Gender Smart
Photo credit: Global Banking Finance.
Dealflow | November 30, 2021
Jefa raises $2 million for fintech services for women in Latin America
ImpactAlpha, November 30 — Women make up more than half of the world’s unbanked population. Jefa, a Mexico City-based neobank, is helping women …
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Innovative Finance | October 21, 2021
Cameroon’s Ejara raises $2 million for impact-focused crypto
ImpactAlpha, October 21 – Crypto is having a moment in Africa. Dozens of African fintechs promising to democratize access to cryptocurrencies across the …
Ba Ria, Vietnam | Photo credit: Dong Nhat Huy
Impact Voices | October 18, 2021
Taking action against violence and sexual harassment at work through gender-lens investing.
In the past eighteen months, the global community has clearly seen that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on women. The …
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Frontier and Growth Markets | October 5, 2021
Development Partners International closes billion-dollar Africa-focused fund
ImpactAlpha, October 5 – Development Partners International invests in growth-stage companies serving Africa’s growing consumer and middle classes. The $2.8 billion investment firm’s …
Agents of Impact | October 1, 2021
Oraan’s Halima Iqbal and Farwah Tapal: Digitizing women’s savings circles in Pakistan
ImpactAlpha, October 1 – Halima Iqbal didn’t plan to start her own fintech company when she returned to Pakistan in 2018, after years …
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Dealflow | September 28, 2021
Alitheia backs Nigerian agri-processing venture ReelFruit
ImpactAlpha, September 28 – ReelFruit sources produce from local farmers for dried fruit snacks. The Lagos-based company’s $3 million Series A round will …
Dealflow | September 20, 2021
Australia’s Verve Super raises early venture financing to manage its women-centered retirement fund
ImpactAlpha, September 20 – Verve Super launched in 2018 to offer Australian women a responsibly invested “superannuation,” or retirement, fund matched to women’s …
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Dealflow | September 9, 2021
Elvie scores $97 million to make health products for women
ImpactAlpha, September 9 — The London-based company offers women tech-based products for pumping breast milk and pelvic floor health. “Our goal is to …
Sakena Yacoobi, Afghan Institute of Learning
Agents of Impact | August 27, 2021
Sakena Yacoobi, Afghan Institute of Learning
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 27 – The Taliban is in power in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Not going away are the education centers, health clinics …
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Dealflow | August 25, 2021
Nigeria’s Alerzo raises $10.5 million to digitize informal businesses
ImpactAlpha, August 25 – The digitization trend that’s taken off in the pandemic has focused on helping put small businesses online. Alerzo is …
Dealflow | August 18, 2021
On-demand women’s and family health startup Maven raises $110 million
ImpactAlpha, August 18 — Former journalist Kate Ryder launched Maven in 2014 to bridge a gap in women’s health care. “Our plan is …
Photo credit: Apple.
Dealflow | August 18, 2021
Apple’s inaugural Impact Accelerator includes 15 Black and Brown climate startup founders
ImpactAlpha, August 18 — The accelerator is part of Apple’s $100 million Racial Equity Equity Initiative launched in June 2020. The three-month training …
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Dealflow | July 14, 2021
Zeal Capital Partners and Female Founders Fund raise funds to advance inclusion
ImpactAlpha, July 14 — Washington, D.C.-based Zeal Capital raised $62.1 million for its inaugural fund from Truist Ventures, Paypal, Synchrony, Skoll Foundation, Bank …
Photo by Delightin Dee on Unsplash
Impact Voices | July 8, 2021
Growth of gender-smart investing in development finance signals opportunity for commercial investors as well
Businesses in emerging markets run by women receive less than half the funding received by those run by men. In 2021, that fact …
Photo credit: African Entrepreneur Collective
Gender Smart | June 30, 2021
ANDE’s Advancing Women’s Empowerment Fund awards $450,000 to three organizations in Africa
ImpactAlpha, June 30 – The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs’ second slug of funding from its Advancing Women’s Empowerment Fund was awarded to three …
Miriam Rivera and Clint Korver, the founding husband and wife duo behind Ulu Ventures. | Photo credit: Ulu Ventures.
