What does it mean to build a gender-smart investment fund in East Africa, and what makes it work? In this episode, Carolyne Kirabo, an investor based out of Uganda and the founder of M-Kyala Ventures, is transforming how capital flows to women-led businesses across East Africa. From funding a plastic recycling business to supporting a million-dollar eco-footwear brand, Carolyne shares what’s working and what’s not in inclusive finance. We dive into why many women don’t get funded, and why funders need to change how they show up. Carolyne talks about the gap between women’s repayment behavior (much better than some may think) and their access to capital, and how she’s bridging the gaps. If you’ve ever wondered how to move beyond good intentions to real outcomes in gender lens investing, this conversation is for you. And it’s a call for all of us to always start with listening deeply to women’s needs and experiences.

Please review the episode, share your feedback, and subscribe to the podcast!

You can also:

• Visit our website: womenchangingfinance.org
• Read Carolyne's full bio
• Follow Carolyne on LinkedIn

To go further, here are some of the references mentioned during the episode:

• Gender Action Collective https://mkyalaventures.com/service/convening-for-collective-impact/
• M-Kyala 5 Year Impact Report https://mkyalaventures.com/2025/10/16/m-kyala-impact-report-celebrating-five-years-of-walking-with-women-entrepreneurs/
• Gender Smart Lending Toolkit https://www.gslafrica.org/our-drivers
• Shona Group – https://shonacapital.co/
• FindingXY – https://findingxy.com/
• Helton Traders – https://heltontraders.com/
• Uzuri K&Y – https://www.uzuriky.com/
• Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) – https://www.andeglobal.org
• The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

Women Changing Finance is part of the Impact Alpha Podcast Network.

Can companies save the world? In this episode, Alison Taylor, author of Higher Ground and Clinical Associate Professor at NYU Stern School of Business, shares thought-provoking views. She brings two decades of experience consulting with multinational companies on sustainability, culture, stakeholder engagement, and political risk. Together, we explore how corporate responsibility has evolved, why reputational risk is not the same as trust, and what needs to change in how we hold businesses accountable. Alison challenges the myth that companies can solve every global issue. Instead, she urges us to go back to basics and ensure that "do no harm" principles actually translate into reality. Clean up your own house. Be honest and transparent about trade-offs. We also talk about the global disconnect between ESG promises and everyday realities, especially in emerging markets, and the importance of centering voices from those markets in decision-making. This is a conversation for anyone who has ever felt disillusioned by corporate sustainability and still wants to believe change is possible.

Please review the episode, share your feedback, and subscribe to the podcast!

You can also:

• Visit our website: womenchangingfinance.org
• Read Alison's full bio
• Follow Alison on LinkedIn

To go further, here are some of the references mentioned during the episode:

• Higher Ground (book by Alison Taylor): https://www.alisontaylor.co/higher-ground
• NYU Stern School of Business: https://www.stern.nyu.edu
• Ethical Systems: https://www.ethicalsystems.org
• Transparency International: https://www.transparency.org
• CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project): https://www.cdp.net
• Edelman Trust Barometer: https://www.edelman.com/trust-barometer
• Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment: https://ccsi.columbia.edu
• Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL): https://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk
• We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite, by  Musa al-Gharbi: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691232607/we-have-never-been-woke?srsltid=AfmBOopG6upUXUne1RaD75_oh9ESQ1rasEqDWDR_0xLQswWTzFF9GkAF 

In this episode, Connie Connolly, impact lawyer, co-founder of Keidos Impacto Legal, and former president of the Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers (GAIL), shares how lawyers are key actors for change across Latin America and beyond. From pioneering social impact bonds in Buenos Aires to helping NGOs and SMEs tap into capital markets, Connie brings concrete examples of what’s possible even in challenging political and economic environments. She unpacks the role of legal innovation in shaping purpose-driven enterprises, and why strong, values-based governance is core to driving change. More than a lawyer, Connie is a movement-builder. Her passion shines through as she talks about teaching the next generation of impact lawyers and the systemic legal reforms needed to enable inclusive, sustainable economies. This episode shows how law is an essential part of driving finance as a force for good and how lawyers, when guided by impact, can help unlock transformational change.

