FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi), the investment arm of FSD Africa, has today joined the 2X Collaborative. Launched at the UN Generation Equality Forum 2021 in partnership with GenderSmart and the Investor Leadership Network (ILN), the 2X Collaborative is a leading industry body for gender lens investing. Its mission is to convene and equip investors to increase the volume and impact of capital flowing towards women’s economic empowerment.
FSDAi’s membership to 2X Collaborative will provide access to peer learning networks, knowledge, co-investment platforms, partnership and training opportunities, and innovative investment tools. These benefits are useful for FSDAi in applying a gender lens investing framework through its investments such as Nyala Venture which provides a facility for local capital providers that are mostly women-led or apply a gender lens in their approach.
“We are thrilled to welcome FSD Africa Investments as a member of the 2X Collaborative. FSD Africa has been a strong partner of 2X in co-creating innovative finance solutions such as Nyala Ventures and 2X Ignite as well as spearheading thought leadership on capital markets development and gender bonds. We’re excited about this next chapter in our collaboration,” Jessica Espinoza, Chief Executive Officer 2X Collaborative said.
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FSD Africa has been at the forefront of supporting gender bond transactions in Africa – with more than USD 50 million having been raised in the past six months by private-sector financial institutions in Morocco and Tanzania. Through FSD Africa Investments’ membership in 2X Collaborative, FSD Africa will take part in the co-creation process of the 2X Certification mechanism which was publicly announced at the G7 Summit 2022.
The 2X Certification mechanism is an industry-endorsed certification scheme that create more transparency, accountability and credibility in the global field of gender lens investing by differentiating between different levels of rigor, providing a benchmarking of where different actors stand compared to their peers and where concrete areas of improvement lie. 2X Certification shall be available to 1) companies (differentiating for SMEs and corporates), 2) funds, 3) financial institutions, 4) institutional investors and 5) instruments and products like gender bonds or sustainability-linked loans.
“There is a huge opportunity to finance inclusive and accelerated green growth in Africa by tapping into the economic participation of women. We are therefore delighted to join the 2X Collaborative and shine a light on GLI investing to advance innovations that demonstrate the investment case for gender smart finance,” Anne-Marie Chidzero, Chief Investment Officer – FSD Africa Investments said.
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