Dealflow | May 18, 2021
Ulu Ventures raises $138 million to invest in diverse early-stage founders
ImpactAlpha, May 18 — Palo Alto, Calif.-based Ulu Ventures has raised $138 million for its third fund to invest in startups led by …
Dealflow | May 3, 2021
Two Sigma Impact and Avance acquire Wholesale Supplies to supply artisans with quality products
ImpactAlpha, May 3 — Hedge fund Two Sigma in January launched Two Sigma Impact, a nine-figure impact investing business from its own balance …
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Frontier and Growth Markets | April 21, 2021
In Pakistan, investing with a gender lens gives i2i Ventures an early-stage edge
ImpactAlpha, April 21 – If overlooked markets and underserved entrepreneurs represent untapped opportunities, Pakistan presents i2i Ventures with a rich bounty of possibilities. The …
Signals | April 19, 2021
Overheard at the Island Finance Forum: Caribbean’s inclusive recovery
ImpactAlpha, April 19 — Volcanic eruptions in the Caribbean that have caused residents of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to flee their homes …
Photo credit: Les Ateliers de Corrine
Dealflow | March 29, 2021
Gender-lens fund WIC Capital backs Senegalese bakery
ImpactAlpha, March 29 – Dakar-based WIC Capital invested in Les Ateliers de Corinne, a woman-led bakery in Dakar that hosts cooking workshops. The investment …
Dealflow | March 15, 2021
Savannah Fund reaches first close on Africa tech seed fund
ImpactAlpha, March 15 – Savannah Fund backs Africa-based tech startups “that create jobs and make an impact.” For its second fund, the Mauritius-based investment …
Dealflow | March 11, 2021
Goldman Sachs commits to investing $10 billion in Black women
ImpactAlpha, March 11 — Goldman Sachs is looking to impact at least one million Black women by 2030 via a $10 billion commitment …
Photo credit: Kuli Kuli
Call Recording | March 1, 2021
Call No. 27: Opportunities at the intersection of gender and climate
ImpactAlpha, March 1 – Capital is flowing to climate solutions. Climate bonds have topped $1 trillion. SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies are …
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Dealflow | February 25, 2021
Lendable backs Amartha to finance Indonesia’s women-led businesses
ImpactAlpha, February 25 – Jakarta-based lending platform Amartha supports unbanked women micro-entrepreneurs in Indonesia’s rural areas. It secured $10 million in credit from Nairobi-based …
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Gender Smart | February 23, 2021
Women’s investment community SheEO commits $500,000 to five entrepreneurs
ImpactAlpha, February 23 – Serial entrepreneur Vicki Saunders launched SheEO in 2015 to redesign how women-led businesses are supported. The Toronto-based network of 30,000 …
Photo credit: Kasha Global
Dealflow | February 18, 2021
DFC backs women’s health startup Kasha Global
ImpactAlpha, February 18 — Rwanda-based Kasha Global operates an e-commerce platform to improve low-income women’s access to menstrual care products, contraceptives, pharmaceuticals and …
Photo credit: Maya
Frontier and Growth Markets | February 10, 2021
Maya secures $2.2 million for mobile health consultations in Bangladesh
ImpactAlpha, February 10 – Dhaka-based health messaging app Maya relies on artificial intelligence, healthcare professionals and physicians to connect users to health and mental …
WIC Capital portfolio company E-Cover, which recycles used tires
Gender Smart | February 9, 2021
Mapping the climate edge for gender investors – and vice versa
ImpactAlpha, February 9 – A women-led, women-backed investment fund in Dakar, Senegal is getting an environmental bonus from the women entrepreneurs it supports. A …
NAHUALA, GUATEMALA | Photo credit: Sarine Arslanian
Latin America | January 11, 2021
How to invest in an inclusive business recovery in Latin America
Small and growing businesses are significant actors in economic production, employment, and growth in Latin America and the Caribbean. According to the OECD, …
Photo credit: PremierCredit
Dealflow | January 4, 2021
PremierCredit raises funding for micro-entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe and Zambia
