Investments with a gender lens for the progress of the region

July 1, 2022. The Latin American Center for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development (CLACDS) of INCAE and its partners, Value for Women and SVX MX, held on June 30 the Webinar "A Vision of investments with a gender lens for progress in the region. From data to strategy", given by Jaime García, director of the Index of Social Progress in Latin America and senior researcher at CLACDS/INCAE.

García reveals that investing with a gender lens is a financial strategy that seeks to generate returns and at the same time have a tangible impact on the empowerment and well-being of women, as well as investing in companies led by women, in products and services that improve the standard of living of women, in better conditions of the female labor force, and in women who work in value chains.

Jaime García explains that, although the region has conditions to attract these investments, there is a need for greater dissemination and articulation of investors, companies, governments and experts. Currently the regions that most attract this investment are the United States and Canada, attracting 37% of the funds and Sub-Saharan Africa 30%, while Latin America only 16%.

“Integrating information on gender gaps with information from the Social Progress Index helps to identify the advantages of Mexico and Central America to guarantee economic returns and improvements in the empowerment of women. There are already successful business cases that have even created new markets such as Femtech (technology aimed at the well-being of women) that move billions of dollars, but in the region they are still precarious”, commented Jaime García.

García concludes that currently the issues that most attract this type of investment are those related to health, financial inclusion, agriculture, and education.

The webinar also featured the participation of Daniela Moctezuma, Senior Gender and Business Specialist at Value for Women, who shared the progress of the “Investing in Equality Community” project, where these learning events are framed. This project seeks to provide tools, such as the Gender Smart Nexus, to help investors move from intention to action quickly and efficiently, thanks to the generation of a diagnosis linked to gender and recommendations adjusted to the current state of the company.

Octavio Martínez, director of CLACDS, INCAE gave a few words of welcome, and emphasized the importance of providing knowledge to the different actors of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, a task that CLACDS has been carrying out for some years. Gracia María Barahona, director of the Women's Business Growth Initiative project in Honduras and the Ecobanking Project, was the moderator of this important discussion forum.

We attach the webinar link for your information. 

If you would like more information on this subject or the initiative, you can contact mauren.esquivel@incae.edu.