Increasing economic opportunities for women

Home ownership for women in India is low, at only 9 per cent, and this is partially due to lack of access to finance. Aavas is an affordable-housing finance company, helping to improve access to home loans for people, especially women, working in the informal sector. It provides financing mainly to low- and middle-income customers in semi-urban and rural areas in India.

In 2022, we invested the equivalent of £35.8 million in Aavas’ first social bond programme, to enable the company to expand access to credit for women, providing them with the capital needed to buy their own property. Since our investment, Aavas has helped 17,000 women buy property (as of December 2023).

This investment highlights our gender-smart investing strategy in action. It is providing economic opportunities for women, helping to boost their social empowerment, and promoting higher standards of living for the families and communities of lower-income borrowers, especially in rural and semi-urban areas of India.

Find out more about the impact of businesses in our portfolio in our Annual Review 2023: Creating impact together