Ticking boxes or setting goals? Gender lens investing is a dialogue

Kaisa Alavuotunki

Finnfund has since April 2019 invested over 121 million euros in companies that promote women’s empowerment in developing countries. I stopped to think what we have achieved in the past two years: We have joined two gender finance communities, implemented gender equality issues into our investment process through our gender statement and participated in defining […]

November 11, 2020

Finnfund’s investments empower women in developing countries

Microloans that increase women’s income and strengthen their financial independence. Better food security through financing targeted at smallholder farmers. Companies where half of the management are women. Finnfund, a government-owned development financier, has invested recently in companies of this kind in developing countries. The aim is to promote gender equality by investing in profitable projects. […]

2X Challenge exceeds initial target by committing and mobilizing $4.5 billion in capital towards women’s economic empowerment

Just two years after the launch of the 2X Challenge at the G7 Charlevoix Summit in Canada, the initiative has committed and mobilized a total $4.5 billion in gender-smart investments. Founding G7 DFIs contributed and mobilized $4.1 billion, surpassing the initial target of $3 billion by the end of 2020. DFIs remain the primary source […]

June 30, 2020

BOPA accelerates financial inclusion and female leadership in Asia

Access to financial services in developing countries is scarce, and it hampers the ability for people to improve their livelihood. Backed financially by Finnfund and IFU, BOPA is funding and developing microfinance institutions in Asia and has recently joined the 2X Challenge, a G7/DFI initiative to mobilise financing for women’s empowerment. Creating financial inclusion is […]

May 14, 2020

Finnfund invests in improving women’s access to critical health products in East Africa

Finnfund has decided to invest in Kasha, an e-commerce platform improving women’s access to genuine health, hygiene and self-care products in East Africa. The company sells menstrual care products, contraceptives, pharmaceuticals and a range of beauty products via its own platform, accessible through basic phones and a website and delivered to customers confidentially. Kasha aims […]

March 31, 2020

It pays to invest in women

Ulla Huotari

It makes me extremely happy to see gender investing gaining momentum as impact investing and development finance community is committing more funds to UNSDG#5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Gender lens investing clearly is the next big thing in impact investing. Investors are mobilising finance for businesses which promote gender equality […]

March 6, 2020

Financial service providers boost women’s careers and entrepreneurship

Finnfund invests 10 million euros in the Advans Group, an international microfinance group, and 10 million US dollars in Bank of Georgia, leading universal bank in Georgia. Both investments strengthen women’s financial and economic position, and qualify for the 2X Challenge, a G7 initiative to mobilise financing for women’s empowerment. Since 2018, the 2X Challenge […]

January 28, 2020

2X Challenge: G7 development finance institutions mobilize close to USD 2.5 billion to global women’s economic empowerment

One year after the launch of the 2X Challenge at the G7 Charlevoix Summit, development finance institutions (DFIs) of the G7 countries have already mobilized USD 2.47 billion in gender-smart investments. With new members having joined the challenge and a set of criteria defining what it means to invest in women, the momentum to advance […]

August 23, 2019

Finnfund’s new Gender Statement guides future investment decisions

Finnfund has adopted a statement on promoting gender equality. The document compiles the measures through which Finnfund guides its investment decisions to better promote gender equality, women’s role in the markets, and women’s economic empowerment. The promotion of the rights of women and girls is a long-term priority of Finnish development policy and one of […]

April 2, 2019