Montreal, May 18, 2021 – The Prime Minister of Canada has announced the launch of 2X Canada: Inclusive Economic Recovery, a new financing and investment facility. Implemented by FinDev Canada, and undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through Global Affairs Canada. It will foster private sector growth in developing countries, with a focus on women’s economic empowerment. The facility will enhance the social and economic well-being of underserved, vulnerable populations, particularly women, in Latin America, the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa.
2X Canada: Inclusive Economic Recovery will seek to address persistent market gaps and structural barriers faced by women, widening the reach of Canada’s development finance capabilities. It will deploy catalytic capital strategically to mobilize additional funds towards sustainable and inclusive development in FinDev Canada’s regions of operation and will have the financial capacity to invest in underserved markets and segments, and explore innovative solutions.
2X Canada: Inclusive Economic Recovery will concentrate on opportunities that actively and intentionally support women as business leaders, managers, employees, and customers. The facility is expected to support up to 57,000 jobs, of which at least 50% will be for women, and to reach more than 10,000 entrepreneurs, of which at least 50% will be women. This will contribute to advancing the objectives of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy
This initiative is part of Canada’s response to the economic crisis caused by COVID-19, which is disproportionately affecting women worldwide, leading to a reduction in their economic participation. 2X Canada: Inclusive Economic Recovery will help to integrate a gender lens in economic recovery efforts, thereby contributing to a more equal and stable private sector.
“COVID-19 is threatening the loss of decades of progress on poverty reduction, particularly for women and other marginalized groups,” said the Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of International Development. “2X Canada: Inclusive Economic Recovery represents an opportunity to collaborate to make best use of the development financing tools at Canada’s disposal and maximize our collective impact in support of women’s economic empowerment.”
“We very much look forward to widening the breadth and depth of Canadian development finance through this new facility,” said Stéphanie Émond, Chief Impact Officer of FinDev Canada. “2X Canada complements our own core mandate and enhances our ability to deliver high impact outcomes through private sector investments that promote inclusion, innovation and resilience in developing markets.”
“2X Canada will allow us to bring much needed liquidity and further contribute to the economic recovery of developing countries” said Paulo Martelli, Chief Investment Officer of FinDev Canada. “This partnership with Global Affairs Canada will help us address the needs of this market in such a hard time.”
Joan Larrea, CEO of Convergence, said about 2X Canada: “This is a natural next step in Canada’s leadership in blended finance. In 2016 Canada set up Convergence to lead internationally in this arena, then quickly followed up with the launch of a new development finance institution in 2018, FinDev Canada. This new program gives FinDev Canada the flexible capital needed to go deeper into gender-lens investing and make a bigger impact in its target economies.”
Any 2X Canada investment will have to show a positive impact (current or future) on at least one key aspect of women's economic empowerment as identified in FinDev Canada's Gender Strategy.
A main channel for investments will be through local financial intermediaries—banks, microfinance institutions, funds, cooperatives, and other vehicles—with a clear strategy to reduce gender equality gaps and benefit women.
Every transaction supported by 2X Canada will meet the criteria of the 2X Challenge – Financing for Women
About FinDev Canada
The Development Finance Institute Canada (DFIC) Inc., operating under the FinDev Canada brand, is a Canadian institution dedicated to providing financial services to the private sector in developing countries with the aim of combating poverty through economic growth by focusing on three main topics: economic development through job creation, women’s economic empowerment, and climate change mitigation. The Development Finance Institute Canada Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Export Development Canada (EDC).
About the 2X Challenge
The 2X Challenge was launched in June 2018 as a major new commitment of the development finance institutions (DFIs) from the G7 countries to unlock resources that will help advance women’s economic empowerment and gender equality. These DFIs have since been supporting investments and initiatives that provide women in developing countries with access to leadership opportunities, quality forms of employment, finance, enterprise support, as well as products and services that enhance the inclusion or economic participation of women and girls. Since the launch, additional DFI and MDB members have joined to expand the commitment.
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Angela Rodriguez
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