2X Global membership press release
July 2024
The Global Gender-Smart Fund (GGSF), the world’s largest gender-lens investment fund, is very pleased to announce it has become a member of 2X Global, the global collaborative organisation which is setting best practice standards for gender-smart financing.
Launched on 1 January 2024, GGSF’s strategy focuses on strengthening the provision of gender-smart and responsible financial services concentrating on underserved women as well as women-owned and women-led businesses in developing markets, with the aim to improve livelihoods, increase gender balance and outreach, and promote women’s leadership. Additionally, the Fund aims to improve gender equality at the level of the financial institutions themselves: On the one hand, by improving the gender-balance at senior level, on the other hand by improving working conditions for women. In this dual approach, the Fund aims to build on the 2X criteria, a global baseline standard for gender finance (2xchallenge.org/2xcriteria), and was one of the first funds to commit to the next phase of the 2X Challenge.
Ruurd Brouwer, Chairman of the Board, indicated: “The GGSF has done extensive work with its anchor shareholders and with its service providers to implement a gender-smart strategy that can support the fund’s ambitious objectives to help address gender issues through financial inclusion. In doing so, the fund has greatly benefited from the insights and resources developed by 2X Global, and being a 2X Global member will further support collaboration and knowledge sharing, thus ensuring that the fund remains as the forefront of gender finance and contributes to setting global standards thanks to its wide outreach.”
CEO of 2X Global Jessica Espinoza welcomed the news, saying: “As the world’s largest gender lens investment fund, having GGSF in our membership network is a great boost to our mission to unlock gender smart capital at scale. They’d already taken a big step as part of the pioneering first group of private investors to commit to the 2X Challenge when the third edition was announced at the G7 Summit in June. So this is a very natural next step and we’re truly pleased that GGSF is now a member of 2X Global.”
About GGSF
Building on a successful 15-year track record, the Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF), initially founded in 2009, was transformed into the Global Gender-Smart Fund (GGSF) on 1 January 2024, introducing a new gender-focused strategy as well as a new structure. The fund is support by its anchor shareholders, the Federal German Ministry for Economic and Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the German development bank KfW (both as trusted for BMZ, but also investing its own funding), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Development Bank of Austria (OeEB). Innpact Fund Management, the Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) in Luxembourg dedicated to impact finance, serves as fund manager and global portfolio manager. The sourcing, relationship management, and investment decision is conducted by three portfolio managers, Incofin, responsAbility and Triple Jump, all three leading impact investing specialists with extensive global experience. The technical assistance is provided through a streamlined process by a global consortium formed by NIRAS A/S and Women’s World Banking, both gender specialists with extensive experience in the implementation of projects supporting gender equality.
For more information, visit ggs-fund.com
About 2X Global
2X Global is a global membership and field-building organization for investors, capital providers, and intermediaries working in public and private markets, across both developed and emerging economies. 2X Global engages its global network through a series of activities that advance intersectional investment agendas, scale the field, shift mindsets, and facilitate capital deployment. These include a series of Communities of Practice, educational forums, shared resources, certification and standards, and deal-sharing platforms. By working together with the full spectrum of investors, capital providers, mobilisers, and influencers, 2X Global helps shape the market on a whole new level, ultimately transforming systems of finance through the gender-smart deployment of capital across asset classes and markets.
For more information, visit www.2xglobal.org