Contact us
“Empowering women-owned SMEs isn't just about gender equality; it's about strengthening the very backbone of our society. Together, we have the power to do it.”
THE FIRST
GLOBAL SME LENDING
FUND FOR WOMEN
Possessing valuable skills and education, women are crucial to the economy of the EU and globally, as they contribute significantly to the labour force and increasingly engage in entrepreneurship.
Significant efforts have been undertaken in the asset management industry regarding climate change; however, relatively little has been done to increase financing for women-owned small-medium enterprises (SMEs). Despite being a critical part of a healthy functioning society, women-led SMEs face substantial hurdles in access to the availability of funding.
Fasanara can strategically invest in loans directed towards women-owned SMEs and SMEs with substantial female representation in their ownership or control structure.
Fasanara is well positioned to use its network of fintech lending platforms to achieve scale and impact.
Fasanara is in the process of launching a strategy dedicated to empowering women through finance by getting working capital into the hands of SMEs.
.png)
Women
are essential for a
healthy society
The European Union has a score of 70.2 as of 2023 on the Gender Equality Index, which is an improvement from 68.6 in 2022. However, progress is still needed for the EU to achieve gender equality. Advancements in gender equality is largely driven by decision makers across the political, economic and social spheres, which is an area that still exhibits high level of gender inequality. Women still account for less than 50% of decision-making positions, therefore, improvements in this area are needed for the EU to eradicate gender inequality and create an equal environment for all.
1. Labour Force Participation
-
Women form a significant portion of the labour force in Europe
-
74% of males with a high education level were employed compared to 66% of females with the same educational achievements (Statista, 2024)
-
47% of women aged 25-34 had completed tertiary education vs 36% of men (Eurostat, 2021)
2. Economic Impact
-
Women's economic contribution in Europe is significant
-
Achieving gender parity in employment across all EU countries could add €3.15 trillion to GDP by 2030 (McKinsey & Company, 2020)
-
Women in the EU-27 spent twice as much time as men on unpaid care and household work, which isn’t factored into GDP (European Institute for Gender Equality, 2020)
3. Entrepreneurship
-
The proportion of women who are self-employed or business owners in the European Union increased from 10.8% in 2007 to 12.8% in 2020 (European Commission, 2020)
-
Women-led enterprises accounted for 36% of all enterprises in the EU (European Commission, 2020)
-
Women-led enterprises generated 13.3 million jobs in the EU in 2019 (European Commission, 2020)
TRACK RECORD
Founded in 2011, Fasanara Capital is a London-headquartered FCA-authorised investment firm and technology platform.
We manage c. USD 4 billion in Fintech strategies with over 200 people working together, we are a pioneer investor in Fintech Lending through our liquid Alternative Credit funds, enabling Real Economy Impact.
Powered by our technology platform with several fintech lenders fully integrated from over 60 countries, we are the largest and longest standing Fintech Lending fund in Europe.
$4bln
Asset Under Managment
2011
Year Founded
200+
Team Memebers
$70 bln
Cumulative Trading Volume*
141
Originators
Fasanara is well positioned to use its network of fintech lending platforms to achieve scale and impact.
*Lending turnover refers to the total amount of capital combined deployed by the funds managed by Fasanara Capital to SMEs globally since 2016. This includes the total value of loans originated, disbursed, and repaid since inception. It is not a measure of AUM.
Gender Diversity in Leadership
A net positive for all
Gender diversity in leadership is important for the economy as it results in better financial performance and brings assorted perspectives and decision-making styles.
Women continue to be underrepresented in leadership roles in Europe. The representation of women in corporate boards has been gradually increasing, but progress remains slow.
Companies with gender-diverse executive teams are 21% more likely to experience above-average profitability (McKinsey & Company, 2023).
As of 2023, the average share of women on corporate boards in the EU countries was 33% (European Institute for Gender Equality Index).
Percentage of firms with majority female ownership
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Global
East Asia & Pacific
Europe & Central Asia
Latin America & Caribbean
Middle East & North Africa
South Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Source: Gender Equality Index, 2021.
KEY FEATURES
Exceed the Target
The WFund proposes to meet this target for >40% female NEDs and exceed it for >33% female directors, in the target population of SMEs.
Innovative KPI
If KPIs are met Fasanara is paid both management and performance fees. If KPIs are not met, Fasanara is paid half of management and performance fees.
Investment Committee
The entirety of the Fund’s investment committee will be made up of women (consisting of senior women from Fasanara and other credible carefully vetted senior women).
Data Science Acceleration
Once all individual portfolio positions are evaluated, the score is calculated by the weighted average of the KPI scores of individual positions.
FASANARA TEAM WOMEN
We are a diverse and global community of independent thinkers and innovators. We are not afraid to challenge the status quo and question conventional wisdom. We are willing to take risks, experiment and iterate until we find the best solutions.
New
Advisory Board Member
ANITA BHATIA
Chairperson of the WFund Investment Committee
Most recently, Ms. Bhatia served as the United Nations’ Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director for UN Women, the flagship entity in the United Nations system charged with advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment globally. In that role, she led external stakeholder relations with both public and private sector partners, fundraising, communications, strategy planning, as well as finance and HR. In this role, she led the organisation’s fundraising efforts successfully securing a significant increase and diversification of the organisation’s funding base.
She also led the development of new strategic alliances with international financial institutions, impact investors, corporates, and others. She has been a leading advocate for a stronger focus on gender-lens investing and was instrumental in the publication of globally recognised standards for gender bonds through the publication “Bonds to Bridge the Gender Gap: A Practitioner’s Guide to Using Sustainable Debt for Gender Equality” in partnership with IFC and the International Capital Markets Association.
Ms. Bhatia has served as a member of the Board of Governors of the United Nations System Staff College and currently serves on the Board of the United Nations Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (SHF) and as a Commissioner in the Lancet Commission on Gender-based Violence and Maltreatment of Young People.
Prior to UN Women, Ms. Bhatia had a distinguished career spanning 30+ years in the World Bank Group, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) serving in different leadership and management positions. She served as the Director for Development Partner Relations at the World Bank, Director of Partnerships and Advisory Services Operations at the IFC and Head of IFC’s Latin America Advisory.
.png)
SDG 5 is essential for achieving sustainable development and progress in society. Gender equality furthers progress in multiple areas, including poverty reduction, economic growth, education and health. Fasanara's Women Empowerment Strategy contributes to the realisation of UN SDG 5 by bridging the gender investment gap and ensuring participation in leadership and decision-making of women across small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Women-led business on average receive less than half the funding that male-led businesses receive.
- Boston Consulting Group
40 New Bond Street
London W1S 2RX
All rights reserved © Fasanara Capital Ltd 2024