Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi)

Today's #WeekendReading - OECD - OCDE's "Development Finance for Gender Equality" 2024 report - is an unfortunate reminder as we close out the year that development funds with #genderequality objectives are in decline. The report examines official development assistance (ODA) from 32 OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) member countries, plus the financing of a growing number of multilateral organizations, South-South providers, and private philanthropy. Its outlook is concerning: 📉 Despite increases in bilateral aid, the percentage that includes gender equality objectives has fallen from 45% in 2019-20 to 42% in 2021-22 for 20 of 32 DAC members and across multiple sectors. 🤏 Only 4% of ODA has gender equality as a principal objective, and direct support for women's rights organizations remains strikingly low - around USD 0.5 billion per year, or less than 1% of ODA for gender equality. 💰  While bilateral humanitarian aid grew over the past decade, its gender equality focus shrunk to 17%. The report also found that the share of aid with gender equality objectives to contexts exposed to extreme fragility seems to decrease as the volume of aid increases. We-Fi was created because over 400 million #womenentrepreneurs around the world have vast potential to grow their businesses, add value to the economy, and create jobs, but they lack the financing to achieve their goals. As ODA decreases, the $5-6 trillion in potential value addition their enterprises could contribute to the global economy is jeopardized. The report concludes that "...every development intervention has an impact on gender equality, whether intended or not, and excluding gender equality objectives from policies, programs or investments leads to missed opportunities to advance on several fronts in parallel." Read the full report ⬇️ . . . . . ✍️Lisa Eveline Williams Cibele Cesca Jenny Hedman Sasha Milanova Astrid Lucia Offersen Fiorella Cianchi Harsh R. Desai Lou Turroques Madeleine Lessard Tomas Hos Fatoumata Ngom Cécile Sangaré (Beziau) Camilo Gamba Gabriel Di Paolantonio Frederik Matthys Juan Casado-Asensio Theodora Castan cyprien Fabre Gaëlle Ferrant Giorgio Gualberti Jonathan Marley Carla Musi Hyeshin Park Cecilia Piemonte Sarah S. Doron Wijker Jacqueline Wood, PhD Ola Kasneci Karena Garnier Henri-Bernard SOLIGNAC-LECOMTE

Congratulations to our colleagues at the IFC - International Finance Corporation for winning GOLD 🏆at this year's The Anthem Awards for the multimedia piece "Meet the Women Sowing Senegal's Future." 👩🏾🌾 Women farmers comprise 70% of the workforce and produce more than 80% of the crops in #Senegal, especially food crops (UN Women). Yet women farmers lack access to land, skills, financial resources and markets, compared to their male counterparts. 🌱 We-Fi is proud to support Senegalese #womenentrepreneurs through IFC's Global SME Finance Facility (#GSMEF), a #blendedfinance partnership that provides investment, risk mitigation and advisory assistance to financial institutions to support expanded lending to underserved #WSMEs. Be sure to click below ⬇️ and meet the inspiring entrepreneurs who are creating new business opportunities for women farmers, adapting agricultural practices to confront #climatechange, and showing communities how private investment can shape a sustainable future. . . . . Story by Alison Buckholtz, Hawa Seydou DIOP, and Moussoukoro Diop. Videos by Birom SECK. Photos by Sidy Talla.

⚠️ Registration is NOW OPEN for the first #WEFinanceCode Regional Forum - Africa and Middle East⚠️ This inaugural regional forum will bring together Code champions, financial sector leaders, regulators, and ecosystem partners on the sidelines of the Africa Investment Forum and the AFRICA FINANCIAL SUMMIT - AFIS. Together with partners at the African Development Bank Group, #AFAWA, EBRD, IFC - International Finance Corporation, and The World Bank, we're thrilled to invite you to join us and engage with the thought-provoking presentations, dynamic panel discussions, and interactive sessions designed to foster collaboration and explore ways to scale the Code across the region. 📅 December 8, 2024 🌐 Casablanca Marriott Hotel, Morocco ➡️ Learn more and register here: https://lnkd.in/gEMYAp4V

