Investing in women and girls leads to positive returns for investors and better social and economic outcomes for everyone, said Suzanne Biegel, Catalyst at Large, keynote speaker at the conference “Invest differently: the women effect”, held at the EIB by the Luxembourg Microfinance and Development Fund in cooperation with the EIB Institute, the Luxembourg Ministry of the Economy and ADA.

According to McKinsey, achieving gender equality could add 12 trillion to the world’s GDP. So “using a gender lens is not just social investing, it’s smart investing” added Hedda Pahlson-Moller, a Luxembourg-based business angel. Still, in developing countries over 70% of female-owned SMEs are underserved by the financial system and, across Europe, only 30% of entrepreneurs are female.

Gender investing means taking gender as a factor of analysis across all asset classes, added Suzanne Biegel. This means asking questions such as “How do we find investment offerings with a positive women effect?” or “What else is needed beyond financial capital?” in order to drive capital towards the solutions we need for society.

Click here for the event programme and for the presentation.