OUR SERVICES
WHAT WE DO
We advise and support financial institutions in strengthening their ability to attract and effectively serve businesses owned and led by women.
We integrate a gender lens in climate finance programs and products to positively impact and expand opportunities for women business owners.
We guide and support companies in advancing gender diversity & inclusion across their business model and value chain to support sustainable long-term growth.
WOMEN & FINANCE
Connecting Founders specializes in advising and supporting financial institutions strengthen their ability to attract and serve businesses owned and led by women effectively, particularly micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. Similarly, we advise policymakers design gender-inclusive finance strategies that guide them in closing gender finance gaps for small businesses and other under-served segments.
We combine focused reviews of bank policies, practices, and lending portfolios with insights from customer surveys to understand how best to meet demand for financial services and design tailored strategies, products, services, and outreach.
Examples:
ADB’s Expanding Development Bank Financing of Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Pacific
This EU-funded 5-year programs works with government-owned banks in five Pacific countries to expand access to credit for MSMEs and women-owned businesses. We have conducted in depth gender assessments to determine their ability to attract and serve effectively MSMEs owned and led by women. Assessments included reviews of bank policies, practices, and lending portfolio and demand surveys to determine customers’ financial services needs.
Each bank will be supported to strengthen their capacity to attract and serve women-owned and -led MSME customers through tailored financial products, targeted business development services. This project is also providing support in mainstreaming gender and climate finance considerations within each bank’s business strategy.
Countries: Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu
ADB Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI)
Connecting Founders is supporting ADB’s PSDI in mainstreaming gender considerations in different financial sector initiatives in the Pacific. Currently, we are supporting the Reserve Bank of Fiji design a gender-inclusive finance strategy and roadmap by identify key challenges and opportunities in the supply of financial services to target demographics (women-owned MSMEs, women, youth, and PWD).
Countries: Pacific countries (region-wide)
Asian Development Bank, Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative Vietnam Access to Finance and Environment
The project is funded by ADB to support Vietnamese women-owned or led small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (WSMEs) access to finance, with an aim to strengthen the capacity of financial institutions to increase lending to WSMES and develop gender responsive products and services tailored for the WSME market.
Connecting Founders has been supporting this project since 2022. We have supported the creation of a publication on the demand and supply of financial services for women-owned SMEs and the provision of advisory services to select financial institutions to design gender-inclusive strategies.
OXFAM FAIR FINANCE ASIA
Connecting Founders supported Fair Finance Asia, XXX, in conducting a gender lens review to strengthen gender incorporation within the Fair Finance Guide Methodology used to assess partner financial institutions’ performance across 23 themes.
It also supported Fair Finance Asia with Gender Mainstreaming training to commercial banks in Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines.. Training focused on raising awareness of gender mainstreaming, with practical examples and tools to integrate the topic into the Bank members’ systems and policies and how tailored financial products can help better serve the women-owned market.
Countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines
USAID Green Invest Asia
Connecting Founders supported the integration of gender into Environmental and Social (E&S) due diligence tools used for bank training by the Association of Banks of Cambodia (ABC).
Previously, our founder led USAID Green Invest Asia’s gender and social inclusion work with agriculture and forestry businesses and financial institutions in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia). This work focused on improving opportunities for women in coffee value chains in the region; and better understanding the role of women consumers in promoting sustainability.
USAID Green Invest Asia helps agriculture and forestry businesses in Southeast Asia improve the sustainability and environmental stewardship of their operations by connecting them with like-minded investors and reducing barriers to investment.
Countries: Cambodia
GENDER & CLIMATE FINANCE
We integrate a gender lens in climate finance programs and products to positively impact and expand opportunities for women business owners. We work to ensure that solutions for the business sector actively engage women and have both gender and climate-related targets and milestones. Our focus is on supporting small and medium-sized businesses become more climate-resilient and manage climate risks successfully.
Examples:
UK GOVERNMENT ASEAN LOW CARBON ENERGY PROGRAM (through DT Global and with The Carbon Trust)
ASEAN LCEP – now completed – was a £15m aid programme of the UK’s Prosperity Fund to help ASEAN harness the benefits from the deployment of low carbon energy by leveraging the UK’s extensive and proven expertise in green finance and energy efficiency
Connecting Founders supported in the design and implementation of “Yenergy“, an innovative gender & climate project in Thailand, aimed at encouraging small bsinesses in the Food and Beverages sector, particulalry those women-owned, to switch to energy efficient equipment (fridges and freezers) as a way to push the sector towards low-carbon options. The project put in place a blended finance structure of minimal upfront payment combined with a «payment through savings» structure to ease financial pressure on micro and small businesses. It engaged directly with over 200 SMEs in Bangkok.