🚨 Last chance to register and join We-Fi at #GWFD2024 in #Dubai 🚨 The Dubai Women Establishment's third Global Women's Forum Dubai will be held 26-27 November under the esteemed patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The Forum will highlight macro-trends in legislation, #publicprivatepartnerships, #entrepreneurship and more to showcase the most exemplary global practices supporting women's #economicempowerment via three pillars: 🏙️ Future Economies, Future Societies 🤝 Collective Engagements, Collective Actions 👩🏽💻 Impactful technologies, Impactful Innovations GWFD2024 will welcome attendees from 65 countries for over 130 sessions featuring dozens of regional and global Ministers alongside representatives from international organisations and distinguished #womenentrepreneurs. 🗓️ Check out the full agenda here: https://lnkd.in/ekPdvSWi 🔗 And don't forget to register: https://lnkd.in/fsydp3s

👓🍵 #WeekendReading: The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor released its 12th edition of the "𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭: 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴" to celebrate #WomensEntrepreneurshipDay this week. 📈The report highlights an upward trend in women's #startup and established business ownership over the past quarter century. In the 45 countries surveyed, one in three high-growth entrepreneurs and nearly two in five export-oriented startups were led by women. Countries like China, Colombia, Iran, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Venezuela showed particularly high rates of women bringing new innovations to market. Meanwhile, women were *one fifth* less likely to report a business exit than men on average, with higher rates in low-income countries and the lowest rates in middle income countries. 💫Key Takeaways: ✅ Women’s startup activity rates have risen from an average of 6.1% between 2001-2005 to 10.4% for the 2021-2023 period across 30 GEM-participating countries. High-income countries continue to report the lowest rates of women’s startup activity and display the largest #gendergap. ✅ Women’s established business ownership rates across the 30 countries compared have also gone up from 4.2% to the current 5.9%. High rates were particularly strong for women in South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Lithuania, Puerto Rico and Thailand. ✅ Entrepreneurial perceptions among women have improved significantly over the past two decades, with a 79% increase in perceived business opportunities and a 27% increase in startup skills. Fear of failure rates have also risen by over half among women, posing new questions for researchers and policymakers. ⭐⭐ “GEM’s research over time highlights how women entrepreneurs are having a considerable and increasingly positive impact on society and economies,” said Aileen Ionescu-Somers, Ph.D, GEM Executive Director. “While there may be some battles won, women still have considerably steeper hills to climb than their male counterparts. GEM research can help policymakers make ever more rational policy decisions that enable women entrepreneurs to move forward.” ➡️ Please read the full report here and join us in congratulating GEM on its 25th Silver Anniversary🙏: https://lnkd.in/gtT7t8fQ . . . . . Amanda Elam Karen D. Hughes Mahsa Samsami, Ph.D Maribel Guerrero Natanya Meyer Aurea Almanso Cartier Women's Initiative School of Management Fribourg (HEG-FR) Frank & Eileen™ Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership

👩🏽🔧"Women #ClimateEntrepreneurs - The Face of a Livable Planet" 🌱🌍 #GenderandClimate #COP29 #whitepaper 👓📄 Emerging markets are hit hardest by #climatechange and vulnerable groups, particularly women, are disproportionately impacted due to their overrepresentation in sectors highly susceptible to climate disruption like agriculture, food, and tourism. #Womenentrepreneurs often lack critical #accesstofinance, networks, and markets, making it harder to rebuild or pivot their businesses in response to climate shocks. And according to OECD - OCDE, just 1% of climate-related official development assistance from governments targets #genderequality as a primary objective. ➡️⬅️ We-Fi works at the nexus of gender and climate to support women innovators driving green and blue transitions as well to build the #climateresilience of #WSMEs across all sectors. This paper outlines recommended actions for practitioners and policymakers to support women-led climate businesses. Key takeaways: 🎯Women entrepreneurs face a "triple differential vulnerability" to climate change. ♀️🌍 Very few development organizations and intermediaries have a double focus on climate and gender. 🗣️Women climate entrepreneurs should be engaged as business leaders as they have an important opportunity to both shape and thrive in new green and blue economies. 💵Donor financing flows at the gender-climate nexus are limited; assistance remains siloed. Existing sources of finance need to be scaled and targeted to close the gender financing gaps. 👇Check out the report below and thanks to our many contributors: . . . . . . . Daniela G. Felicia Siegrist Ann Moline Farid Tadros Wendy Teleki Nina Kolybashkina Farah Outeldait Liliia Zhukovska Climate Investment Funds

