The US-based NGO Women’s World Banking (WWB) recently raised USD 28 million for the second and final close of WWB Capital Partners II, bringing its total volume to USD 103 million. The goal of the fund is to “close the gender gap in financial inclusion while demonstrating the business case for gender lens investing by achieving attractive returns for its investors.” Among the features of the fund are: (1) a blended finance structure that stratifies certain risks into separate tiers; and (2) a grant-funded technical assistance facility for performing gender analyses to help portfolio companies recruit and retain more female clients and employees. The anchor investors in WWB Capital Partners II – and the funders of these two features – are the EU and the German government’s Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ).
Christina Juhasz, Chief Investment Officer of WWB Asset Management, said, “This new fund allows us to be even more intentional in leading gender-inclusive growth with our portfolio companies, deepening outreach to financially underserved women and female-identifying customers and increasing employment and leadership opportunities for them – all of which is consistent with achieving attractive financial returns for our [limited partners].”
WWB Asset Management is a subsidiary of WWB that makes equity investments in inclusive financial institutions through WWB Capital Partners Funds I and II. As of 2022, WWB Capital Partners I has made 10 investments in eight countries, supporting 10 million clients, of whom half are women. WWB Capital Partners II has made five investments in five countries, supporting 2.7 million clients of whom 1.7 million are women. WWB Capital Partners II has over a dozen private and public investors.
WWB provides and invests in financial solutions for low-income women via partnerships with 62 institutions serving 138 million female clients in 35 countries. Its focus areas are Women’s Market Strategy, Digital Product Introductions, Digital Product Optimizations, Non-Financial Services, Women-Centered Design, Leadership Development, Research, and Policy and Advocacy.
By Sheen Gupta, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Women’s World Banking press release
https://www.womensworldbanking.org/insights-and-impact/womens-world-banking-asset-management-closes-second-fund-for-financial-inclusion-at-103m/
Women’s World Banking homepage
https://www.womensworldbanking.org/
Women’s World Banking Asset Management description
https://www.womensworldbanking.org/asset-management/
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