Seventh Women's Livelihood Bond is unveiled by IIX with a $60 million allocation
News Article: Women's Livelihood Bond 7 Empowers Women Across Asia
The Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) has launched the first tranche of its seventh Women's Livelihood Bond (WLB7), a pioneering impact investment vehicle that aims to empower over 773,000 underserved women and girls across South and Southeast Asia.
WLB7, with a total size of $59.6 million, consists of a $52.8 million four-year senior tranche and a $7.2 million first-loss subordinated tranche. The bond is designed to fund high-impact enterprises that are either led by women or serve women, focusing on critical sectors such as financial inclusion, water and sanitation, agriculture, and clean energy.
The bond has strong international and multi-sectoral support, involving public and private organizations. Key stakeholders and supporters include the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Government of Canada, International Finance Corporation (IFC), ANZ Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Nuveen, Impax, APG (on behalf of Dutch pension fund ABP), iGravity, Ford Foundation, Minderoo Foundation, Paul Ramsay Foundation, and others.
The IFC, through its GROW facility in partnership with the Canadian government, has contributed $10 million to the bond and also supports the IIX Women’s Catalyst Fund via subordinated debt to aid access to capital markets for women entrepreneurs. The IFC's investment in WLB7 is its first in the bond series.
WLB7 is certified by Sustainable Fitch under the Orange Bond Principles and complies with international green, social, and sustainability bond standards, indicating its commitment to gender-lens investing and sustainable finance. The bond is also supported by a 40% guarantee on the underlying portfolio from SIDA.
Sarah Ng, ANZ's director of debt capital markets, commented on WLB7, stating that the bond is a testament to the resilience of the sustainable finance market. The bond is expected to be listed on the Singapore Exchange and aims to attract $60 million (€51.1 million) of investment by its scheduled close at the end of July. Oversubscription on the senior tranche of WLB7 was a clear demonstration of investor interest in impactful initiatives.
IIX, founded by Shahnaz, a Bangladeshi-born US investment banker, in 2009, has positively impacted over 160 million lives through its various initiatives. The organization has mobilized almost $500 million in private-sector capital. WLB7 proceeds will provide financial support for high-impact enterprises owned and operated by women, as well as disadvantaged communities, in India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.
The Women's Livelihood Bond 7 is a pioneering impact investment vehicle that mobilizes global capital to support women-led enterprises in Asia with robust backing from international development agencies, financial institutions, and foundations committed to gender equality and sustainable development.
- The Women's Livelihood Bond 7, a $59.6 million impact investment vehicle, focuses on critical sectors such as financial inclusion, water and sanitation, agriculture, and clean energy, aiming to empower over 773,000 underserved women and girls.
- The bond has attracted interest from various international organizations, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), ANZ Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), showing their commitment to sustainable finance and gender equality.
- The IFC's $10 million investment in WLB7 is its first in the bond series and supports the IIX Women’s Catalyst Fund via subordinated debt to aid access to capital markets for women entrepreneurs.
- WLB7 is certified by Sustainable Fitch under the Orange Bond Principles and complies with international green, social, and sustainability bond standards, signifying its dedication to gender-lens investing and sustainable finance.
- As part of its various initiatives, Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), founded by Shahnaz, has mobilized nearly half a billion dollars in private-sector capital, with proceeds from WLB7 set to provide financing for women-led enterprises and disadvantaged communities in India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.