Please review the episode, share your feedback, and subscribe to the podcast!

You can also:

• Visit our website: womenchangingfinance.org
• Read Connie's full bio
• Follow Connie on LinkedIn

To go further, here are some of the references mentioned during the episode:

• Keidos Impacto Legal: https://www.somoskeidos.com
• Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers (GAIL): https://gailnet.org
• Sumatoria: https://www.fondo.sumatoria.org
• Pro Mujer: https://promujer.org
• UN Global Compact: https://www.unglobalcompact.org
• IDB (Inter-American Development Bank): https://www.iadb.org
• IFC (International Finance Corporation): https://www.ifc.org
• World Bank: https://www.worldbank.org
• Sistema B: https://www.sistemab.org/en
• Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship: https://www.law.nyu.edu/centers/grunin-social-entrepreneurship
• Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, by Greg McKeown https://gregmckeown.com/books/essentialism/

In this episode, Lisa Hehenberger, Director of ESADE Business School’s Center for Social Impact, and a leading voice in Europe’s impact ecosystem, shares her reflections about trends and tensions shaping the sector today. We explore how impact investing is evolving across Europe: from measurement and governance, to the shifting expectations of funders, investors, and social entrepreneurs. Lisa brings deep experience thanks to her journey bridging the worlds of academia and practice, and offers practical guidance on impact measurement: how to start small, why having a theory of change still matters, and how investors can avoid overburdening their investees with reporting. This episode looks at why Europe’s impact ecosystem is one of the most developed today, and what still remains to be done.

Please review the episode, share your feedback, and subscribe to the podcast!

You can also:

• Visit our website: womenchangingfinance.org
• Read Lisa's full bio
• Follow Lisa on LinkedIn

To go further, here are some of the references mentioned during the episode:

• European Investment Fund (EIF) — https://www.eif.org/
• ESADE Business School — https://www.esade.edu/ 
• ESADE Center for Social Impact — https://www.esade.edu/faculty-research/en/esade-center-social-impact
• Impact Europe (formerly EVPA) — https://www.impacteurope.net/
• Rubio Impact Ventures — https://www.rubio.vc/
• Ship2B Foundation — https://www.ship2b.org/
• Qida — https://www.qida.es/
• Suma Capital — https://sumacapital.com/en/
• Impact Shakers — https://www.impactshakers.com/
• Who's Afraid of Gender? by Judith Butler - https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/452776/whos-afraid-of-gender-by-butler-judith/9781802061062

In this episode, we learn from indigenous wisdom what it really means to build a financial system that honours people and planet. 

Fonteyn Moses-Te Kani, Poutiaki Director of Maori Strategy and Indigenous Inclusion at Westpac New Zealand, brings a systems-thinking lens to the world of finance, drawing from her lived experience as an Indigenous woman and a change leader working across banking, government, and community in New Zealand.

We talk about carbon trading that protects native forests, the power of Indigenous-led investing, and why decision-making must start with trust and humility. Fonteyn’s perspective on sustainable finance is grounded in indigenous practices, while bringing to life concrete financial innovations that support collective stewardship for our planet and people. She reminds us that finance is not just about transactions, but about relationships, and that community-led solutions are often the most enduring.

This is an incredibly inspiring conversation about how we reimagine financial tools as pathways for collective healing and future-building, showing us that it can be done.

Please review the episode, share your feedback, and subscribe to the podcast!

