The virtual event will take place on March 3rd, 2026 from 8:00AM-9:00AM EST.
Sub-Saharan Africa requires an estimated $2tn by 2030 to build climate resilience.
The impact of this financing gap is most acute at the intersection of gender and climate. Women constitute around 70% of smallholder farmers across the continent and face heightened climate risks, alongside persistent constraints in accessing climate-resilient technologies, inputs, and markets. Yet, only 3% of climate finance is specifically aimed at enhancing gender equality, despite women and girls bearing a disproportionate share of climate impacts.
When climate shocks occur, women-led households experience deeper disruptions and longer recovery periods. At the same time, these populations play a central role in climate adaptation and the adoption of resilient technologies.
Over the past decade, funds operating at the gender-climate nexus have become a distinctive feature of Africa’s investment landscape. Their trajectories demonstrate that integrating gender equity and climate action into investment strategies is not only feasible but increasingly common.
Blended finance has become a keystone for these funds at the nexus of gender and climate. It plays a dual, transformative role: both existential, by enabling such funds to emerge, and operational, by supporting the deployment of their investment and impact theses.
This 1-hour virtual session will review key findings from the report, followed by a panel discussion with African-led fund managers and investors sharing their experiences using blended finance at the gender-climate nexus.