Inclusive investment: Why we need to equalise access to finance.

Within the field of impact investing, the growth of Gender Lens Investment has been one the success stories of the last decade; and increasing evidence shows that investment policies that focus on gender equality have a transformative impact, especially in developing economies.

We know that gender lens investing results in women from marginalised communities having increased access to finance and improvements to their working conditions. The strategy also encourages the growth of female entrepreneurship and leadership, as well as an increase in the gender diversity of boards. All of which results in better returns for investors.

We held a special event ahead of International Women’s Day, with two leaders at the forefront of inclusive investing: Roshaneh Zafar, the visionary founder of Kashf Foundation in Pakistan, which provides a range of vital financial services for women and Hany Assaad of Avanz Capital, a leading emerging markets investor and gender lens investing champion.

The conversation explored the growth of gender finance and its transformative impact on women across the spectrum of society. It also covered how we can elevate gender lens investing to a mainstream strategy; the role of men in supporting gender lens investment; and the learnings that can be applied in the design of future inclusive investment policies which target other marginalised sections of society.

The event was chaired by British International Investment’s Lynsay Taffe, Director of Communications.