About Us
ABOUT ASIA WOMEN IMPACT FUND (AWIF)
The Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) is a Japanese private foundation established in 1986 with an endowment from the Nippon Foundation to enhance international cooperation. After merging with the Ocean Policy Research Foundation in 2015, SPF has set its focus on five key areas: to address a variety of societal challenges that fast-emerging Asian countries currently face, to stimulate greater socioeconomic progress through women's empowerment, to promote understanding and strengthen relationships with Muslim-majority countries, to further strengthen Japan-U.S. relations and, lastly, to develop programs to promote the long-term sustainability of the world's oceans. In 2017, SPF created the Asia Women Impact Fund, an initiative to invest up to 100 million USD to support women's economic empowerment and gender equality.
WHY DO WE SUPPORT WOMEN
WOMEN'S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
BENEFITS US ALL
Studies by McKinsey, the UN and APEC show that
Increased gender parity in the workforce can add ~28 trillion USD to global GDP by 2025. --McKinsey
Women re-invest more of their income in their households, multiplying impact locally. --UN
Southeast Asian female business owners hire 17% more female employees than male owners, creating trickle-down impact. --APEC
WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT IS NOT ONLY THE RIGHT INVESTMENT, IT IS THE SMART INVESTMENT
Research from CTI, The World Bank and Deloitte show that
For companies tasked with understanding female consumers, having women among the firm's innovators improves the likelihood of success by 144%. --CTI
Women are a reliable investment, with a lower average default rate with microfinance institutions than men. --World Bank
Fortune 500 companies in the top quartile for female board-level representation enjoy 53% higher return on equity than those in the lowest quartile. --Deloitte
HOW DO WE INVEST IN WOMEN
Generate financial returns and improve outcomes for women
Over the next few years, AWIF will invest about 100 million USD of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation's endowment in opportunities that both improve gender outcomes for women and generate competitive financial returns.
Develop an ecosystem for gender lens investing
AWIF will raise awareness of how gender impact metrics can be applied throughout the investment process, develop women-focused investment pipelines and convene collaborative forums for gender lens investment practitioners.
BE A
DRIVING FORCE
FOR WOMEN
Collective action has the power to accelerate the advancement of women’s economic empowerment and gender equality across Asia. We are actively seeking innovative solutions and models, knowledge sharing opportunities and partnerships with like-minded leaders.
Please contact us at awif@spf.or.jp to learn more and explore opportunities.