🌟 Research Conference Recap 🌟 We are thrilled to share highlights from our recent research conference, co-hosted by the Inter-American Development Bank, IDB Invest, EBRD, American University, and University of California, Berkeley. Held on October 29 and 30, this event showcased the latest research on gender and female entrepreneurship. The conference brought together academics, practitioners, and policymakers to align research with policy and practice on women-led SMEs, start-ups, and micro-enterprises with growth potential. We are excited to share a video interview with our keynote speaker, Penny Goldberg, Elihu Professor of Economics at Yale University. https://lnkd.in/eDnErc7V #WeFi #WomenEntrepreneurs #ResearchConference #GenderEquality #FemaleEntrepreneurship #SMEs #Startups #MicroEnterprises

🌏🌱 #GenderandClimate #COP29 🎧 #Podcast 🌱🌏 Unable to attend today's "Why Gender-Responsive #ClimateFinance Matters" in Baku? Check out featured speaker Heading for Change's Sana Kapadia's guest appearance on ImpactAlpha's podcast last week as she discusses the future of climate finance and new annual targets to replace the $100 billion pledge set in 2009. According to her, "gender is on the COP29 agenda, now the question for us is how do we demonstrate and make the case for others to understand that, just like nature is material, gender is material for all investors to consider?" Beyond simply representation, she discusses her vision for the intersection of climate finance and gender equality post-2025, and how we must build the action pathways to support gender-smart climate fund managers and ensure #womenentrepreneurs can access liquidity plus the skills and technical assistance needed to scale their #greenbusinesses. 📻 Listen to the full podcast here: https://lnkd.in/ehNkMU9W ➡️And if you're in Baku, be sure to attend today's event in the Italy Pavilion, more info here: https://lnkd.in/eKQ3SdtR

🚨 Survey Alert for #WomenEntrepreneurs 🚨 🙋🏽♀️ We-Fi followers and beneficiaries: please take ten minutes and share your experiences with our friends at the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, Intuit and The World Bank's Women, Business and the Law. The #genderdata culled from your responses will help all of us in the #financialinclusion sector better support #womeninbusiness to address barriers and access skills and training for commercial success. ➡️The survey is available in English, Spanish, French, and Arabic - check it out here: https://lnkd.in/eD6Q2rXX

🌍📊 The fifth United Nations #WorldDataForum is happening this week in Medellín, Colombia. Several #WEFinanceCode members will be featured in the session: “Getting to the Finish Line: Strengthening Country Capacity to Translate #GenderData into Use and Impact by 2030" to discuss innovative strategies that support the use of data in advancing gender equality and empowerment at the local, national, and global levels. 📅 Date: November 14, 2024 🕒 Time: 14:45 - 15:45 (Medellin Time) Speakers include: 🗣️ Shaida Badiee, Open Data Watch 🗣️ Krista Jones Baptista, Data2X, United Nations Foundation 🗣️ Jessamyn Encarnacion, UN Women 🗣️ Albert Motivans, Equal Measures 2030 🗣️ Lehlohonolo Takalimane, Lesotho Bureau of Statistics 🗣️ Divyanshi Wadhwa, The World Bank ➡️ Learn more and register here: https://lnkd.in/e5qiu8vw