MAKING
CONNECTIONS
DELIVERING
RESULTS
A Community Fostering
Inclusive and Green Finance
Who We Are
We empower women-owned and led businesses in Asia and the Pacific by assisting financial institutions in providing gender-responsive and sustainable finance through the adoption of cutting-edge technologies.
Here, you will find a diverse range of knowledge products and learning events, including:
Check this site for updated resources.
This is a members-only portal that offers exclusive insights into industry knowledge. By becoming a member, you can:​
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Access tailored knowledge events and materials on climate and gender related topics
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Download tools and toolkits related to sustainable finance
Embrace the power of knowledge, and let our portal keep you updated!
Spotlight
Sex-disaggregated Data for Financial Intitutions
​How can sex-disaggregated data help financial institutions support women entrepreneurs?
Joanna Romero, Lead Gender Finance Expert at Women’s Finance Exchange, explains why it is critical and how the WE Finance Code initiative is encouraging the use of data to empower women-owned businesses.
News and Events
Financial institutions are recognizing their important role in a just green transition. ADB’s Women’s Finance Exchange Lead Sabine Spohn discusses the enthusiasm for this topic demonstrated at a gWFX UNEP FI seminar held recently in Manila.​
On 16 October, gWFX and UNEP-FI held a seminar on Demystifying Green Transition Finance at ADB Headquarters in Manila. Over 70 representatives from financial institutions across the Philippines attended the discussion. Ellen Joyce L. Suficiencia, Director, Sustainability Office at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, set the scene for the event from the country context perspective. Speakers included UNEP FI’s APAC Policy Lead, Laura Canas Da Costa; Standard Chartered Singapore’s Sustainable Finance Managing Director and Head of Strategic Initiatives, Jaclyn Dove; GreenFi Co-founder Barun Chandran and ADB PSFI Director Asif Cheema. Participants discussed key principles and challenges of the green transition, good practices, and available tools and frameworks.  
ADB Private Sector Operations Department Events at COP29 Highlight Transition Finance
On 13 November, ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department (PSOD) and the ADB Institute (ADBI) jointly hosted an event entitled ‘Accelerating the Path to Net Zero: Financial Regulators’ Role in Transition Finance’ at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. ADBI Dean Tetsushi Sonobe and Sayiru Shirai, Advisor for Sustainable Policies, ADBI, shared results of a recent ADBI survey of Asian financial authorities. This session focused on recent practices and the challenges faced by Asian financial regulators, calling for regional-level discussions to promote some convergence.  ADB and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group also jointly presented a draft research paper, ‘Unveiling Transition Finance: Financial Sector’s Perspective’, at COP29, which examines existing frameworks, initiatives, and practices related to transition finance, highlighting factors that hinder growth of transition finance from the financial sector’s perspective. This was followed by a roundtable with regional finance and private sector stakeholders.
gWFX, UNEP FI Host Roundtable on Green Transition Finance 
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On 16 October, we held a roundtable on Demystifying Green Transition Finance at ADB Headquarters in Manila. Over 70 representatives from financial institutions across the Philippines attended the discussion, which was organized in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative. Ellen Joyce L. Suficiencia, Director, Sustainability Office at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, set the scene for the event from the country context perspective. Speakers included UNEP FI’s APAC Policy Lead, Laura Canas Da Costa; Standard Chartered Singapore’s Sustainable Finance Managing Director and Head of Strategic Initiatives, Jaclyn Dove; and GreenFi Co-founder Barun Chandran. Participants discussed key principles and challenges of the green transition, good practices, and available tools and frameworks.  
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We acknowledge the support of the Bankers Association of the Philippines on this event. This event was funded by the Financial Sector Development Partnership Special Fund with funding from the Government of Luxembourg.
Read our latest newsletter on Closing the Gap: Harnessing the Power of Bonds for Gender Equality
As the world continues to grapple with a persistent gender finance gap, innovative solutions are needed to bridge the divide. One promising avenue is the use of thematic bonds, which include green, social and sustainability bonds. In this issue of the gWFX Dispatch, we explore the growing trend of thematic bonds and the impact they can have on creating a more equitable future, featuring insights from Laetitia Hamon, Head of Sustainable Finance at the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Read more and subscribe here.
Investing in Women to Scale Climate Solutions
Women are more likely to start businesses with a sustainable focus, but they continue to face barriers to accessing the financing they need. Currently, only 3 percent of climate investment goes to women-led businesses.
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ADB's private sector department supports financial institutions to develop investment products tailored for women and green finance, and the Women’s Finance Exchange (gWFX) promotes gender-inclusive green initiatives and works with financial institutions to provide financing for women entrepreneurs. Learn more about integrating a gender lens in sustainable finance in this ADB brief and the 2X Gender and Climate Toolkit.
Empowering Pacific Women-Owned Businesses: gWFX Training and Mentoring Program Kicks Off in Fiji
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​​With support from the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), gWFX is empowering women-owned businesses in the Pacific through targeted training and mentoring programs. This initiative kicked off in Suva, Fiji on 4 September, with a training session led by our partners at Business Assistance Fiji. The training was attended by 39 participants, including representatives from financial institutions. In Samoa, training will take place on 10 and 24 September. The program will also be offered in Tonga in October.
Fiji was a recent signatory to the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code, a multi-stakeholder initiative that aims to eliminate constraints and financing gaps for women entrepreneurs by collaborating with policymakers and financial institutions.
