4G Capital, an East African neobank focused on women-led micro-enterprises, has been added to the 2X Challenge’s public database of qualified investments, following a strategic investment from the Global Innovation Fund (GIF), the company said on Wednesday.
The 2X Challenge is a global gender-lens investing framework launched by the G7 Development Finance Institutions.
To qualify, an investment must meet defined performance criteria across entrepreneurship, leadership, employment and supply chain measures.
4G Capital said the qualification places it among a global cohort of investments meeting standards set by major development finance institutions, and positions the company to access a wider pool of gender-lens capital from DFIs, institutional investors and development banks.
The company said more than 129,000 active borrowers currently use its mobile-first, unsecured lending and financial literacy programmes to grow their businesses in Kenya and Uganda.
GIF’s investment was based on the premise that gender-focused fintech can expand financial access for underserved women while generating commercial returns, according to 4G Capital.
The company described the 2X qualification as validation of that approach, and said it could serve as a reference point for other gender-focused fintech platforms and investors.
