IIX Guarantee- WLB6

The decision on IIX Guarantee WLB6 has been made on 11 November 2023, and hence no results have been yet reported.

The societal and economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic are not impacting everyone equally. In fact, the most vulnerable are also the hardest hit and pre-pandemic existing social and economic inequalities have now been exacerbated. The WLB6 aims to improve the economic empowerment of women (WEE) who face gender based discrimination that increases their likelihood of remaining low income or trapped in cycles of poverty. The guarantee will provide critical de-risking required to attract capital from bondholders that will then be deployed to a portfolio of women focused enterprises. Further, with approximately 30% of the WLB6 proceeds expected to be allocated to entities operating at the nexus of gender equality ("orange") and climate action ("green"), the contribution also aims to empower women as part of the solution to climate related challenges. IIX is targeting an issuance size of ~US$100m that will compromise a multi-country and multi-sector portfolio of companies that will collectively empower women and girls to build economic resilience and advance climate action. The rationale behind the WLB Series is to help marginalized women borrowers to access capital, finance and assets, thereby improving livelihoods and increasing their financial resilience. The leverage of funding is expected to help women to reduce their carbon footprint and facilitate a just transition and to transform the financial system so that women, the environment, and under-served communities are given a value and a voice in the global market. IIX has specified the outcomes as follows: Primary outcomes - Impacts on direct women clients: 1. Improved income generation ability (USD 200 000 000 250 000 000) 2. Improved financial resilience increased savings and income coverage (USD 2 900 000 3 000 000) 3. Improved productivity (water and sanitation) (USD 65 000 000 70 000 000) 4. Increased ownership of assets (USD 40 000 00041 000 000) 5. Improved climate action (USD 14 000 000 15 000 000) Secondary outcomes: Impact on the family, the community, the state, and the planet: 1. Enhanced multi generational impact 2. Strengthened women, peace, and security agenda 3. Improved community and planetary resilience to environmental shocks and stresses Tertiary outcomes: Impact on the Gender Lens Investing Movement and the Sustainable Finance Ecosystem: 1. Advancing the gender lens investment movement in line with the orange bond initiative a) Gender Positive Capital Allocation b) Gender lens capacity and diversity in leadership c) Transparency in investment process and reporting 2. Catalyzing the sustainable finance ecosystem (actors of common mission of building gender equal, climate resilient and sustainable financial markets) Expected Outputs (Gender disaggregated matrix): 1. 170 000 women entrepreneurs receiving loans 2. 105 000 women clients availing of micro savings and micro insurance products 3. 20 00021 000 women clients receiving water and sanitation linked loans 4. 6 000 6500 women clients availing of affordable housing loans 5. 3000 3500 women benefiting from clean energy solutions