Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)

About the fund

The IIX Women’s Catalyst Fund (WCF) is an innovative de-risking and catalytic capital facility managed by Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) that provides subordinated capital to support and accelerate the deployment of gender-lens impact bonds, particularly the Women’s Livelihood Bond™ (WLB™) Series. It is structured to enhance women’s access to capital markets by reducing investment risk for private sector investors and smoothing cash flows across bond issuances. By aligning subordinated investor commitments with each issuance, the fund helps expand the scale and frequency of Women’s Livelihood Bonds — ICMA-compliant social and sustainability bonds listed on exchanges like the Singapore Exchange — that channel capital into high-impact enterprises empowering underserved women across South and Southeast Asia. Seeded and supported by public sector development partners — including the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), TaiwanICDF, KOICA and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) — the fund is designed to catalyse up to 10x private capital toward the gender-lens bond market, unlocking broader private participation and enabling scalable impact while advancing gender equality and inclusive economic opportunity.