We are also focusing on gender equality and diversity with our clients across every sector.
What we offer
We offer a range of financial products and advisory services that will help clients step up their game and provide more opportunities for women in the workplace, the marketplace and the community, as leaders, employees, entrepreneurs and consumers.
One of our goals is to expand financing options for women in business, through loans and other financial products. We offer loan guarantees, sharing risk with banks and other lenders in the region that want to provide financing to women-led small businesses and ensure that they are part of corporate supply chains. On the equity front, we invest in companies and initiatives that promote gender equality. And we provide investment opportunities in capital markets, offering bonds linked to positive gender outcomes.
In some cases, we may use concessional resources and grants to provide gender-related incentives. For example, a company could see a better interest rate on a loan when it achieves certain targets on gender equality and diversity.
Through our advisory services, we work with clients who are interested in putting gender equality into practice, whether at the office or on the factory floor. We may conduct in-house training, help design mentorship programs or carry out confidential baseline assessments to identify areas for improvement. We help companies meet national and international standards on gender equality and obtain certification; this can raise awareness, drive internal change and attract high-caliber employees.
IDB Invest even helped to create an assessment tool that companies can use to see how they’re doing on gender equality. Called the Women’s Empowerment Principles Gap Analysis Tool, or WEPs Tool, it was designed jointly by the United Nations Global Compact, UN Women, IDB Invest and the Multilateral Investment Fund, which is also part of the IDB Group. The WEPs Tool is available online, free of charge, and is used by companies around the world.