Beyond a Niche Strategy: Gender-Smart Technical Assistance

Gender Lens Investing has gained momentum as a means to push for a more equitable spread of capital, generating much-needed financial returns and benefits for women. However, this goes beyond just getting capital into the hands of women—how can businesses make gender equity not merely an add-on, but a fully integrated part of their operations? Investment funds are taking innovative approaches to aligning investment with gender-smart technical assistance, helping portfolio companies to identify and incorporate strategies that allow them to better serve women on multiple fronts: identifying HR biases, addressing gender-based violence in the workplace, better serving women as customers and suppliers, and more. As a result, the number of participating firms eligible for investment will increase, as will the impact of these investments on gender equity—successes transformative for investors and businesses alike. Experts from USAID, CARE, AlphaMundi Foundation, and Value for Women will share successful strategies and the insights and the evidence needed for taking them to scale.

This webinar will focus on several critical questions:

1. How can technical assistance be an effective tool in gender lens investing?
2. What are key elements in designing and delivering effective assistance?
3. What role can/should USAID and other donors play to ensure these strategies can achieve scale?