Blended Finance Solutions for Gender Equality

Women face numerous challenges to accessing markets, financing, owning and growing a business, including access to capital and technology, lack of networks and knowledge resources, limited market linkages, challenging social and cultural norms, as well as legal and structural barriers.

IFC is uniquely positioned to drive a private sector-led approach to creating jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for women — working with investors to allocate capital to women-led businesses, supporting supply chain participation, and encouraging employers to strengthen women's employment and leadership. 

Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi)

As an implementing partner of the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) IFC uses We-Fi funds to support private sector clients with investment and advisory services to expand financial services and market access for women-owned/led firms, as well as increasing the capacity of women entrepreneurs to run high-growth businesses. The We-Fi program is a collaborative partnership among 14 governments that have made financial contributions, six multilateral development banks that serve as implementing partners, and other public and private stakeholders. We-Fi was formally established in October 2017 as a Financial Intermediary Fund hosted by the World Bank.

The We-Fi Secretariat granted IFC a total of $69.15 million to provide investment and advisory support, complemented by global research to support WSMEs across three funding rounds. Learn more

• Round I. Creating finance and markets for all (US$49.4 million)
• Round III. Enhancing seed capital, technology, and value chain solutions for WSMEs (US$8.8 million)
• Round IV. Leveraging Finance, Data and Technology Solutions to Grow Women Entrepreneurs (US$10.95 million)

Note: IFC did not receive funding from We-Fi for Round II

The IFC We-Fi program is implemented under three thematic pillars as follows: 

1. Strengthening Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Fostering an inclusive legal, regulatory, and policy framework for WSMEs; supporting women entrepreneurs at every stage of growth through training, mentoring, and peer networks; champion investments through funds, incubators, and accelerators that expand access to capital for women entrepreneurs and women-led businesses.

2. Expanding Financial Services: Supporting banks, fintechs, and insurance companies with blended finance investments to reach more WSMEs; providing advisory services to design and deploy products and services for women entrepreneurs.

3. Improving Market Access: Integrating WSMEs into domestic and international value chains and producer networks; increasing procurement opportunities for WSMEs.

Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility (IFC WEOF)

In partnership with the Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women initiative, IFC launched the WEOF in March 2014 - the first-of-its-kind global facility dedicated to promoting access to finance for women-owned SMEs (WSMEs) through financial institutions.

IFC uses WEOF funds to provide investment and advisory support, in line with Blended Finance principles. These efforts are enriched by global research and partnerships. Leveraging the resources, reach, and expertise of IFC and Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women, WEOF was created to expand and deepen financing for WSMEs in developing countries, empower women entrepreneurs through access to capital and expertise, and demonstrate the commercial viability of investing in women by attracting external investors.