The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, in partnership with Beyond Finance and FosterImpact, has launched the Women Empowerment for Climate fund, aiming to raise $100m to invest in projects dedicated to empowering women to successfully implement policies to adapt to climate change.
The fund is dedicated to sectors that primarily benefit women’s climate adaptation in Asia and Africa, targeting three key sectors: access to clean water, access to clean energy and sustainable agriculture.
The Women Empowerment for Climate fund aims to finance and support local enterprises and microfinance institutions committed to adapting their products and services to the specific needs of women, and to adopt a better gender lens in their organisation.
Throughout their transformation journey, investees will be provided with technical assistance, and loans will be indexed to impact indicators such as better representation of women in key positions or the development of climate adaptation products and services dedicated to women.
A study carried out in March 2024 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN involving 100,000 households in 24 countries concluded that a one-degree rise in temperature would lead to a 34% drop in women’s income. In periods of drought or rainfall, the report also noted that women work harder and walk further to supply their communities with food, water and firewood.
According to the Foundation, women can play a key role in solutions for resilience and sustainable resource management. They are powerful agents of change, not only for the development of economic growth, but also for the success of climate policies. However, despite their skills, women are still largely under-represented in decision-making processes, they are not sufficiently consulted, and their knowledge is not always incorporated into adaptation strategies and climate policies.
If women are to play their full part in the fight against climate change, the Foundation argues, it is crucial to strengthen financial support to enable them to access the necessary funding.
Véronique Faujour, managing director of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, said: “We are convinced that women are the real agents of change and that they need to be given greater responsibility and involvement in decision-making. This is not just a question of equality; for us, it is a necessity if we are to develop the economic growth of our regions, and it is a prerequisite for the success of climate policies.”
