Creation of the Women Empowerment for Climate fund with Beyond Finance and FosterImpact, by, for and with women
Pictured, from left to right: Camille Huret, Founder and CEO of FosterImpact; Maud Savary-Mornet, Founder and CEO of Beyond Finance; and Véronique Faujour, Executive Director of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation.
November 27 – Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, Beyond Finance and FosterImpact announce the creation of the impact fund Women Empowerment for Climate, which aims for $100 million for adaptation to climate change, by, for and with women.
Women are on the front lines of climate change.
A study conducted in March 2024 by the FAO[1] A study on food and agriculture in 24 countries and 100,000 households concluded that a one-degree rise in temperature would lead to a 34% drop in women's income. In times of drought or rain, women work harder, walking further to supply their communities with food, water, and firewood.
Yet women can play a key role in resilience solutions and sustainable resource management. They are powerful agents of change, not only for the development of economic growth but also for the success of climate policies.
It is based on this observation that the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, Beyond Finance and FosterImpact have joined forces and announced the creation of Women empowerment for climate, a $100 million impact investment fund dedicated to empowering women to succeed in climate change adaptation policies.
Women Empowerment for Climate : a fund for action, by, for and with women
Women are not only the most vulnerable to climate change, but also key players in adaptation strategies. Thanks to their expertise, they develop local solutions for sustainable agriculture, natural resource management, water, energy, and food conservation. However, despite their skills, women are still largely underrepresented in decision-making processes, they are not sufficiently consulted, and their knowledge is not always integrated into adaptation strategies and climate policies.
Therefore, for women to be able to fully play their role in the fight against climate change, it is crucial to strengthen financial support to enable them to have access to the necessary financing.
Faced with inequalities exacerbated by global warming and convinced of the central role of women in climate solutions, the leaders of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, Beyond Finance and FosterImpact have joined forces to launch the fund Women empowerment for climate.
This impact fund is dedicated to sectors that primarily benefit women and climate adaptation in Asia and Africa.
It will target three key sectors where women have a direct impact on the success of climate policies: access to clean water, access to clean energy, and access to sustainable agricultural techniques.
The fund Women empowerment for climate aims to finance and support local microfinance institutions and local social impact businesses, committed to transforming their products and services (credit, savings and insurance), and adapting them to the specific needs of women, to include women in their governance and decision-making processes, or to finance entrepreneurial projects led by women.
Throughout their transformation journey, investment recipients will be supported by technical assistance, and loans will be indexed to non-financial performance indicators – such as greater representation of women in key roles or the development of climate adaptation products and services dedicated to women, to name just a few.
The fund aims to raise $100 million from private and public investors in 2025.
"We are convinced that women are true agents of change; they must be more empowered and involved in decision-making. This is not just a question of equality; for us, it is a necessity for developing regional economic growth and is a condition for the success of climate policies."
Véronique Faujour, General Delegate of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation
" We are very optimistic about this partnership which allows for alignment on common values and a shared observation of climate issues by, for and with women.. »
Maud Savary-Mornet – founder and CEO of Beyond Finance and Camille Huret – founder and CEO of FosterImpact
[1] FAO. 2024. The unjust climate – Measuring the impacts of climate change on rural poor, women and youth.
