March 29, 2024

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DFC Announces Ambitious New Commitments to Gender Equitable Financing

At least $12 billion will support 15 million women and girls by 2025 as part of DFC’s 2X Women’s Initiative

U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) today announced that it will mobilize at least $12 billion by 2025 – an average of $2.4 billion per year over the next five years – as part of the agency’s new commitment to invest in businesses that advance gender equity in emerging markets under DFC’s 2X Women’s Initiative. These funds will go toward supporting 15 million women and girls, including those from marginalized communities and fragile and post-conflict settings.

“DFC is proud to be a leader in the world’s effort to promote gender equity in developing countries,” said Algene Sajery, Vice President of DFC’s Office of External Affairs and Head of Global Gender Equity Initiatives. “This new, ambitious commitment allows the United States to continue to work with the private sector and build hope for women and girls- including those from indigenous and marginalized communities around the world for years to come.”

DFC will also establish the 2X Technical Assistance Pilot Program to support clients that aspire to have a strong impact on gender equity, but require additional support to achieve this impact. The Pilot will help private sector clients make gender responsive changes to their businesses, such as increasing the number of women in leadership or developing products or services designed specifically to meet the differentiated needs of their women clients. The Pilot will explore more flexible approaches to deploy technical assistance in order to meet clients’ needs, and to provide technical assistance in the areas most sought by DFC clients.

Among DFC’s new commitments, the agency will work with peer development finance institutions (DFIs) to invest in climate solutions that address the disproportionate impact of climate change on women and girls, including investments in climate adaptation and resilience, and ensure a just transition by prioritizing jobs and economic opportunities for women in the green economy. DFC will also improve the ability to measure the incremental impacts of each agency transaction on gender equity and evaluate the qualitative impact of investments on women and girls.

In partnership with the European Investment Bank (EIB), DFC is also pleased to announce that Women’s World Banking Capital Partners II, a DFC and EIB supported fund, has been selected as a 2X Challenge Pioneer Flagship Fund. The fund has been recognized by the 2X Challenge members for its commitment to promote and maintain gender balance at the fund manager level and to invest with an explicit and intentional gender lens strategy. DFC is proud to support Women’s World Banking’s 2X Flagship Fund’s goal to shrink the gender gap in financial inclusion in emerging economies through its highly impactful investments.

DFC’s 2X Women’s Initiative is committed to addressing the unique challenges women and girls face globally and unlocking the multi-trillion dollar opportunity they represent. To date, DFC has supported over 120 unique projects with businesses that are owned by women, led by women, or provide a product or service that empowers women. DFC’s 2X Women’s Initiative has also inspired peer DFIs around the globe to collaborate through the 2X Challenge, which invested over $7 billion in projects that advance the economic empowerment of women and girls between 2018 and 2020 and recently announced a new $15 billion investment target. DFC also applies a gender lens to every project it considers to help ensure that women will benefit.

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