Women rising in Southeast Asia

Investing in women pays economic dividends. Yet seven in 10 women-led small and medium-sized enterprises in global growth markets are unserved or underserved by financial institutions. The annual financing gap of nearly $70 billion in East Asia and the Pacific alone is an opportunity for impact investment funds like Patamar Capital, which has launched a fund and accelerator for companies led by women in Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, and the Small Enterprise Assistance Fund, which this year established the Women’s Opportunity Fund to make investments of up to $2.5 million in the three countries. Both are partners of Investing in Women, an initiative of the Australian government launched last year to establish new investment vehicles and help de-risk investments in early-stage women-led businesses.

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