GSG Impact

We’re in volatile - even 🌪️ chaotic times - right now, with many aid budgets cut. Much of impact investing relies on these aid budgets. Yet we also operate in an ecosystem that creates ✅ value for money in moments of fiscal belt tightening. Read from GSG Impact's CEO, Elizabeth Boggs Davidsen, capturing market trends and laying out a strategy for #GSGImpact and our partners.

At the ASEAN-Japan Centre #WomenEntrepreneurs Summit, GSG Impact’s Fai Wechayachai pointed out a critical issue: women entrepreneurs are driving economic growth, yet they still face a $1.5T (IFC - International Finance Corporation) financing gap 🕳️🌍 in emerging markets. 📌 61.3M women in #ASEAN (10% of the population) own businesses, but face challenges in securing funding. 📌 Women-led businesses outperform in returns and repayment rates, yet receive less financing than their male counterparts. The good news? Asia has made positive progress in gender-smart investment solutions in the past years: 🔹Japan-ASEAN Women’s Empowerment Fund (JAWEF): providing loans and equity to MFIs supporting female entrepreneurs 🔹Investing in Women (IW) program from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade  🔹The Asia Women Impact Fund from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation / 公益財団法人 笹川平和財団 🔹Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth’s Strivers initiative for women MSMEs 🔹Dedicated Fund Managers for #GenderLens Investing like Beacon Fund in Vietnam, Sweef Capital, Patamar Capital in Indonesia, Sarona Asset Management While progress is being made, gender-lens investing still faces significant barriers. 🗣️ Experts from OECD - OCDE Japan, Malaysia Impact Alliance (MYImpact) (GSG Impact National Partner), Wahed, and Villgro Philippines discussed how ASEAN can ensure gender-smart financing remains a priority🎯. Thank you to Melissa Foo, Noor Amy Ismail, Naoko Ueda, Priya Thachadi, Dato’ Dr. Munirah Looi, Kunihiko Chris Hirabayashi ASEAN Youth Organization, Women Leadership Foundation (WLF), The ASEAN Secretariat, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

📢 Call for Action Event Proposals at Building Bridges Building Bridges 2025 is back in 📍Geneva from Sept 30 – Oct 2, bringing together leaders from finance, business, and beyond to drive real impact. 💡Host an Action Event to showcase bold ideas, spark dialogue, and push for change—on topics like decarbonization, biodiversity, #climaterisk, and more. 👥 Who can apply? Organisations from around the world—including financial institutions, corporations, non-profits, #government entities, multilateral organisations, and academic institutions—are invited to submit proposals. While based in Switzerland, Building Bridges is an internationally-focused event, and many organisers successfully participate remotely during the planning and preparation stages. 📅 Deadline: April 2, 2025 Apply 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ewXbatBt #SustainableFinance #ImpactInvesting

🔎 How can we de-risk #emergingmarkets or align family office and wealth manager priorities? Join experts 🗣️ from across the GSG Impact Partnership at the Impact Summit Europe 2025 from Phenix Capital Group in Amsterdam 📍 on 1-2 April. 🎤 Speakers from our network: 🔺Simona Benvenuti, Netherlands Advisory Board on Impact Investing 🔺Laure Wessemius-Chibrac, Netherlands Advisory Board on Impact Investing 🔺Kostis A. Tselenis, swiss impact office, Hellenic Impact Investing Network 🔺Alessia Gianoncelli, Impact Europe, Social Impact Agenda per l'Italia - GSG Impact Partner Register 👉 https://hubs.li/Q038ZK5m0 📅 1-2 April  📌 | Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam GSG Impact is proud to be a partner of Impact Summit Europe, a leading institutional investor and asset owner conference that brings together thought leaders and practitioners in the #impactinvesting space. #sustainablefinance

