By | Magali Lamyin
Managing Partner, Deetken Impact
Deetken Impact has more than a decade of impact investing in the Latin America and Caribbean region. To date, we have invested close to $145 million through the five investment funds we manage. We are convinced of the enormous potential that women have not only as successful and resilient entrepreneurs, employees, and professionals, rather also because women see beyond their own benefit or growth, making decisions and prioritizing the well-being and potential of their children, families, and communities through health, education, and the building of support networks. This is why the positive impacts of investing in a woman are exponentially multiplied. Unfortunately, women have not traditionally had the same conditions and opportunities as men due to the social and cultural norms that still prevail in our region. And for this reason, in order to achieve transformational systems change, it is necessary to start with a paradigm shift, starting by unveiling the unconscious gender biases that are ingrained in all of us, and defining and implementing new ways of working that are aligned to greater equality.
Through the Ilu Women’s Empowerment fund, Deetken Impact has invested $35 million to date in both women-led and male-led businesses that are committed to learning and implementing best business practices designed for women customers, employees, partners, and other stakeholders. To this end, Deetken, together with its partner Pro Mujer, developed a scheme that allows companies to analyze and make recommendations for improvement in their business practices. As part of the investment process, in each company in which we invest, we establish between 3 and 5 gender objectives that are adapted to the improvement opportunities identified and aligned with its strategic growth plan. To date, more than half of these objectives have already been achieved and another quarter are in the process of being achieved. This shows that capital invested with an intentional and comprehensive gender perspective can rapidly accelerate progress toward a more equitable economy.
By accompanying them with technical assistance projects through the Ilu Women’s Empowerment Program, we have achieved tangible results in these companies and especially in their teams, paradigm shifts that we see reflected not only in the day-to-day running of the business but whose effects have also been transferred to their communities and family life. We have worked hand in hand with more than 15 companies in 9 countries in the region training more than 500 women and men, analyzing hiring, retention, and promotion policies and practices, and developing best practices and processes. Creating new products and services that align with the needs of female clients as well as marketing strategies that reflect women’s realities and aspirations rather than reinforce gender stereotypes. Conducting information systems analysis to collect gender-disaggregated data and use that information for business strategy. Developing policies against sexual harassment in the workplace, designing community initiatives that focus on gender, among many others.
These experiences with the Ilu fund have allowed us to apply our gender-sensitive investment strategy to our other investment funds in a cross-cutting manner. Recognizing that this analysis of business practices and recommendations for action are applicable to every type of sector in every type of company, and that even small changes are cumulative and facilitate significant subsequent changes, fills us with optimism, especially in sectors such as renewable energy, traditionally dominated by men.
To amplify the reach that these improvements in business practices and policies have beyond the companies in our portfolios, together with Pro Mujer, we developed the Ilu Toolbox, which consists of a series of publicly available tools in both English and Spanish that have assisted entrepreneurs and individuals in beginning their journey toward greater gender equality. The Ilu Toolbox has been consulted by nearly 12,000 individuals through more than 16,000 sessions since it was launched in May 2021. We have also conducted more than 25 workshops and learning sessions for entrepreneurs, leaders and investors, reaching more than 1,500 participants, to raise awareness and generate more information and resources to motivate all these players to make this paradigm shift and start transforming the way they invest and manage their businesses.
The evidence is clear and compelling: investing in and aligning business practices to greater gender equality is not only the right thing to do, it is also good business and therefore a good investment. Even though the task may seem daunting and insurmountable, we must remember that every company, every individual who manages to uncover unconscious gender biases, adopt equitable business practices and implement them in their circle of influence, adds up to accelerate this transformation towards equality.
