Investor’s Journey in Gender Lens Investing: inBEST Ventures
Summary
This case study focuses on inBEST Ventures (inBEST), a local impact investor in the Philippines pursuing GLI, motivated by a desire to grow companies in a way that gives equal access to opportunities.
inBEST is an impact investor that provides customised debt, hybrid and equity investment and business-enabling services, aligned to the financing needs of women’s small and impactful growing businesses. The firm saw that making GLI as its main investment strategy would create a selling proposition for the company. It also saw that many women’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are viable, scalable and impactful.
From 2017 to 2019, there were only eight GLI deals documented in the Philippines, based on Intellecap’s mapping of the GLI market. In 2020, a large international investor phased of out of the country, widening the gap for gender-focused funds. David Pangan and Toto Camba, inBEST’s founders, looked to take on this gap by providing funds in a way that would influence the ecosystem for GLI and provide GLI to stick and prove that a fund situated in the Philippines, working from inside the country and on the ground is possible.
The case study also explores how GLI goes beyond providing capital to women’s SMEs. It highlights how GLI can be a good strategy for financial relevance and increasing a company’s market relevance. Moreover, it discusses how the role of both men and women are important for GLI to work.
This case study is also available on the Value for Women website.
Highlights
- inBEST Ventures was launched with a clear focus on investing in women-led SMEs, seeing significant market, impact, and funding opportunities in this underserved segment.
- The firm quickly evolved its investment products to meet the immediate and diverse needs of women’s SMEs, including creating a Business Acceleration Financing (BAF) Facility in response to COVID-19.
- inBEST’s partnership with the Macquarie Investing in Women RISE Fund has bolstered its capacity to provide both financial and operational support to women-led businesses.
- By the end of 2021, inBEST had successfully financed 11 women-led SMEs, demonstrating the effectiveness of its tailored financing models and GLI strategy.
- The case study highlights inBEST’s proactive approach in fostering gender equality through investment practices, serving as a model for other investors interested in gender lens investing.
