Explore the next frontier of Gender-lens Investment with FinDev Canada, the Equality Fund and the Criterion Institute.
Investing with a gender-lens, integrating a gender analysis into investment processes, has seen exponential growth across both the public markets and private investment. The case is clear – investing with a gender-lens is simply better investment. A future where this approach is normalized into all investment processes is on the horizon. Join us for a discussion with three trailblazing organizations that are raising the bar and setting new standards, to hear about their journey, persistent challenges and their aspirations for the future.
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Our panelists include:
Dr. Joy Anderson is a prominent leader at the intersection of finance and social change and has been instrumental in shaping the fields of gender lens investing and innovative finance. As founder and president of the nonprofit Criterion Institute, Joy has worked with financial institutions, government agencies, faith-based organizations, philanthropists, and movement partners to design and implement strategies for shifting financial systems to advance gender equality and social justice. Joy has appeared on Bloomberg and CNN, and her thought leadership has been published in ImpactAlpha and Conscious Company, among other outlets.
In 2021, she authored a seminal report, “Disrupting Fields: Addressing Power Dynamics in the Fields of Climate Finance and Gender Lens Investing.” The framework outlined in the paper is intended to facilitate analysis of power in context and to increase the willingness of field builders (and those who support them) to disrupt systems of power more boldly in order to advance goals of justice and equity.
Joy was co-founder of Good Capital with Tim Freundlich and Kevin Jones and in 2011, in recognition of her leadership, she was ranked 51st in Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business. Joy currently serves on the GenderSmart Advisory Council and recently held roles on the Strategic Advisory Group for UNICEF's next Gender Policy and Action Plan and the External Advisory Committee for the Government of Canada's Partnership for Gender Equality. She holds a Ph. D in American History from New York University.
Anne-Marie Lévesque is Director, Gender and Impact Management at FinDev Canada, Canada’s bilateral development finance institution (DFI), where she oversees the implementation of FinDev Canada’s Gender Equality Strategy, Development Impact Framework and Environmental and Social Policy.
Anne-Marie is very active in the global gender lens investing community. Between August 2019 and July 2020, she served as the Chair of the 2X Challenge, an initiative of the G7 DFIs aiming to mobilize unprecedented amounts of capital to invest in women. In 2021, Anne-Marie was recognized by Apolitical as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy.
Prior to joining FinDev Canada, Anne-Marie was a consultant at Ergon Associates, where she advised private sector companies, development finance institutions and international organizations on their human rights, gender equality and labour practices.
Adaora Ogbue is a Senior Manager, Investment Strategy at the Equality Fund. She executes on key projects, builds relationships, contributes to the strategic planning and development of the Equality Fund’s investment programme, and communicates the Equality Fund’s impact and opportunities for collaboration.
Prior to joining the Equality Fund, Adaora spent over ten years as a leader in the technology sector before transitioning to the venture capital industry, with the goal of increasing access to capital for early-stage start-ups developing innovations in digital and financial inclusion in both developed markets and emerging economies. Through her previous work with Village Capital, the Mastercard Foundation, and as Founder and Principal of Venture Catalyst, LLC, Adaora combines a wealth of experience in investment analysis and due diligence with a deep knowledge of capital markets and the international investment and innovation ecosystem. She also has a keen interest in developing creative funding solutions which incorporate gender- and diversity-lens decision-making and blended finance to address the needs of diverse providers and users of capital.
Adaora holds an MBA from HEC Paris with a specialisation in finance and a BA (Hon.) in mathematics and French linguistics from the University of Toronto; and is passionate about food, languages, photography, travel, and video games.
Pranay Samson is Director of Innovative Finance at Plan International Canada, leading the development of a new area of practice. He is passionate about utilizing finance as a tool to enable social change, having worked at the intersection of development and finance for over a decade. Pranay has unique expertise in gender-lens investing, having worked with Governments, development finance institutions and banks on their innovative finance and gender-lens investment programs.
Pranay previously led the corporate finance team at the Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) in Singapore, a pioneer in gender lens investment, working with over 40 social enterprises on their growth strategy and investment, across renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, health, education and waste management. He previously worked at Development Alternatives Group in India, incubating and scaling social enterprise models aimed at reversing rural migration patterns.
Pranay began his career at HSBC, executing deals with Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and Private Equity funds investing in India. He holds a post graduate degree in management and is a qualified architect.