Countries: ASEAN wide
CTIF: Strengthening ASEAN SMEs in Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change
May 2022 – July 2023
Connecting Founders, together with Carbon Trust, is supporting the Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR) and ASEAN Secretariat in providing tools and expert advice on practical gender responsive climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies for SMEs in each ASEAN country. The project will help SMEs build up their resilience capability and operational sustainability in support of the broader objective of encouraging employment and reducing poverty among ASEAN Member States (AMS). It will focus on women-owned businesses and will integrate women’s economic empowerment objectives into all project components.
Country: ASEAN
USAID Green Invest Asia
Connecting Founders supported the integration of gender into Environmental and Social (E&S) due diligence tools used for bank training by the Association of Banks of Cambodia (ABC).
Previously, our founder led USAID Green Invest Asia’s gender and social inclusion work with agriculture and forestry businesses and financial institutions in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia). This work focused on improving opportunities for women in coffee value chains in the region; and better understanding the role of women consumers in promoting sustainability.
USAID Green Invest Asia helps agriculture and forestry businesses in Southeast Asia improve the sustainability and environmental stewardship of their operations by connecting them with like-minded investors and reducing barriers to investment.
Countries: Cambodia
GENDER DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
We advise and guide companies in advancing gender diversity and inclusion. We support businesses in understanding their specific gender gaps and opportunities and developing gender and inclusion policies that follow international good practices but are tailored to their unique needs and business model. We adopt a pragmatic approach that guides businesses in setting ambitious yet realistic goals.
Examples:
UK GOVERNMENT ASEAN LOW CARBON ENERGY PROGRAM (through DT Global)
ASEAN LCEP – now completed – was a £15m aid programme of the UK’s Prosperity Fund to help ASEAN harness the benefits from the deployment of low carbon energy by leveraging the UK’s extensive and proven expertise in green finance and energy efficiency
- Supporting a large cocoa manufacturer in designing and implementing gender and inclusion policies and strategies to improve share of women in leadership (board and top management), create a more supportive working environment for female employees and build a pipeline of high-promising candidates for senior positions, and strengthen inclusivity in their work with farmers in producer countries
- Supporting creation and dissemination of lessons learned on strengthening gender and diversity in the corporate sector through webinars and social media blogs and articles
Asian Development Bank, Prioritizing and Implementing Actions to Reduce Marine Plastic Pollution – Gender & Climate Specialist (contracted through DT Global)
Designing and carrying out market study to better understand role, gaps, and opportunties for women, MSMEs, and informal sector in the plastic value chain, including in looking at economic instruments to introduce plastic alternatives within each country.
- This project is part of ADB’s Healthy Oceans Action Plan and is focused on plastic pollution reduction in Southeast Asia. It is focused on actions at various scales, from national regulation to on-the-ground pilot projects in mid to large size cities. It includes important outreach and awareness components and enhancing knowledge and creating enabling environments for reducing marine plastic pollution.
DFAT-funded Investing in Infrastructure
Connecting Founders supported Investing in Infrastructure, DFAT’s flagship infrastructure program in Cambodia, apply a gender lens across the program’s investment and policy operations. This work focused on facilitating access to water and energy services to rural households and businesses; developing health and safety guidelines for the construction sector; designing an inclusive smart city enterprise architecture and smart parking project; and supporting the design of a water fund to increase access to water throughout the country.
Country: Cambodia
OXFAM FAIR FINANCE ASIA
Connecting Founders supported Fair Finance Asia, XXX, in conducting a gender lens review to strengthen gender incorporation within the Fair Finance Guide Methodology used to assess partner financial institutions’ performance across 23 themes.
It also supported Fair Finance Asia with Gender Mainstreaming training to commercial banks in Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines.. Training focused on raising awareness of gender mainstreaming, with practical examples and tools to integrate the topic into the Bank members’ systems and policies and how tailored financial products can help better serve the women-owned market.
Countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines
USAID Green Invest Asia
Connecting Founders supported the integration of gender into Environmental and Social (E&S) due diligence tools used for bank training by the Association of Banks of Cambodia (ABC).
Previously, our founder led USAID Green Invest Asia’s gender and social inclusion work with agriculture and forestry businesses and financial institutions in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia). This work focused on improving opportunities for women in coffee value chains in the region; and better understanding the role of women consumers in promoting sustainability.
USAID Green Invest Asia helps agriculture and forestry businesses in Southeast Asia improve the sustainability and environmental stewardship of their operations by connecting them with like-minded investors and reducing barriers to investment.
Countries: Cambodia
