Global Gender-Smart Fund Welcomes USD 20 Million Investment from DEG to Scale Gender-Smart Finance

Global Gender-Smart Fund Welcomes USD 20 Million Investment from DEG to Scale Gender-Smart Finance

InFiNe member Global Gender-Smart Fund (GGSF), the world’s largest investment vehicle dedicated to advancing gender equality through financial inclusion, has secured a USD 20 million subordinated note investment from DEG, a subsidiary of KfW, one of the fund’s founding shareholders.

DEG’s commitment strengthens GGSF’s funding base and expands its capacity to mobilize further private investment, playing a pivotal role in enabling the fund to scale its outreach to women and women-led or women-owned micro and small businesses across emerging markets.

The investment underscores DEG’s commitment to gender-smart finance and complements the strong support from GGSF’s founding shareholders: IFC, OeEB, KfW Development Bank, and BMZ. By providing catalytic subordinated capital, DEG helps unlock additional private capital support for the fund’s gender-smart portfolio.

Rapid growth and global reach

Since its launch in early 2024, GGSF has rapidly built a global portfolio with more than USD 450 million deployed to over 70 financial institutions in nearly 30 countries. The fund operates under the origination and monitoring efforts of portfolio managers Incofin, responsAbility, and Triple Jump, with InFiNe member Innpact Fund Management serving as AIFM and ensuring global coordination.

Each investee develops a tailored gender action plan following a gender assessment, ensuring that the fund not only channels capital but also drives institutional change. Technical assistance provided by NIRAS A/S and Women’s World Banking further supports partners in delivering sustainable improvements in gender equity.

Gudrun Busch, Senior Director Financial Institutions and Capital Markets at DEG, commented: “At DEG, our mandate is more than financing, it’s about shaping transformation. By investing in the Global Gender-Smart Fund, we are leveraging our deep experience in promoting sustainable private-sector growth across emerging markets and contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Ruurd Brouwer, Chairman of the Board for GGSF, added: “We warmly welcome DEG as a subordinated investor in GGSF. As a subsidiary of KfW, one of our founding shareholders, DEG’s investment not only strengthens our funding base but also reaffirms the long-term commitment of the KfW group to gender-smart finance. This catalytic support enables us to crowd in more private investors and expand our impact for women and women-led businesses in emerging markets.”

This partnership exemplifies how blended finance structures can mobilize private capital for gender equality while demonstrating the collaborative strength within Luxembourg’s inclusive finance ecosystem.

Source: GGSF press release