The significant Feminist Finance Forum was held at ESCAP, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and it ended in Bangkok. The forum's conclusion made a strong case for stepping up efforts and enhancing multistakeholder engagement in order to close the gender gap in access to funding for entrepreneurs across the Asia-Pacific region. The event provided a platform for significant regional stakeholders to coordinate cooperative actions aimed at alleviating the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs.
70% of small and medium-sized enterprises run by women lack proper access to financial services, and just 7% of private equity and venture capital investments globally go to female-led businesses. In the Asia-Pacific region, where over 1 billion women lack access to formal financial institutions and there is an estimated $300 billion financing gap for formal women-owned small businesses, this pressing issue is especially acute.
It is challenging for women to obtain and use financial services because of this imbalance, which has its roots in cultural norms and gender-discriminatory practises. In her introductory remarks, Rupa Chanda, Director of ESCAP's Trade, Investment and Innovation Division, stressed the need of quick action and the demand for innovative solutions. Chanda claims that "more action is needed to ensure that the financial ecosystem in the region is capable of responding to the needs of women and underserved populations."
During the two-day interactive conference, more than 200 participants—including policymakers, female business owners, investors, financial service providers, academics, members of civil society and grassroots organisations, and development partners—discussed various aspects of closing the gender-finance gap. In addition to discussing approaches to address gender bias in funding procedures, support services for female entrepreneurs, and gender lens investment and responsive financial products, women's financial inclusion and resilience were also covered. The subject of how gender equality and climate financing connect was also discussed.
The publishing of a groundbreaking report by ESCAP, "Policy Approaches for Financial Inclusion: An Examination of Approaches across Asia and the Pacific and Latin America," in collaboration with the Government of Colombia, was part of a groundbreaking endeavour. Additionally, a Community of Practise on Women's Financial Inclusion was launched with the goal of fostering information exchange between governments in Latin America and the Asian-Pacific area.
Innovative technology and initiatives to reduce the gender-financial gap were offered by leading leaders in feminist finance in conjunction with the event. Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) created the Orange Bond, which is anticipated to release $10 billion to empower 100 million women. This initiative was built on the Women's Livelihood Bond Series, which was developed in conjunction with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and ESCAP.
SWEEF Capital, an impact investment firm based in Southeast Asia, created its Gender ROITM tool with support from ESCAP to highlight the benefits of integrating gender-conscious practises within firms. The AI-powered browser Rayo developed by Vietnamese entrepreneur Dung Claire Tran won the competition for women-led businesses from the Mekong region. The biggest acceleration platform for women in technology is called She Loves Tech.
A partnership agreement was struck between ESCAP and 2X Global before to the event's conclusion. As a result of this agreement, training programmes for female-led or gender-balanced fund managers will be made available across the Asia-Pacific region from September 2023 to March 2024. A joint programme named "Women Investing for Women" will be launched by ESCAP, 2X Global, and other partners to unleash gender-smart financing on a larger scale. Additionally, it was said that a study on the South East Asian FemTech Industry will be ordered.
The Feminist Finance Forum took place against the backdrop of the Global Affairs Canada-funded Catalysing Women's Entrepreneurship Programme. This plan aims to economically emancipate women, reduce poverty, and enhance gender equality through promoting women's entrepreneurship in the Asia-Pacific region. By striving to establish a genuine and supportive environment for female entrepreneurs throughout Asia and the Pacific and beyond, the forum's outcomes aspire to build even further on these accomplishments.
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