Embedding Gender Equity: Insights from the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Retreat
By Elellan Debela, East Africa coordinator for AGF at ESP
From September 9 to 11, I had the privilege of attending an intensive three-day retreat in Nairobi Kenya, focused on Gender Lens Investing for Fund Managers. The retreat was part of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund’s (AGF) mission to create value for Investment Vehicles (IVs) in its portfolio. Hosted by Criterion and supported by consortium partners MEDA, I&P, ESP, ACG, and Genesis, the retreat aimed to help fund managers and partners like ESP enhance their understanding and strategies around gender lens investing.
The retreat was designed with a clear focus: to provide fund managers with hands-on support to refine their approach to gender lens investing. Criterion’s role was pivotal in helping us articulate our unique strategies for using finance to address gender disparities. This is particularly crucial in a world where traditional approaches to investment often fail to consider power dynamics in gender.
For ESP, our goal was to strengthen internal capabilities in order to provide better support to IVs. The aim is to enable them to integrate gender lens strategies within their overall investment processes—moving beyond just counting women in portfolios to fostering gender equity across the system.
One of the aspects I was most eager about was deepening my knowledge of gender lens investing and learning about Criterion’s TOOLKIT methodology. The methodology offers structured strategies that fund managers can implement to align their financial activities with social change objectives. The networking was also very insightful, with fund managers and consortium partners, all of whom brought diverse experiences and insights into gender mainstreaming within the financial ecosystem.
The entrepreneurs we aim to support operate in various sectors, but the challenge often lies in recognizing how gender disparities manifest within those industries. For instance, one entrepreneur noted that women in leadership roles within their portfolio were often pigeonholed into specific “female” roles like HR, rather than being recognized as leaders in core business functions. Our plan to support them includes working closely with fund managers to identify and dismantle these patterns, integrating a gender perspective that emphasizes inclusivity and systemic change.
A major takeaway from the retreat was the importance of analyzing power dynamics and recognizing how gender influences decision-making and opportunities at different levels of a company. The goal is to create systemic change, embedding gender equity into every aspect of the investment strategy, rather than making it a side consideration.
This hands-on retreat was both practical and insightful, offering tools to rethink how we approach gender lens investing. It reinforced the idea that real progress comes from integrating these practices into every corner of the investment process. As we move forward, the lessons learned and the connections made during this retreat will be key in supporting IVs as they navigate their own journeys toward gender equity.