ImpactAlpha, January 4 – PremierCredit offers Zambia and Zimbabwe’s micro businesses loans and asset financing for basic business tools like smartphones, solar lighting …
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Gender Smart | November 25, 2020
Call No. 25 recap: Gender smart investing for a sustainable recovery
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 25 – The pandemic’s disproportionate impact on women is exposing the need and opportunity for more investors to embrace a gender lens. …
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Gender Smart | November 17, 2020
A guide for fund managers investing in gender equity
ImpactAlpha, November 17 – Venture capital, private equity and debt firms raised $4.8 billion for strategies focused on gender equity in 2019, up …
Frontier and Growth Markets | November 16, 2020
With billions as bait, development financiers seek to hook private investors on gender-lens investing
ImpactAlpha, November 16 – Private equity and venture capital fund managers have an added incentive to apply a “gender lens” in their investment …
Gender Smart | November 13, 2020
Call No. 25: Gender-smart investing for a sustainable recovery
What: The Call No. 25: Gender-smart investing for a sustainable recovery Join SME.NG’s Thelma Ekiyor, Trade Depot’s Onyekachi Izukanne, Development Partners International’s Takudzwa Mutasa, Alitheia’s Temilade Denton, …
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Gender Smart | November 11, 2020
From workforce to infrastructure, 10 ways gender is ‘material’ to the COVID recovery
If material factors are those that would affect the judgment of an informed investor, gender is decidedly material. The decline in women’s employment, …
Photo credit: Kasha
Africa | November 11, 2020
Swedfund commits $1 million to health products marketplace Kasha
ImpactAlpha, November 11 – Rwanda-based Kasha operates an e-commerce platform to improve low-income women’s access to menstrual care products, contraceptives, pharmaceuticals and other …
Erika Cramer and Julie Castro Abrams of How Women Invest
Dealflow | August 13, 2020
How Women Invest closes first $5 million for new gender lens fund
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 13 – How Women Invest, a San Rafael, Calif.-based venture capital firm, is aiming to raise $10 million for its first …
Catalytic Capital | July 30, 2020
Beyond gender-lens: CARE’s new impact fund opts for ‘gender justice’
As impact investors who have launched a new “gender-justice” impact investment fund, CARE wants to make it clear: we seek deep systems change. …
Gender Smart | July 15, 2020
Surge in funds investing in and for the benefit of women
ImpactAlpha, July 15 – Rising awareness of the value of gender and diversity in business has led to a spike in venture funds …
Dealflow | July 13, 2020
Female investors power Rethink Impact’s $182 million gender lens impact fund
ImpactAlpha, July 13 – Jenny Abramson and Heidi Patel launched Rethink Impact in 2016 to invest in female entrepreneurs tackling tough problems. Interest …
Victress Capital's Suzanne Norris and Lori Cashman
Dealflow | July 8, 2020
Victress Capital closes $21.7 million fund to back female founders
ImpactAlpha, July 8 – Lori Cashman and Suzanne Norris started Victress Capital in 2015 to help close the gender gap for venture capital …
Africa | June 25, 2020
COVID-recovery financing facilities aim to bridge capital gaps for small and growing businesses
ImpactAlpha, June 25 – A quarter of small businesses will fail and a quarter will succeed, and even thrive, in the aftermath of …
Gender Smart | June 10, 2020
How gender power imbalances put the COVID recovery at risk
Power is the thread that connects the surge in gender-based violence during the COVID crisis with violence against people of color, including by …
Asia | June 1, 2020
ANDE’s Advancing Women’s Empowerment Fund awards $1.2 million
ImpactAlpha, June 1 – ANDE’s Advancing Women’s Empowerment Fund, backed by USAID and the Visa Foundation, sought innovative ways to bridge the estimated …
Gender Smart | May 29, 2020
Redesigning due diligence for a deal pipeline in lockdown
Constraints breed creativity. Investors with the determination (or mandate) to keep capital flowing through the COVID crisis are turning physical constraints into opportunities …