Gender Lens Investing

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Doing More with Less

As many of us are feeling firsthand, this is a challenging period for the impact ecosystem. Priorities are shifting, capital is constrained, fundraising is harder than ever - yet the urgency of advancing gender equity and addressing climate challenges, especially in the developing world, has not diminished. If anything, the need to think more clearly, creatively, and collaboratively about how we deploy capital has only intensified.

At our next Impact for Breakfast, we will discuss Gender Lens Investing with a focus on the developing world and the intersection of gender and climate.  We’ll explore what it means to invest in women not just as beneficiaries, but as economic actors—leaders, producers, distributors, and decision-makers—and how gender equity can be positioned as a driver of value creation in a resource-constrained environment.

This session will bring together perspectives from across the ecosystem—fund managers, DFIs, and implementing partners—to have an honest conversation about where the field stands today, what barriers persist, and where there are real opportunities to do more with less.

Our panel will feature:

• Yasmina Zaidman, Chief Development and Partnerships Officer at Acumen

• Heather Kipnis, Principal Operations Officer, Cross-cutting Solutions | Private Equity and Venture Capital at the IFC

• Asya Troychansky, Associate Director, Value for Women
   

Together, our panelists will discuss:

• Why building an economy that pulls women into productive roles—through scalable enterprises—is essential for long-term gender and climate outcomes
   

• The realities of fundraising in today’s market and what it takes to advance gender lens investing when capital is scarce
   

• The role of philanthropy, concessional capital, and technical assistance in unlocking commercial investment
   

• How incentives, standards (including 2X), and impact-linked finance can help mainstream gender as a value creator
   

• What ecosystem building looks like when companies and funds must make hard choices about where to allocate limited resources
   

• Where we see reasons for optimism—and what success could look like over the next five years
   

As always, we’ll leave time for audience questions and discussion, and we hope this will be a space for both candid reflection and constructive forward-looking ideas.

We look forward to gathering again with this community—over coffee, conversation, and shared commitment—to start the year with purpose and perspective.

Many thanks to our hosts, CrossBoundary Group!  If anyone is interested in sponsoring coffee and breakfast please let us know.