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#77: Strength Is the Strategy: A Conversation on Movement‑Led Finance
#77: Strength Is the Strategy: A Conversation on Movement‑Led Finance
What happens when feminist movements stop asking permission—and start acting as asset owners?
In this episode, Joy Anderson is joined by Giselle Carino and Meradith Leebrick of Fòs Feminista to explore how movement‑led organizations are building financial tools, institutions, and enterprises that sustain reproductive justice over the long term.
In this conversation, they reflect on why organizational strength (governance, reserves, and financial discipline) is not separate from movement work but essential to it; how Fòs Feminista was deliberately designed by and for organizations in the Global South; and what it looks like to act as a financial intermediary without training wheels. They trace Fòs Feminista’s long history with innovative finance, dig into the creation and scaling of INNOVA Health Supplies as a feminist social enterprise, and challenge conventional assumptions about risk, collateral, and repayment, arguing instead for designing capital that matches the realities, time horizons, and power dynamics of real change.
Episode Highlights
00:00 - Introduction to Fòs Feminista and Its Mission
02:50 The Concept of 'Fòs' and Its Origins
05:40 Building a Strong Ecosystem for Reproductive Justice
08:01 Organizational Stability and Movement Leadership
14:18 Innovative Finance Strategies in Reproductive Health
17:33 Collaborative Solutions for Sexual and Reproductive Health
22:15 Acting as Asset Owners in the Movement
30:11 Scaling Impact and Future Directions
Relevant Links
- Criterion Institute website and LinkedIn
- Joy’s LinkedIn
- Giselle Carino, CEO, Fòs Feminista
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/giselle-carino-937285102
- Meradith Leebrick, Lead, Social Innovation & Financing, Fòs Feminista
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/meradith
Mentioned in this Episode
- Fòs Feminista
- INNOVA Health Supplies
- Feminist Impact Fund (Fòs Feminista)
Dive Deeper
- Introducing Standards of Practice for Gender Lens Investing
- Process Metrics that Analyze Power Dynamics in Investing
- Disrupting Fields: Addressing Power Dynamics in the Fields of Climate Finance and Gender Lens Investing
- Fostering a Feminist Financial Imagination
Other episodes you might also like:
#74: No Permission Required: Volunteerism as a Power Shift
#72: From Add-on to Operating System: Rethinking the Role of Services in Local Value Creation
#73: Search Funds Reframed: Expanding Access to Business Ownership
#20: Shifting Power in Investment Practice: The Costs of Doing Business
Part of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network
https://impactalpha.com/podcasts
View all episodes
By Joy Anderson#77: Strength Is the Strategy: A Conversation on Movement‑Led Finance
What happens when feminist movements stop asking permission—and start acting as asset owners?
In this episode, Joy Anderson is joined by Giselle Carino and Meradith Leebrick of Fòs Feminista to explore how movement‑led organizations are building financial tools, institutions, and enterprises that sustain reproductive justice over the long term.
In this conversation, they reflect on why organizational strength (governance, reserves, and financial discipline) is not separate from movement work but essential to it; how Fòs Feminista was deliberately designed by and for organizations in the Global South; and what it looks like to act as a financial intermediary without training wheels. They trace Fòs Feminista’s long history with innovative finance, dig into the creation and scaling of INNOVA Health Supplies as a feminist social enterprise, and challenge conventional assumptions about risk, collateral, and repayment, arguing instead for designing capital that matches the realities, time horizons, and power dynamics of real change.
Episode Highlights
00:00 - Introduction to Fòs Feminista and Its Mission
02:50 The Concept of 'Fòs' and Its Origins
05:40 Building a Strong Ecosystem for Reproductive Justice
08:01 Organizational Stability and Movement Leadership
14:18 Innovative Finance Strategies in Reproductive Health
17:33 Collaborative Solutions for Sexual and Reproductive Health
22:15 Acting as Asset Owners in the Movement
30:11 Scaling Impact and Future Directions
Relevant Links
- Criterion Institute website and LinkedIn
- Joy’s LinkedIn
- Giselle Carino, CEO, Fòs Feminista
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/giselle-carino-937285102
- Meradith Leebrick, Lead, Social Innovation & Financing, Fòs Feminista
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/meradith
Mentioned in this Episode
- Fòs Feminista
- INNOVA Health Supplies
- Feminist Impact Fund (Fòs Feminista)
Dive Deeper
- Introducing Standards of Practice for Gender Lens Investing
- Process Metrics that Analyze Power Dynamics in Investing
- Disrupting Fields: Addressing Power Dynamics in the Fields of Climate Finance and Gender Lens Investing
- Fostering a Feminist Financial Imagination
Other episodes you might also like:
#74: No Permission Required: Volunteerism as a Power Shift
#72: From Add-on to Operating System: Rethinking the Role of Services in Local Value Creation
#73: Search Funds Reframed: Expanding Access to Business Ownership
#20: Shifting Power in Investment Practice: The Costs of Doing Business
Part of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network
https://impactalpha.com/podcasts