How investors can drive opportunities for women in emerging markets

This blog post was guest-authored by Erica Berthelsen and Asya Troychansky from Value for Women.

Despite a robust evidence base (see here, here, and here for examples), early-stage companies and the investors that support them still have few relatable case studies demonstrating how early-stage companies advance better and more opportunities for women. Important questions remain: What actions can yield strong gender inclusion results, and, what do these change processes look like?

Pathways to Growth, a new report by Acumen, Value for Women, and 60 Decibels addresses this critical gap. By analyzing gender inclusion work with over 100 early-stage startups across Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, we have identified important trends. Our findings reveal that early-stage companies that took intentional gender action in several specific business areas and were supported by strong leadership endorsement, achieved notable social and business results. 

Take Koolboks, which offers solar-powered refrigerators to micro-entrepreneurs in Nigeria. The company increased the percentage of women in technical roles from 5% to 23% and in its sales force from 16% to 44%. It achieved this increase in just four months by setting hiring targets disaggregated by gender, launching a recruitment campaign to appeal to women candidates directly, and re-engaging inactive women sales agents in its database.

Or take SokoFresh, an agribusiness in Kenya. Using Value for Women’s Employee Satisfaction & Organizational Culture survey, we learned that the company improved women’s satisfaction from 54% to 83% and the sense of belonging among women employees from 73% to 94%, by putting in place policies and practices that would improve its employees’ experience in the workplace. These policies included, for instance, a Gender-Inclusive Recruitment Toolkit, which provided guidance on setting up inclusive job advertisements, gender-balanced recruitment panels, and complementing with team training on inclusive hiring.

And, take Warc, an agricultural social enterprise in West Africa. The company established community-based points of sale closer to women farmers and hired women agents. With these actions, farmers sold more, increasing by 14x the total supply of agricultural products for Warc over two years. Women, in particular, increased their total sales to Warc. In the first season with the Hubs (the 2022-2023 season), women-grown crops increased from 22% of Warc purchases to 35% of Warc purchases. 

These results didn’t happen by chance; they were driven by a combination of factors, starting from a new intention, and building with accountability mechanisms, targeted gender training for businesses, strong leadership commitment, and unwavering persistence from both the companies and their investors. 

How can investors replicate this gender inclusion success? 

Based on our experience and assessment, we’ve distilled three key strategies that you can take as an investor to support portfolio companies to drive gender inclusion and business growth. These strategies build on previous work and publications by G-SEARCh and Value for Women. They include:  

1.  Focus on the levers within reach. 

Investors can’t do it all. However, you can prioritize gender actions within your sphere of influence to motivate and support companies in their gender inclusion journeys. In pre-investment, you can start a conversation with companies about the importance of gender inclusion. 

In evaluation, you can begin to examine companies’ inclusivity across leadership, management, employees, and customers, ensuring that products are designed for and accessible to women.

Post-investment, you can provide training, monitor gender metrics such as 2X Criteria, and support companies to collect some of this data directly from women customers. And, you can help companies to action commitments by offering grants and technical assistance. 

2. Gender-smart Technical Assistance (TA) is a powerful tool for companies to rapidly advance on their gender goals. 

Technical assistance can jump-start or accelerate companies’ gender work. It can help companies to identify how gender inclusion fits into their strategy and business models, to create a plan, and to begin implementing that plan. Most of the companies featured in this research received some form of technical support. 

Acumen has supported 17 African companies with 20 gender-smart technical assistance engagements, and 59 impact studies that included gender questions. 

3. Prioritizing gender needs to take place again and again, at multiple levels of an organization, for change to happen.

There is never enough time, capacity, or resources for early-stage companies. Investors can meet companies where they are in their gender inclusion journeys, work with each company to set realistic goals, and provide targeted support. Investors should recognize that progress on gender inclusion doesn’t occur overnight, and requires concerted action from companies, supported by investors and technical partners. 

For the technical assistance and other gender support to yield results, companies need to have skin in the game and commit their energy and time towards actions that are effective and sustainable.  

Want to go even further on gender inclusion?

Here are just two of the many initiatives you can explore: 

• As an investor, consider joining G-SEARCh, a consortium of investors and partners, including Acumen and Value for Women, building actionable evidence for gender lens investing. 
• You can also encourage the businesses in your portfolio to sign up to a new inclusion initiative by Value for Women — an interactive, online platform that equips ambitious enterprises in emerging markets with the essential resources, community and incentives they need to drive inclusive growth.