Funding from the Climate Gender Equity Fund accelerates Deetken Impact’s mission to advance gender equality and climate resilience in vulnerable communities
VANCOUVER, CANADA – DECEMBER 3, 2024 – Deetken Impact, a boutique impact asset manager, has been awarded a $750,000 grant from the Climate Gender Equity Fund (CGEF) to its Ilu Women’s Empowerment Fund (Ilu Fund). CGEF, a pioneering public-private partnership led by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and supported by Amazon, Reckitt, Skoll Foundation, The UPS Foundation, and Visa Foundation, aims to increase access to climate finance for women-led and women-benefiting organizations. Grant-making under CGEF is managed by 2X Global, a global membership and field-building organization for gender lens investing.
Launched in 2016 as the first Gender Lens Investing (GLI) fund dedicated to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the Ilu Women’s Empowerment Fund is uniquely positioned to deploy catalytic gender-smart capital in communities vulnerable to the effects of climate change. As a pioneering force in the region, the Ilu fund stands out for its strategic focus that meets the urgent needs of today while establishing a long-term foundation for engaging women as leaders, key actors and beneficiaries of climate solutions.
“We are thrilled to receive the support of the CGEF’s partnership to deepen the Ilu Fund’s investing strategy at the nexus of climate and gender equity in Latin America and the Caribbean, one of the regions already experiencing the most severe effects of climate change. Our work with companies in the region will not only contribute towards increasing communities’ resilience but also drive inclusive economic growth”
The grant will support a combination of catalytic investment capital and technical assistance to unlock resources and knowledge at the intersection of climate action, gender equality, and health. We will invest in climate-focused businesses that enhance women’s resilience, economic empowerment, and wellbeing, expanding the Ilu Fund’s focus on climate sectors. Recognizing that companies often need more than just capital to grow sustainably, the CGEF grant will also support technical assistance to accompany portfolio companies in the design of inclusive climate strategies.
Central to the Ilu Fund’s strategy is the recognition that addressing gender disparities is essential to tackling broader systemic challenges, such as climate change and economic inequality. This investment will enable the Fund to further invest at the intersection of women’s empowerment and climate resilience in alignment with the recent grant we were awarded, which is supporting this mandate with technical assistance and catalytic capital.
Additionally, our commitment to the latest 2X Challenge ensures investments will advance gender-lens investing in the region. All future investments will be assessed against 2X criteria and reinforcing our collective aim to create a more equitable and sustainable future. Taken together, these efforts exemplify the transformative potential of combining gender-smart and climate-focused investments to drive impactful change in the communities we serve.
“We are very excited about these two opportunities to continue to work internationally to invest in women as they look for solutions to the climate [crisis]. . . . [We] urge everyone to join the movement to catalyze gender equity in climate finance and empower women and girls as powerful change agents in communities and in designing solutions to climate change.“
The LAC region faces an annual $38 billion financing gap to adequately address climate impacts and prevent ongoing losses in the region (ECLAC 2022), with only 2% of global climate finance incorporating a gender lens (Climate Policy Initiative, 2021). As we increasingly experience the effects of climate change today and in the years to come, innovative approaches and strong public-private partnerships are needed to effectively scale up climate finance for solutions that increase resilience, improve livelihoods, and strengthen the adaptive capacity of communities in LAC. The Ilu Fund will deploy CGEF funding to directly address gender disparities in the climate finance space and reduce women’s vulnerability, subsequently creating a robust model for gender-inclusive climate finance that can be replicated and scaled. By demonstrating the viability and effectiveness of this approach, Deetken Impact hopes to catalyze gender-responsive climate investment across the region and shift the landscape of climate finance to prioritize gender equity and community resilience.
For more information, contact:
Deetken Impact:
Heather van Mil
Communications & Marketing Associate, Deetken Impact
Email: hvanmil@deetkenimpact.com
2X Global:
Amanda Lynch-Foster
Communications Lead, 2X Global
Email: amanda@2xglobal.org
About Deetken Impact
Deetken Impact is an award-winning Canadian registered impact asset manager delivering strong, stable returns to investors by supporting businesses making meaningful contributions to the SDGs in Latin America and the Caribbean. Managing US$145 million in assets across five funds, Deetken Impact has been recognized as an Impact Assets 50 Manager since 2020. With a balanced and diverse team of seasoned investment professionals across the Americas, Deetken Impact has invested in 61 companies advancing gender equality, climate action, financial inclusion, and more, as well as pioneering technical assistance programs that maximize positive social, environmental, and gender outcomes.
About The Climate Gender Equity Fund (CGEF)
The Climate Gender Equity Fund (CGEF) is a public-private partnership led by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in collaboration with Amazon, Reckitt, Skoll Foundation, The UPS Foundation, and Visa Foundation. CGEF seeks to increase access to climate finance for women-led and women-benefiting organizations. Grant-making under CGEF is managed by 2X Global. For more information, explore 2xglobal.org/cgef.
About 2X Global
2X Global is a membership and field-building organization focused on unlocking gender-smart capital at scale. Engaging investment actors across public and private markets, 2X Global advances intersectional investment agendas to shift mindsets, scale the field, and facilitate capital deployment toward gender-responsive investments. Learn more at www.2xglobal.org.
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