You can also:

• Visit our website: womenchangingfinance.org
• Follow Fonteyn on LinkedIn

To go further, here are some of the references mentioned during the episode:

• Carol Sanford https://carolsanford.com/ 

In this episode, Jessica Espinoza, CEO of 2X Global, shares how gender lens investing is transforming the financial system, from grassroots women entrepreneurs to global capital markets. Jessica shares the story behind the 2X Challenge, which has already mobilised $34+ billion in gender-smart investments, supporting women around the world. She explains how 2X Global is setting global standards and launching a certification, while also creating new tools like warehouse capital to back women fund managers, helping them demonstrate their investment strategy and track record. You’ll hear practical examples of how gender and climate action intersect, why investing in women leads to better outcomes for everyone, and how financial tools can be reimagined to unlock systemic change. This is a conversation about how women around the world are using finance to shift power, opportunity, and possibility.

Please review the episode, share your feedback, and subscribe to the podcast!

You can also:

• Visit our website: womenchangingfinance.org
• Follow Jessica on LinkedIn

To go further, here are some of the references mentioned during the episode:

• GenderSmart — https://www.gendersmartinvesting.org/
• The Rallying Cry — https://therallyingcry.org/
• Ashoka — https://www.ashoka.org/
• ImpactAlpha — https://impactalpha.com/
• Criterion Institute — https://www.criterioninstitute.org/
• GSG Impact - https://www.gsgimpact.org/
• AVPN -  https://avpn.asia/ 
• Latimpacto — https://latimpacto.org

In this episode, Reema Nanavaty, Director of the Self-Employed Women’s Association of India (SEWA), shares the incredible power of joining forces to improve lives. Under Reema’s leadership, SEWA has grown into the largest union of informal women workers in India, now uniting more than 3.2 million members. Together, they are transforming finance into a tool for dignity and self-reliance. In our conversation, Reema shares how women workers, once excluded from banks and the financial system, built their own cooperative bank, designed financial products for their daily realities, and pioneered innovations like doorstep banking, micro-pensions, and even climate insurance for extreme heat. She describes SEWA as a banyan tree: its trunk the union, its branches the women-owned enterprises, and its leaves the millions of women who stand strong together against poverty. We explore what the world can learn from SEWA’s model: that the poor are creditworthy, that women’s collective power can build resilient communities, and that finance must nurture people, not just profits. Reema’s vision is bold, hopeful, and deeply practical. This is an episode for anyone seeking to understand how finance can truly serve humanity.

Please review the episode, share your feedback, and subscribe to the podcast!

You can also:

• Visit our website: womenchangingfinance.org
• Read Reema's full bio

To go further, here are some of the references mentioned during the episode:

• "We are poor but we are so many", Ela R. Bhatt 
• "Anubandh - Building Hundred-Mile Communities", Ela R. Bhatt
• "Women Work and Peace", Ela R. Bhatt
  All on https://www.sewa.org/publications/books/ 

In this episode, Fran Seegull, President of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and Executive Director of the Tipping Point Fund, shares her analysis and optimism about the future of finance. In this rich conversation, Fran traces the evolution of the impact investing movement in the U.S., from its historical roots to today’s multi-trillion-dollar global ecosystem. She shares her analysis about its politicization and market uncertainty. Fran explains why impact investing is no longer niche, how policy is a powerful lever for collective action even in times of backlash, and how protecting the “freedom to invest” is key for these troubled times. She also introduces system-level investing, a new, exciting lens for investors to steward entire sectors like climate or housing towards fundamental transformations. Fran also reflects on what it means to lead with courage and care in a divided world, and why peer mentorship, self-acceptance, and staying present are as important as policy and advocacy. This episode is a must-listen for anyone navigating the crossroads between finance, policy, and purpose.

Please review the episode, share your feedback, and subscribe to the podcast!

