World Vision & VisionFund Launch Strong Women Impact Fund to Close Gender Financial Gap

During the 2023 Concordia Annual Summit in New York City, World Vision, a global Christian humanitarian organisation, and its affiliated microfinance institution, VisionFund International, introduced the Strong Women Impact Fund. This effort intends to address the gender gap in financial services by concentrating on rural women all around the world.

The Strong Women Impact Fund will offer novel financial solutions to economically disadvantaged women in order to improve household well-being and break the cycle of poverty. The fund aims to improve women's lives and economic well-being by meeting the needs of women in impoverished areas.

Women confront a $320 billion credit access gap globally, and approximately 1 billion women lack access to financial services. Closing the gender gap may add $14 trillion to global GDP by 2030, according to estimates. Furthermore, research shows that when women make competitive wages, they reinvest in their families, therefore improving communities.

According to Edgar Martinez, CEO of VisionFund International, "to truly end extreme poverty, there must be an intentional focus on providing financial services for rural women, and the Strong Women Impact Fund is one of the key tools to bolster women's economic opportunity."

The Strong Women Impact Fund is a $100 million debt fund aimed at bringing about transformational change for women and their families. It prioritises rural women across four regions in 24 countries, aligning with World Vision's 2030 business strategies for economic empowerment and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), as well as VisionFund's 2030 global strategy.

Lani Dolifka, president and creator of Clean Water Here, stated her support, stating, "The Strong Women Impact Fund allows me to invest in women around the world, equipping them with the skills they need to lift themselves and their families out of poverty."

To women borrowers, the fund provides four core products: FAST loans, lone mother family loans, small enterprise loans, and water loans. Each loan also includes HospiCash, a free health insurance coverage for consumers and their families.

The Strong Women Impact Fund, in particular, satisfies four of the five 2X Challenge requirements, emphasising leadership, employment, consumption, and investments through financial intermediaries, with borrowers functioning as women entrepreneurs.

Strong Women Impact Fund investments are intended to empower over 200,000 women, pulling them out of poverty and promoting creative, growth-oriented communities.