Who is blended finance really serving? 🤔💰 #Blendedfinance isn’t just about moving capital - it’s about ensuring that finance reaches the people who need it most. At GSG Impact, we are taking action by implementing ✅ it through practical, locally-led finance solutions. 🗣️ Speaking at the OECD - OCDE CoP-PF4SD 2025 Conference in Paris in late February, our Managing Director, Krisztina Tora, shared how we are piloting two initiatives to unlock 🔓 SME financing and put impact at the core of investment decisions: 1️⃣The GSG-DFI Working Group on SME Finance - brings together #DFIs, impact investors, and financial institutions to improve SME access to finance through blended finance solutions. 💡What we’ve learned so far: ➜ DFIs often rely on banks and large financial institutions to finance SMEs, but these intermediaries fail to reach smaller, high-impact businesses. ➜ Local currency solutions are crucial, as many SMEs in Africa and Asia can't handle FX risks. ➜ Technical assistance remains underfunded, limiting private investment. 🛠️ How we’re addressing this: ✔️ Documenting best practices and scaling successful SME finance models, such as Kenya’s Equity Bank Limited. ✔️ Advocating for blended finance solutions that combine de-risking tools (like guarantees and first-loss capital) with patient capital for SMEs. ✔️ Working to improve impact tracking at the portfolio company level, so DFIs can better measure how their capital translates into local economic growth. 2️⃣ Catalysing three #SMEFinance Vehicles in Ghana, Nigeria, and Zambia to bridge critical financing gaps for SMEs: 🇬🇭 Ghana: Ci-Gaba Fund-of-Funds ($75M local currency vehicle) (Impact Investing Ghana) 🇳🇬 Nigeria: Wholesale Impact Investment Fund (in partnership with local government) (Impact Investors Foundation (IIF)) 🇿🇲 Zambia: Small Business Growth Initiative ($180M local guarantee fund) (Zambian National Advisory Board for Impact Investment (NABII) We 💬 discussed with our partners, Agustín Vitórica Gutiérrez-Cortines (GAWA Capital), Laura Blanco (Santander), and Jose Villena (COFIDES), how we will bring these solutions to Spain at the upcoming #FFD4 in Seville. Thank you to the other speakers and partners we met there: Haje Schütte, Paul Horrocks, Priscilla Boiardi (OECD - OCDE), Wade Paul (Norad - Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation), Grazia SGARRA - Ph.D. (AICS), Thomas Venon (Centre for Development Finance Studies), Melina Heinrich-Fernandes (Donor Committee for Enterprise Development), Arnaud Gillin (Innpact), Ylva Lindberg (Norfund), Magdalena Orth (DEval), Chris Clubb (Convergence Blended Finance), Guillaume Bonnel (SDG Impact Finance Initiative), Katrin Lueke (European DFIs - EDFI), and others.

🔎Impact Investing in alternative investments The paper from Bundesinitiative Impact Investing (our German National Partner), Bundesverband Alternative Investments e.V. and Advanced Impact Research GmbH, outlines how alternative investments in #privatemarkets are well-equipped to generate impact. 📌Insights: 🔹Private markets offer operational control over assets, ensuring alignment with impact goals. 🔹Investment in less efficient capital markets drives resources where they’re needed most. 🔹Real-world examples show a positive impact through sectors like renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure. 🔹Alternative investments not only bridge critical funding gaps but also contribute to solving pressing global challenges. Read more ⬇️ #ImpactInvesting #SustainableFinance #ImpactEconomy Acknowledgements: Eric Prüßner (AIR), Michael Bommer (BAI) Susanne Bregy (BIII), Janna Brockmann (Prime Capital), Young-Jin Choi (views are my own) (Vidia Equity), Julian Frede (evolutiq Impact Advisory), Dr. Julian Hochscherf (hep solar), Sebastian Brinkmann, Anna Dißmann (Aquila Capital), Jörg Rhode (swapwork), Heike Schmitz (Herbert Smith Freehills), Barbara Treusch (Palladio Partners)

The #GSGImpact network was in full force at the Latin American Impact Investment Forum (FLII) in Mérida, Mexico, with strong representation 👥 from our National Partners from Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Spain. Together, we are advancing our shared mission to build impact economies worldwide.🌐 🫱🏼🫲🏾 As part of the event, we teamed up with IMPACTO COLOMBIA (our National Partner) in Colombia to lead a conversation on #impacttransparency: 💡 Who wins and who loses when we measure and report our impact? We explored the importance of impact measurement 📊, valuation, and disclosure aligned with international standards—key tools to enhance organisational performance, competitiveness, and integrate impact considerations into economic decision-making. The momentum for impact economies is growing, and we’re committed to driving this transformation forward.✨  #ImpactInvestment #ImpactEconomy #FLII2025 New Ventures, Maria Elvira Tamayo Jaramillo, Luis Gabriel Morcillo, Sebastián Welisiejko, Santiago Sueiro, Carlos A. Solano, Rodrigo Villar, Carolina Puerta Ocampo, Ricardo Ramos, Marisela Vega Zuleta, Mercedes Valcárcel, PhD, Ana Laura Fernández, Octavio Rocha, Alianza por la Inversión de Impacto México [AIIMx] *GSG National Partner, Aliados de Impacto-NAB Perú, SpainNAB, Vitoria Junqueira, Aliança pelo Impacto

