There are more vehicles run by or focused on women than capital supporting them. The number of funds led by women continues to increase (albeit slowly). But the capital they manage remains stuck at around 2% of global assets.
Ahead of this week’s gender-lens investing forum in Mexico City, Pro Mujer’s Carmen Correa is calling out the slow speed of investor commitments.
“LPs are pushing for diversity, but they are not advancing much,” Correa tells ImpactAlpha. “There is a willingness, a desire, an openness. But there is limited action.”
A handful of LPs are meeting that challenge in Latin America. Based on ImpactAlpha’s recent reporting, our LP/GP database has captured at least seven LPs making commitments to funds investing with a gender lens (for a broader look at LPs active in Latin America, see, “More than 20 institutions hot on Latam impact strategies”). The most prominent investors in these funds are development finance institutions, or DFIs, participating in the 2X Challenge, the G7-backed initiative to mobilize capital for women’s economic empowerment. Many of the GPs they’re backing align with the criteria of the 2X Challenge.
FinDev Canada
The Canadian DFI committed to Lafise Investment Managers’ fourth Central America Small Enterprises Investment Fund to provide growth capital for small and mid-sized businesses in Central America, as well as Colombia and the Dominican Republic. It is the region’s first 2X “flagship fund,” which recognizes funds’ commitment to meeting 2X criteria in portfolio composition, leadership, employment and other metrics.
It also invested in women-led EcoEnterprises Fund‘s fourth fund, which invests with a gender-lens in sustainable agroforestry, eco-tourism and biodiversity preservation across Latin America.
IDB Lab
The innovation arm of the Inter-American Development Bank has been active in early-stage gender-smart funds. It backed Atta Impact Capital, which is moving capital to small and mid-sized businesses in Mesoamerica, the historical and cultural region that spans central and southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador. The fund is aiming for 50% women-led businesses in its portfolio. Its other anchor investor is Costa Rican philanthropy Fundacion CRUSA.
IDB Lab also invested in Mexico-based Dalus Capital’s third fund. Dalus is ramping up its focus on climate solutions for the region and has committed to meeting 2X Challenge criteria.
JICA
Japan’s DFI, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, has also placed bets on women-led innovation in Latin America. The agency joined Dalus Capital Fund III as part of its broader push to fund tech and climate resilience strategies that center local leadership and gender equity.
Green Climate Fund
The UN-backed catalytic investor supported Regenera Ventures, a women-led fund manager investing in regenerative agriculture and land restoration in Mexico. The first-time fund manager integrates gender equity in its sourcing, training and ownership models for local farmers and cooperatives. It is also backed by the IDB Lab, the US International Development Finance Corp. and other LPs.
Climate + gender GPs
Latin American fund managers are at the forefront of a growing investment movement that centers women in climate investing.
“Women, especially in rural and low-income communities, are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change — droughts, floods, scarcity of resources,” says Elkin Marin of WWB Colombia, an advocacy organization for women’s economic inclusion. “Their livelihoods and traditional roles, in agriculture, water and firewood collection, expose them more directly to the negative effects.”
Latin America also has a long tradition of activism for women’s rights, Marin notes. “This has led Latino managers and companies to develop innovative approaches to integrate gender into their business and investment models, often adapted to the specific contexts and challenges of the region.”
Know an LP investing in gender smart strategies in 2025? Let us know.
