, including this thorough breakdown of why and how the perspectives of women are needed in addressing climate change. Change came a few days later when 12 women were added to the (still gender unbalanced) committee.

Leadership, Culture and Policy. Guidance and insight into how to prepare for the EU's pending ESG accountability legislation - the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Decades of female academic achievement isn't reflected in the startup space - less female founders have an advanced degree than male founders, Pitchbook finds. The reasons? They're complicated. Comparison and contrast in the relationships men and women have with money, in a new study out from Wells Fargo and the Female Quotient. Female appointments to board directorships in the EU fell in 2023, marking a second straight year of declines. FDA approves a new way to get your blood work done - the Qpad which uses menstrual blood samples.

Resilience (GBV, Financial Inclusion, Security). More than loans - how the pioneering Grameen Foundation enhanced their microfinance model and doubled down on the original spirit of microlending, to empower even more women. Want to boost the global economy by $1 trillion annually? A new report from McKinsey outlines how investments addressing the women’s health gap, could add years to the lives of women and wealth to all. A deep dive into how effective policy and practice can be used to shift gender norms and advance women's economic empowerment. Social Alpha's upcoming accelerator programme is seeking social innovators with solutions to break down the barriers faced by migrant workers and which can help increase upward mobility. Deadline is January 31st.

Care Economy. Insight from recent efforts at quantifying the care economy in Mongolia - paid and unpaid care work has an economic value equivalent to 26.3 percent of GDP - on par with the country's vital mining industry. The stark economic reality of unpaid care responsibilities - nearly half of working age carers lose £12,000 of income per year as they juggle work and care, according to a new report by Carers Scotland. Adult social care is in "crisis" and urgently needs reform, urges think tank The Health Foundation, in a new study. This op-ed from AVPN manager Deborah Foo makes a call for greater investment in the care economy and outlines the potential economic benefits.

JEDI, Power, and New Economic Systems. A new report from the Washington Area Women’s Foundation uncovers a disturbing story - how black women, feeling under attack at the intersection of racist micro-agressions and patriarchy, are leaving leadership positions in droves. Amidst increased pressure against diversity programmes, this opinion piece gives context for and the benefits of initiatives to increase diversity in the supply chain. As the pushback on DEI intensifies in the United States, Big Four accounting firm Price Waterhouse Coopers has taken the step of scrapping race-based eligibility criteria in its internships which had been intended to encourage and include more professionals of colour. Goldman Sachs’ diversity investment program Launch With GS meets its original $1 billion pledge target, with its focus now shifting to One Million Black Women, its 2021 pledge to invest $10 billion in investment capital and $100 million in philanthropic aid to address gender and racial bias faced by Black women. Three ways in which we can better support women and girls with disabilities, navigate the challenges at the intersection of gender inequality and disability exclusion.

Community Calendar

1 February, 2024

Impact Summit Asia is a highly curated conference that convenes the foremost institutional investors, thought leaders, and professionals in the impact investing realm from the Asia-Pacific region. Register.

1-2 February, 2024

The Wine and Venture Summit in the Cape Winelands, South Africa will bring together representatives of family offices, investors, GPs and founders. By invitation only.

4-7 February, 2024

The Black Feminist Fund will host its Black Feminisms Forum in Barbados. The event will convene Black feminist activists, scholars, policy makers, cultural workers and funders. Register.

19-23 February, 2024

ANDE East and Southeast Asia will be hosting an Investment Manager Training course, offering comprehensive insights into small and growing businesses and exploring the social and environmental impact of investments.

20-21 February, 2024

The Responsible Investment Forum will be held in New York City, bringing together investors, fund managers and advisors to gain insight into what investors are looking for when allocating to private equity, and to set the direction for responsible investment strategies. More information.

27-28 February, 2024

The Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA) presents its Private Equity in Southern Africa Industry Conference, providing opportunities for relationship building, peer learning and showcasing the value of private equity in the Southern African region. More information.

27-29 February, 2024

The Latin American Impact Investing Forum is the leading summit in the Latin American Impact Investment sector that gathers investors, entrepreneurs, market builders, and other pivotal figures within the ecosystem, all committed to channeling capital towards meaningful impact. More information.

Thank you to our partners and supporters

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Subject: Focusing our energy and intentionality for 2024