The training explores innovative solutions, best practices, and practical tools to help women-owned businesses overcome financial hurdles. Our expert trainers are sharing insights on:
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Building financial literacy and budgeting skills
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Digital finance opportunities
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Accessing funding opportunities and networks
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Fiji TV, one of the leading television broadcasters in Fiji and the Pacific, covered the training program. View the coverage here.​​ The Fiji Times, one of the leading local newspapers, also covered the session. Read the article here.
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Financial Leaders in Fiji Endorse Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code
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On 27 August, financial leaders from Westpac, Merchant Finance Ltd., South Pacific Business Development, and the South Pacific Stock Exchange formally signed on to the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code at a ceremony hosted by the Reserve Bank of Fiji, in partnership with ADB. The Code, coordinated by the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), is a commitment from multiple financial ecosystem players, including regulators and development banks, to increase funding to women-led micro, small and medium enterprises. Fiji was one of the first countries to adopt the Code in March. With support from We-Fi, gWFX is conducting training for financial institutions in Fiji as part of the new Women Entrepreneurs: Data Advancing Transformative Access to Finance (WE DATA) initiative.
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Read more here.
gWFX Knowledge Series exclusively for members​
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The materials and recording for the three sessions of the knowledge series are now available here.
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If you are not a gWFX member yet, you are welcome to sign up here as a member to access the sessions.
Sex-disaggregated Data Management Toolkit for Financial Institutions​
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Sex-disaggregated data (SDD)—data collected separately for males and females—drives the business case for, and is essential in, targeting the women’s market. Use this toolkit to gain insights into the steps for ensuring effective SDD management for financial institutions. It includes best practices and case studies demonstrating how to gather, analyze, and apply data to create customized solutions for women entrepreneurs.
The toolkit can be used in two ways: 1) As a guide for building effective gender data management systems at a financial institution; and 2) As a customizable training workshop material that can be applied to different audiences.
The toolkit includes:
1. A PowerPoint presentation in PDF format.
2. A facilitator’s guide for financial institution members who wish to use this content or portions of this content for internal training.
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For our existing members, please find the material on the Member Forum page, under Tools and Toolkits. If you are not a member, please sign up an account here to access the content.
We-Fi Impact Story: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in Papua New Guinea Through Digital Tools and Access to Finance
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Women in Papua New Guinea face the highest financial inclusion gender gap in the South Pacific at 29%. This article tells the story of Bernadette Patmou and other women entrepreneurs who were able to access financial training and a tailored loan program through the WAVES initiative, provided by ADB’s Women’s Finance Exchange (gWFX) and supported by the Women Entrepreneurs’ Finance Initiative (We-Fi).
The program has reached close to 250 women’s small businesses in the Pacific. Read more here.
New Publication: Leveraging Fintech for Women Entrepreneurs in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Viet Nam
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Women-owned micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (WMSMEs) are an essential underbanked segment that can benefit from fintech innovations.
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This report examines how fintech improves access to finance for WMSMEs in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Viet Nam and discusses the steps stakeholders can take to make fintech solutions more inclusive and user-friendly for women entrepreneurs.
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Visa Learning Materials Now Available to gWFX Members
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Interested in helping your clients to improve their financial and entrepreneurial literacy?​
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Through our knowledge partnership with Visa, gWFX members can now access Visa’s Practical Business Skills and Practical Learning Skills.​
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If you are a member, find more information here.
If you are not yet a member, please sign up now.
Technology
We support FIs in the identification and selection of cutting-edge technologies to facilitate gender-responsive and sustainable financing.
What We Do
Capacity
Building
We provide tailored knowledge solutions to enhance our partners' capacity in delivering inclusive financial services.
Funding
Opportunity
We explore funding and co-financing opportunities to support FIs in boosting lending to women and women's businesses.
Sustainable
Finance
We encourage and assist the implementation of sustainable finance in our partner FI's strategy, operation, products and services.
Partners
The CAREC Women’s Empowerment Online Platform (WEOP) is our knowledge partner. It is a comprehensive and user-friendly digital space that aims to empower women across the region by providing capacity development resources, opportunities for networking, knowledge sharing, and collaboration with stakeholders.
The CAREC member countries are Azerbaijan, People’s Republic of China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
To promote finance sector development, the Financial Sector Development Partnership Fund (FSDPF) was established in July 2006 through contributions from the Government of Luxembourg. Given growing demand from the Asian Development Bank’s developing member countries for financing support, the Financial Sector Development Partnership Special Fund (FSDPSF) was created in January 2013. The FSDPSF focuses on the key operational areas of finance sector development, inclusive finance, and infrastructure finance. Since the fund was established, the FSDPSF has allocated a total of $25.5 million for 76 projects, some of which are capacity building initiatives of gWFX.
The High-Level Technology (HLT) Fund is a multi-donor trust fund established in 2017. It provides grant financing to promote the integration of HLT and innovative solutions into ADB-financed and administered sovereign and nonsovereign projects throughout the project cycle—from identification to implementation and operation. The fund encourages more widespread adoption of HLT to address development challenges in ADB's developing member countries.
Mastercard works to connect and power an inclusive digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, their innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential.
Visa is a world-leading digital payments network that removes barriers and connects people to the global economy. Visa aims to uplift everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.
The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) is our co-financing partner. We-Fi is a collaborative partnership among 14 governments, eight multilateral development banks (MDBs), and other public and private sector stakeholders, hosted by the World Bank Group.
Need more details?
We are here to assist you. Contact us by email at womenfinx@adb.org or through the contact form.
We are open from 8:00AM - 5:00PM Philippine Standard Time (UTC +8).