The hypothesis is that there is a unique opportunity to systematically incentivise all ecosystem players (including enterprises, investors, foundations, banks, financial service partners, lawyers, corporate partners, mentors, etc.) to graduate up the gender lens investing ladder from gender awareness to gender-transformative approaches. The ultimate goal is to shift the gendered power dynamics in favor of women entrepreneurs and gender equality by increasing their knowledge of gender lens investing.
A fundamental element of this work is the introduction to and building capacity in gender lens investing, which is woven into each activity, providing online training on the fundamentals of measuring impact with a gender lens and various impact measurement and gender lens analysis methodologies. Impact enterprises are being trained to self-report impact metrics, including gender-aware metrics. When paired effectively with financial documents in discussions with potential investors, the impact assessment enables investors to incorporate gender lens investing in their investment approach. This provides them with the risk-return-impact profile of the investment, thus embedding gender into the evaluation of their portfolio. IIX is also partnering with Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management and regional partners as gender trainers. These gender trainers educate mentors on the acute gap in access that women have to mentors’ networks and the need to consciously shift the power dynamic in mentoring relationships by seeking to learn from mentees’ insights, life experiences, and talents. Finally, IIX works with investors to incorporate gender lens investing in their investment approach.