Proceeds from the latest bond in the series will provide financial support for high-impact enterprises owned and operated by women, as well as disadvantaged communities in India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), a Singapore-based impact investor, has launched the first tranche of its seventh Women’s Livelihood Bond (WLB7) in support of women-led enterprises in Asia, with backing from development finance institutions, private sector investors and philanthropic organisations.
The bond is part of a two-tranche blended finance issuance, the first tranche of which is aiming to attract $60m (€51.1m) of investment by its scheduled close at the end of July. It is expected to be listed on the Singapore Exchange.
The transaction consists of a $52.8m four-year senior tranche, supported by a $7.2m first-loss subordinated tranche. WLB7 is supported by a 40% guarantee on the underlying portfolio from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).
The total target size of WLB7 was not disclosed, but IIX said that, across both tranches, WLB7 is expected to be the largest bond in the WLB series, which started in 2017 with the $8.5m WLB1 – the first gender-lens impact investing security listed on a stock exchange, according to the company.
WLB7 proceeds are expected to provide financial support for high-impact enterprises owned and operated by women, as well as disadvantaged communities, in India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. Sectors targeted include financial inclusion, water and sanitation, agriculture, and clean energy.
Public institutions forming part of the investor and stakeholder group for WLB7 include SIDA, Australia’s foreign affairs and trade ministry, the International Finance Corporation and the Canadian government. Other financial institutions involved are ANZ Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, APG – on behalf of Dutch pension fund ABP– , iGravity, Impax and Nuveen. Foundations in the group include Ford Foundation, Minderoo Foundation and the Paul Ramsay Foundation.
IFC said its $10m investment in WLB7 was its first in the bond series. It is also providing $4.5m in subordinated debt to the IIX Women’s Catalyst Fund, a de-risking facility in support of the WLB series that is designed to improve access to capital markets for women. The multilateral said this subordinated debt would be invested through the Advancing Gender Equality, Resilience, Opportunity and Inclusion Worldwide (GROW) facility, an IFC partnership with the Canadian government.
The bond is certified by Sustainable Fitch as complying with the Orange Bond Principles, which were launched in 2022, with support from an international group of banks and impact investors, to boost gender-positive investment as an asset class and improve diversity in leadership. WLB7 also complies with the International Capital Market Association’s Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles, and Sustainability Bond guidelines, as well as EU and UK Securitization regulations, according to IIX.
Proven model
Durreen Shahnaz, IIX’s CEO and founder, said WLB7 would move the world “one step closer to a capital market where gender equity is the norm, not the exception” by building on momentum generated by its six predecessor bonds and the rise of the Orange Bond movement.
“By partnering with IFC and other trail-blazing allies, we are scaling this proven model across South and Southeast Asia and seeding the systemic shifts that will redefine finance in the Global South. With WLB 7, we expect to reach more than 773,000 underserved women, giving them the tools—and the capital—to shape a more inclusive and sustainable future for their families, their economies, and our planet,” she said.
IIX was founded by Shahnaz, a Bangladeshi-born US investment banker, in 2009 with a focus on investing to support women, disadvantaged communities and environmental projects in the developing world. The organisation said it had mobilized almost $500m in private-sector capital and positively impacted over 160 million lives through its various initiatives, including the WLB series.
Sarah Ng, ANZ’s director, debt capital markets, said oversubscription on the senior tranche of WLB7 was testament to the resilience of the sustainable finance market, despite global headwinds. ANZ has been involved in all seven issuances in the series.
“The significant investor interest, including new investors to the series from both the private sector and official institutions, showcases WLB7 as a sterling example of blended finance in action,” she said.
