(GGSF) DEG investment

DEG invests USD 20 million in the Global Gender-Smart Fund (GGSF), reinforcing growth and unlocking private capital

Luxembourg, October 2025 - – The Global Gender-Smart Fund (GGSF), the world’s largest investment vehicle dedicated to advancing gender equality through financial inclusion, has welcomed DEG, a subsidiary of KfW - one of the fund’s founding shareholders - as a new subordinated note investor, thus supporting the growth of the fund’s gender-smart portfolio and unlocking additional private capital support. DEG’s USD 20 million commitment strengthens the fund’s funding base and expands its capacity to mobilise further private investment.

The investment underscores DEG’s commitment to gender-smart finance and complements the strong support from GGSF’s founding shareholders – IFC, OeEB, KfW Development Bank, and BMZ. By providing catalytic subordinated capital, DEG plays a pivotal role in enabling the fund to scale its outreach to women, and to women-led and women-owned micro and small businesses across emerging markets.

Since its launch in early 2024, GGSF has rapidly built a global portfolio: more than USD 450 million has been deployed to over 70 financial institutions in nearly 30 countries, under the origination and monitoring efforts of the fund’s portfolio managers,  Incofin, responsAbility, and Triple Jump, with Innpact Fund Management serving as AIFM and ensure the global coordination.

Each investee of the fund develops a tailored gender action plan following a gender assessment, ensuring that the fund not only channels capital but also drives institutional change. Technical assistance provided by NIRAS A/S and Women’s World Banking further supports partners in delivering sustainable improvements in gender equity.

Gudrun Busch, Senior Director Financial Institutions and Capital Markets, DEG commented: “At DEG, our mandate is more than financing—it's about shaping transformation. By investing in the Global Gender-Smart Fund, we are leveraging our deep experience in promoting sustainable private-sector growth across emerging markets and contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This partnership underscores our commitment to supporting gender equality through impactful, long-term investments and advisory solutions, alongside our global network and expertise.”

Ruurd Brouwer, Chairman of the Board for the Global Gender-Smart Fund, adds: “We warmly welcome DEG as a subordinated investor in GGSF. As a subsidiary of KfW, one of our founding shareholders, DEG’s investment not only strengthens our funding base but also reaffirms the long-term commitment of the KfW group to gender-smart finance. This catalytic support enables us to crowd in more private investors and expand our impact for women and women-led businesses in emerging markets.” 

About DEG

For more than 60 years, DEG has been financing and advising private enterprises operating in developing and emerging-market countries. With a portfolio of around EUR 11.6 billion we’re one of the largest private-sector development financiers. As an impact and climate investor we accompany companies that are addressing transformation and aiming to seize their opportunities. Our customers not only receive financing and advisory solutions tailored to their needs: they can build on our market knowledge, our impact and climate expertise and our international network. In this way, DEG, a subsidiary of KfW, contributes to creating more skilled jobs and local income and to improving value creation on the ground in line with the SDGs.

Learn more: www.deginvest.de