💻 Online webinar series on integrating #sustainabilitymanagement – 12 & 19 March 2025 1️⃣ First webinar: 12 March 🕒 15:00 (GMT + 8) 🗣️ Speakers: - Sebastián Welisiejko, GSG Impact - Sally Swingewood, ISO - International Organization for Standardization - Maurice Wee, UNDP SFH - S. Sanaasan, Ministry of Finance of Mongolia Register🔗 https://lnkd.in/g-nfk8nu 2️⃣ Second webinar: 19 March 🕒 15:00 (GMT + 8) 🗣️ Speakers: - Bella Cheng, IFRS Foundation - Camila Corradi Bracco, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) - Bolormaa Budsuren, Ministry of Finance Mongolia - Dr.Ninjin Bolortsogoo (FCCA), UNDP Mongolia Country Office Register 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gjpvk5kw The Sustainability Disclosure and Management Hubs #SDMHProgramme, a global initiative led by UNDP Financial Centres for Sustainability (FC4S) under the EU-led Sustainable Finance Advisory Hub (SFAH), invites professionals in #Mongolia to enhance their sustainability management and reporting capacities. 🔎 Learn how to embed sustainability and climate commitments into business strategies with insights from global experts, exploring the shift from external sustainability disclosure to internal sustainability management and understanding the role of ISO Management System Standards and the ISO/UNDP Guidelines for Contributing to the UN SDGs. In collaboration with GSG Impact | Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) | IFRS Foundation | ISO - International Organization for Standardization    #EUSFAH #SustainableFinance

#IWD2025 calling us to #AccelerateAction for women's empowerment. 🚀💜 In Türkiye, Etki Yatırımı Danışma Kurulu "EYDK" - Impact Investing Advisory Board, Türkiye NAB (our National Partner) and Etkiyap Consortium are leading the initiative "Empowering Women and Girls with Disabilities through Sports and Livelihood Opportunities." With support from the British Embassy Bilateral Programme and alignment with UNESCO’s Fit for Life Program, they break barriers and create opportunities for women and girls with disabilities. 👩🦽 To develop strategies for empowering disabled women and girls, they conducted: 📊 117 surveys conducted to understand needs. 🗣 70+ one-on-one interviews & focus groups capturing real voices. 🏆 Key takeaway? Sports matter. Read more 🔗  https://lnkd.in/dUw5kmbB Hear from participants who highlighted how sports 🏀 build confidence, resilience, and new opportunities for inclusion.👇 #DisabilityRights #WomensDay Şafak Müderrisgil, Tuğçe Söğüt,PMP, Gaziantep Büyükşehir Belediyesi Fatma Şahin, Wendy Wyver

Join the discussion 👥💬on #SustainableFinance Trends and Sustainable Ventures in Canada and France on 📅 March 17 in Paris, hosted by ESCP Business School and the Embassy of Canada in France | Ambassade du Canada en France. 💡 GSG Impact’s Managing Director, Krisztina Tora, will delve into key global trends in sustainable finance and discuss the significance of Canada’s $755M Social Finance Fund (Government of Canada), highlighting its role in driving social and environmental change. 🗣️ Hear from: ⬩ The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Canada's Ambassador to France and Monaco, and the Prime Minister's Special Envoy to the EU and Europe. ⬩ Leon Laulusa, Dean & Executive President, ESCP Business School ⬩ Prof. Gorgi Krlev, Associate Dean & Professor of Sustainability, ESCP Business School 📅 17 March | 18 PM (CET) 📍 ESCP Business School, Champerret Campus, Paris Register ➡️ https://lnkd.in/djWeMrDz ESCP Executive Education & Business Solutions #Canada #France #SustainableVentures