Request for Proposals: Gender Lens Investing Market Building
Abt Associates (ACN 091591294) is managing Investing in Women (IW), an initiative of the Australian Government. IW seeks to accelerate gender equality by supporting women to thrive in the workplace and succeed in business in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The second phase of IW, launched in July 2023, builds from a position of strength. Over the first seven years of IW, much has been achieved in the gender lens investing (GLI) space. For example, there are now a variety of stakeholders, who build capacity of investment fund managers to understand, integrate, and value GLI. There are also increased availability of GLI tools geared for General Partners (GPs), as well as documented case studies and statistics that help prove the business case for investing in women. These collective efforts have spearheaded private-sector led innovations that have unlocked greater investment capital and galvanised greater investment in women-led businesses.
As IW enters its second phase, an upstream knowledge gap has been identified among capital providers, including Limited Partners (LPs) such as high-net worth individuals (HNWIs), next generation investors, family offices/foundations, asset allocators, university endowments, pension funds, and sovereign worth funds. A study by the International Finance Corporation found that 65% of LPs – also known as capital providers – say they care about gender but only 25% ask about it when assessing investment partners and funds. This disconnect in the continuum of capital is an opportunity for IW to add value by collaborating with key ecosystem stakeholders to close the knowledge gap, change LP perceptions around GLI, and catalyze greater demand among LPs for GLI products.
Through this Request for Proposal for Gender Lens Investing Market Building, we will seek multiple partners to lead on activities that will:
- Help increase capital providers’ understanding about the social impact value that investing in women creates,
- Showcase and further develop the business case for stronger financial return when intentionally targeting women, and
- Facilitate the incorporation of GLI practices to manage investor risks.
The goal of the activities proposed is to increase demand among capital providers for GLI strategies and products by raising their awareness and empowering them with tools.
We seek highly credible partners, who already have strong networks among capital providers and are interested in LP capacity building, peer-to-peer learning, tool creation/adaptation, and thought leadership around investing in women. For IW, we define this array of potential activities proposed by potential partners as a GLI learning strategy. We request that potential partners articulate in their GLI learning strategy for how Asian investors (or global investors investing in ASEAN, particularly IW target countries) will be engaged and access GLI knowledge and tools.
To be eligible an organisation must:
- have significant credibility with and access to capital providers, which might include but is not limited to: Limited Partners, family offices, next gen investors, HNWIs, pension funds, endowments, and/or sovereign wealth funds
- existing presence in Asia or demonstrated engagement with capital providers in ASEAN
- existing platforms to showcase GLI successes and learnings and to provide educational tools
- strong capability to conduct surveys of capital providers and analyse data
- be a legitimate entity/organisation (individuals are not eligible to apply)
- not be on any Sanctions Lists
- not be involved in terrorism in any way
Parties interested in this RFP, may register such interest by emailing procurement@iwa.asia using the subject line “Gender Lens Investing Market Building – Registration.” This will allow IW to provide you with any updates prior to the Proposal Closing Time and Date. Registration details must include:
- Institution/Company/Entity Name;
- Nominated Representative of the Entity; and
- Contact Details (office address, email, and phone).
Proposals must be submitted electronically to procurement@iwa.asia before the Proposal Closing Time and Date, using the subject line: “Gender Lens Investing Market Building – Proposal.” All Proposals must be received in PDF format.
The tender for proposals will close at 5:00 pm Philippine Standard Time, 11 August 2023.
Any clarification or enquiries from interested parties must be submitted no later than 5:00 pm Philippine Standard Time, 4 August 2023 through procurement@iwa.asia, with subject line: “Gender Lens Investing Market Building – Query.”
UPDATE: 8 August 2023
This posting was updated to include a clarification document in regards to this Request for Proposal. You may download the clarification document HERE.