MicroVest Capital Management today announced it has become a member of the 2X Collaborative, a global industry organization originating from the G7-founded 2X Challenge, which seeks to mobilize capital for gender-forward investments. MicroVest’s portfolio has qualified for the 2X Challenge’s criteria for Leadership and Consumption1 in recent years, and as of Q2 2022, more than half of microentrepreneurs and small businesses served by MicroVest’s portfolio companies were women-owned.2
As the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a setback to pre-pandemic trends favoring women’s financial inclusion, MicroVest is committed to jumpstarting access to finance for women-owned MSMEs and supporting initiatives like the 2X Collaborative to enhance transparency, credibility, and impact across gender lens investing. Given MicroVest’s mission of expanding access to finance at the bottom of the pyramid, we are constantly looking to support responsible microfinance and SME Financial Institutions whose lending activities will meaningfully uncover opportunities that facilitate women’s access to finance.
Launched at the UN Generation Equality Forum 2021 in partnership with GenderSmart and the Investor Leadership Network (ILN), the 2X Collaborative is a global industry body for gender lens investing (GLI) that convenes the spectrum of investors, capital providers, and mobilizers. The goal of the global organization is to increase the volume and impact of capital flowing towards gender-smart business. The network evolved from the 2X Challenge, which was launched at the G7 Summit in 2018 as a joint commitment by development finance institutions (DFIs) from the G7 countries to unlock financial resources to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment. The 2X Challenge has significantly surpassed its initial $3 billion target and collectively invested and mobilized more than $11 billion into private sector companies under the 2X Criteria.
Since inception, MicroVest has made a concerted effort to invest in Responsible Financial Institutions that offer products and services targeted to women. In many emerging markets where MicroVest invests, Microfinance and SME Financial Institutions are often the only financing option for the informal sector where women and women-owned enterprises are disproportionately represented. MicroVest remains committed to promoting inclusive growth for female microentrepreneurs and looks forward to engaging with the 2X Collaborative to reach our shared objectives of unlocking capital for female entrepreneurs and gender-smart business.
1MicroVest’s portfolio has qualified for the 2X Challenge’s criteria for Leadership and Consumption in recent years with products and services benefiting women and because of female representation exceeding 20% within the ranks of senior management at our portfolio companies.
2Represents portfolio level statistics across MicroVest’s flagship fund and based on self-reported data by MicroVest’s portfolio companies as of 3/31/2022.