You can also:

• Visit our website: womenchangingfinance.org
• Read Fran's full bio
• Follow Fran on LinkedIn

To go further, here are some of the references mentioned during the episode:

• The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance https://impinvalliance.org/
• Coalition on Inclusive Economic Growth https://impinvalliance.org/inclusive-economic-growth
• The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) https://thegiin.org/
• IFRS ISSB https://www.ifrs.org/groups/international-sustainability-standards-board/
• Rockefeller Brothers Fund (divestment) https://www.rbf.org/news/10th-anniversary-rbfs-divestment-fossil-fuels
• TWIST https://www.wearetwist.org/
• Transcap https://www.transformation.capital/
• Lafayette Square Institute https://www.lafayettesquareinstitute.org/
• Ownership Works https://ownershipworks.org/
• The American Ownership and Resilience Act (AORA) https://impinvalliance.org/news-updates/2025/5/20/us-impact-investing-alliance-endorses-bipartisan-legislation-to-advance-employee-ownership
• Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory, Investing That Matters, By Jon Lukomnik, James P. Hawley 
• Jennifer Pryce, President and CEO, Calvert Impact, Market Shaping Strategy for the Future: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jennifer-pryce-71456936_calvert-impacts-market-shaping-strategy-activity-7328797388398075908-Twrm/
• Financing the Ramp, Not the Road, by Antony Bugg-Levine https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/financing-ramp-road-antony-bugg-levine-wcg8e/

In this episode, Krisztina speaks with Andrea Webster, Head of Financial System Transformation at the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA). With 25 years of experience in finance, Andrea brings a rare insider’s perspective to reshaping the rules of the game. At WBA, Andrea leads the effort to assess and rank 400 of the world’s most influential financial institutions — including banks, pension funds, asset managers, insurers and development banks — based on how they perform across sustainability issues like climate, nature, human rights, governance, and ethics. The goal? To build transparency, alignment, and accountability across the system, and to push financial institutions to improve through peer pressure. Andrea explains why African financial institutions score highest on social impact, how regulation drives progress on human rights, and what bold leadership looks like in finance today. She also reflects on her own unconventional journey, from leaving school at 16 to becoming a global change agent. It’s an honest, grounded, and hopeful conversation about how finance can evolve, thanks to the power of data, partnerships, and purpose to drive that change.

Please review the episode, share your feedback and subscribe to the podcast!

You can also:

• Visit our website: womenchangingfinance.org
• Read Andrea's full bio
• Follow Andrea on LinkedIn

To go further here are some of the references mentioned during the episode:

• WBA Financial System Benchmark https://www.worldbenchmarkingalliance.org/publication/financial-system/
• Tove Jansson, The Summer Book https://tovejansson.com/book/summer-book/

In this episode of Women Changing Finance, Yijing Wang, founding partner of 2060 Advisory, a pioneering impact investing firm based in Shanghai, explains how China’s social and environmental entrepreneurs are building new solutions. We explore what’s happening on the ground in China: artisan cooperatives that support vulnerable women, inclusive tech startups, and climate ventures creating low-carbon concrete and plastic alternatives. These are powerful innovations, yet many global investors overlook China’s potential in solving urgent global challenges. Yijing shares what it means to work in this gap: building trust between local changemakers and capital providers, navigating a fragmented funding landscape, and pushing for stronger collaboration despite geopolitical headwinds. She also explains how 2060 Advisory is helping translate between sectors and align finance with sustainability goals that matter at the local level. This conversation is a rare window into China’s impact space, and a reminder that systems change is happening in many languages, and led by women everywhere.

Please review the episode, share your feedback and subscribe to the podcast!

You can also:

• Visit our website: womenchangingfinance.org
• Follow Yijing on LinkedIn

To go further here are some of the references mentioned during the episode:

• 2060 Advisory https://www.2060advisory.com/
• China Alliance of Social Value Investment (CASVI) https://www.casvi.org/en/
• British Council, Social Enterprise Programme in China https://www.britishcouncil.cn/en/uk-china-social-enterprise-social-investment-partners
• Impact Management Platform (IMP) https://impactmanagementplatform.org/
• IRIS+ by the GIIN https://iris.thegiin.org/
• UNDP China https://www.undp.org/china/sdg-finance
• Yijing Wang was awarded the 2023 British Council Business and Innovation Award https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/2023/how-award-winning-cambridge-graduate-is-changing-impact-investment-in-china/