Gender equality

Impact investors play a key role in channelling financing into investments that promote equality. Finnfund’s gender statement compiles the measures Finnfund takes to guide its investment decisions to better promote gender equality. Finnfund assesses the impact of every investment decision on equality. The aim is to increase female entrepreneurship, leadership and employment as well as to reinforce women’s financial agency and influence.

Finnfund’s full gender statement is available through the link below

Common criteria and practices established by equality impact investor networks

Finnfund applies the criteria of the 2X Challenge initiative to its investments in equality. Finnfund is part of the 2X Global network. The network consists of development financiers, pension funds, family offices and small investors committed to increasing the amount and impact of capital aiming to empower women financially.

In 2023, a good half (51%) of our new investment decisions were equality investments compliant with the 2X criteria, meaning that the investee met one or more of the equality criteria or was committed to meeting them within a certain period of time.

Examples of gender lens investing

Accelerating female leadership in Asia

Finnfund’s investee BOPA is funding and developing microfinance institutions in Asia and has recently joined the 2X Challenge. One of BOPA’s portfolio companies, Asian Credit Fund LLC, is led by Zhanna Zhakupova, one of the few female leaders in the financial sector in Kazakhstan.

“I never knew I was a natural born leader” – Penda Health saw something special in Esther Mwikali

When Finnfund assesses the gender equality in the portfolio companies, Penda Health always stands out: nearly 70% of their staff are women. Women can be found at all levels in the organisation, from support staff to board of directors. Half of their management team are women. The CEO is female.

Women leadership in microfinance

Finnfund’s investee BOPA is funding and developing microfinance institutions in Asia and has recently joined the 2X Challenge. One of BOPA’s portfolio companies, Pahal Financial Services Private Limited, is led by Purvi Bhavsar who is also co-founder of the company.

Telecom infrastructure provider BCS brings female role models into a male-dominated sector

Bandwidth and Cloud Services Group (BCS) is a telecom infrastructure provider operating in several African countries. During the investment process, we got impressed by BCS’s track record of empowering women for higher positions.