2X Challenge will mobilize 15 billion dollars of investments in favor of women. The initiative was launched by the Development Finance Institutions of the G7 countries and will seek to raise the funds by the end of 2022 with new members joining the initiative. Among the founders of 2X Challenge are: CDC (UK), Proparco (France), JICA and JBIC (Japan), DFC (US), FinDev Canada (Canada), DEG (Germany) and CDP (Italy), other development finance have joined the organization.
The organization has made it known that it has mobilised $7 billion between 2018 and 2020 plus another 3 billion from private investors who have recognized the value of investing in favor of women in developing countries.
Over the past 3 years more than 200 operations were deemed suitable according to the 2X investment criteria. Businesses in Latin America received the most funding, followed by those in sub-Saharan Africa, where the volume of deals quadrupled in the last 12 months.
The new goal, the organizers underline, is decidedly more ambitious and "highlights the success of investments according to a gender approach to support women in accessing quality jobs, building resilient businesses and managing the devastating impact of the pandemic from Covid-19”.
In his speech at the launch of the new 2X Challenge target, Bogolo Kenewendo, world-renowned economist and former Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry of Botswana, said: “The definition and implementation of the post COVID-19 economic recovery plans offer a unique opportunity to work on a transformation structural economics in order to promote inclusive economies through the economic activity of women. It's an opportunity we shouldn't waste."
Antonella Baldino, CDP's chief international development finance officer, said: “Investing in women pays the highest dividends. 2x Challenge represents the engine of our collective action as Financial Institutions for Development, aimed at promoting investments according to a gender approach: it is the true pillar of a resilient and sustainable recovery.”
Cdp has participated in various projects, contributing with a loan of 44 million dollars to Ghana Cocoa Board, Ghana's leading cocoa exporter. The funding is designed to increase cocoa production in Ghana, the world's second largest cocoa producer, through the implementation of Productivity Enhancement Programs that are currently aimed at overcoming some of the industry's key challenges. The funding is promoting the development of a critical value chain for Ghana in which women play a central role and represent a significant proportion of the people who work there.
