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Project

Gender Lens Investing: Contribution to Women’s Economic Empowerment and Way Forward
 

India
Indonesia
Kenya
Project ID
108793
Total Funding
CAD 723,600.00
IDRC Officer
Flaubert Mbiekop
Project Status
Completed
End Date
Duration
24 months

Programs and partnerships

Employment and Growth

Lead institution(s)

Summary

The project seeks to document the gaps and the challenges faced by women-led businesses, as well as the social and financing impact, if any, that various actors are able to create through Gender Lens Investing, i.e.Read more

The project seeks to document the gaps and the challenges faced by women-led businesses, as well as the social and financing impact, if any, that various actors are able to create through Gender Lens Investing, i.e. the use of capital to deliver financial returns and improve the lives of women, girls and their communities. A database of women-led and women-focused enterprises across the study countries in East Africa and South Asia will be constructed, and a mixed method approach combining quantitative and qualitative analytical tools used to draw cross-country learning across the two regions. To qualitatively assess the impact of Gender Lens Investing on the lives of women at the bottom of the pyramid, the team will engage directly with the beneficiaries of investing companies. The research findings will inform the design of a gender lens toolkit for adoption by various stakeholders contemplating a gender lens approach in their investment decisions. The toolkit will also be used to train Intellecap’s business, operations, programs, and project managers.

Research outputs

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Report
Language:

English

Summary

This report will be valuable for various ecosystem stakeholders including investors, women entrepreneurs, researchers, financial advisors and intermediaries, academia, regulatory agencies and government policymakers, development agencies, foundations and private sector companies who aim to promote women empowerment globally, and specifically across emerging economies. It also sets the stage for further research that will be conducted by Intellecap to design and implement interventions across the three strategies of gender lens investing; and to independently examine the correlation between gender lens investing and its impact on social and economic empowerment of the women.

Author(s)
Maheshwari, Prachi
Report
Language:

English

Summary

The report provides a synopsis of financial and employment constraints in women’s lives, a detailed summary of project activities, and a way forward for women’s financial inclusion. The research informs stakeholders on social and economic impact that businesses and various ecosystem players can create by using “gender lens investing.” It examines existing interventions against the backdrop of market challenges and explores the design of new interventions to address the gaps. The project refined a “Gender lens toolkit” to enable various stakeholders with a framework for examining existing programs and activities and how they can better align with women’s experiences.

Author(s)
Gokhale, Amar
Study
Language:

English

Summary

The study adds to the existing literature on the finance gap for women entrepreneurs. This in-depth report presents analysis and insights from 207 women entrepreneur interviews conducted across India, Indonesia, Kenya and Rwanda. Women entrepreneurs own about 28% of all micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and account for 32% of the financing gap in developing economies. The credit gap for women-owned MSMEs in emerging markets is estimated to be USD1.7 trillion. Across developing countries, most of the women-owned businesses are micro enterprises in the informal sector. The report focuses on barriers to access to finance, and recommendations for improvement.

Author(s)
Maheshwari, Prachi
Study
Language:

English

Summary

The report presents insights from interviews with women-focused enterprises, and their 150 women employees, partners and customers; conducted across India, Indonesia, Kenya and Rwanda. The study assesses the impact of such enterprises on the economic and social empowerment of women, and helps enhance the case for Gender Lens Investing (GLI) in their support. Enterprises that integrate women as employees and partners have a significant positive impact due to the livelihoods they create. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in reduced economic benefits for almost 64% of the women employees/ partners of the enterprises interviewed.

Author(s)
Gokhale, Amar
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