DEG's Natalie de Wit-Solounov on gender lens in development finance
Natalie de Wit-Solounov, head of financial institutions debt Asia/EMECA, DEG, speaks with Uxolo about the significance of gender-focused projects for the growth of development finance institutions.
Natalie introduces the work done by the German Development Finance Institution with an $8.5 billion portfolio and 60-year legacy (00:30), the potential for development finance in creating gender empowerment with initiatives like the 2X challenge initiative (02:50), implementing five criteria under the 2X challenge (05:15), why institutions who incorporate these criteria are in a better position to receive funding and have higher economic returns (07:10).
The unintended financial consequences of working with stereotypes of womanhood (09:10), how to measure the impact of gender-focused products and the importance of intentionality (11:50), the requirement of gender initiatives in the developed markets to bridge pay gaps (14:30), and why we should all be feminists, referring to author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk (17:18).
