BII: Additional $360b yearly investment require to close gap of 351m women, girls living in extreme poverty by 2030
British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, has reaffirmed its commitment to advancing women’s economic empowerment across Africa, joining development and multilateral finance institutions at the 2X Global Summit in Montréal to renew their commitment to the 2X Challenge.
In a joint statement of Intent published yesterday, the institutions highlight that the world remains far off track to achieve gender equality.
New UN data shows that 351 million women and girls could still be living in extreme poverty by 2030, underscoring the urgency of accelerating investment in women’s economic empowerment.
Closing these gaps will require an additional $360 billion a year but could raise global GDP by more than 20 per cent.
Since its launch in 2018, the 2X Challenge has mobilised more than $33 billion towards investments that advance women’s economic empowerment.
The renewed 2024–27 2X Challenge aims to mobilise at least $20 billion, with a greater focus on bringing private investors into the effort.
As momentum behind gender-lens investing continues to grow, the value of dedicated gender-lens funds have increased from $1.3 billion in 2017 to $7.9 billion, demonstrating both the scale of investor interest and the opportunity to channel more capital towards women-focused investments.
BII’s new 2026–31 strategy raises its own ambition, targeting 30 per cent of new investments in its core portfolio to qualify under the 2X Challenge.
The approach focuses on expanding women’s financial and digital inclusion, supporting quality jobs for women, and increasing women’s participation in climate and low-carbon industries.
Since 2018, BII has committed more than $3.5 billion in 2X-qualified investments.
It has also directed more than $586 million in lending to women-led businesses, while annual gender finance commitments increased from £24 million in 2019 to more than £585 million in 2025, reflecting BII’s growing commitment to advancing women’s economic empowerment through investment.
At the Summit, BII launched a refreshed Gender and Inclusive Finance Toolkit, a practical resource designed to help fund managers, investors and businesses embed gender lens across the investment lifecycle. It brings together plug-and-play tools for different stages of investment process, case studies from BII’s portfolio, and an inclusive business section for portfolio companies.
The Toolkit draws on BII’s experience across its portfolio, including the Kenhardt Solar Project in South Africa, where women represented 13 per cent of the construction workforce and women-led small and medium-sized enterprises secured 48 per cent of subcontracting opportunities.
The project is now operational, providing 540 megawatts of solar power alongside battery storage. BII also invested $5 million in Aruwa Capital Fund II, a pioneering female-led private equity firm, helping the fund reach $35 million towards its target.
Amal-Lee Amin, Managing Director and Head of Climate, Diversity and Advisory, British International Investment said: “Gender-lens investing has never been more critical for advancing inclusive economic growth. As the global environment becomes more complex and progress on gender equality slows, we must reaffirm our commitment to advancing women’s economic empowerment through investment.
“Our refreshed Toolkit brings together the tools, evidence and practical examples investors need to move from ambition to action. We also know that progress takes time, so our approach is focused on learning, working with investees and bringing more investors with us.”
