The investment from Ceniarth together with an aligned donor-advised fund will boost gender lens investing in Latin America & the Caribbean. Photo courtesy of Ilu Fund investee Acceso Financiero El Salvador.

IFC’s investment will help AFC in expanding its financing for MSMEs, with at least 60 percent of loan proceeds earmarked for women-owned or led MSMEs (WMSMEs). 

Applications close on Friday, 28 February 2025. Winners will be announced on social media on International Women's Day.

This partnership enhances financial access for vulnerable populations across more than 25 countries, fostering economic empowerment with a focus on underserved communities worldwide.

The program is currently inviting applications from startups working on gender-inclusive financial solutions, targeting those with a demonstrable minimum viable product and having received pre-seed to pre-Series A funding, or generating revenues or traction.

IFC and Banco Daycoval, one of Brazil's leading mid-sized banks in the corporate credit market, have just signed a $460 million loan agreement to stimulate credit for female entrepreneurship and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), particularly in the Legal Amazon region.

The policy framework mandates that in next five years 70 percent of all new clients onboarded by the NBFMCs shall be women.

This long-tenor co-financing arrangement is one of its kind in the Indian microfinance industry, representing a significant step in strengthening CA Grameen's funding profile to further its mission of providing affordable financial services to women entrepreneurs across India.

TBC UZ will use the loan from the Global Gender-Smart Fund to boost its lending to women and women-led businesses to help them expand into more lucrative sectors. 

This Brief is part of a series of case studies documenting work done by community members to increase women’s climate resilience, with the hope to inspire financial service providers and other stakeholders to start addressing the specific financial service needs of women in the face of climate change.