Investing in Gender and Nature: Opportunities for DFIs and MDBs

This action brief by the Climate Policy Initiative outlines opportunities for development finance institutions (DFIs) and multilateral development banks (MDBs) to integrate a dual gender-nature lens into their investment processes to support biodiversity goals and gender equality.

• DFIs and MDBs can mainstream a dual gender-nature lens by integrating the 2X Criteria for gender-lens investing and the World Bank Nature Finance Tracking Methodology across the investment lifecycle. This includes applying the dual lens during deal origination through specialist collaboration, using these frameworks during due diligence, and systematically collecting gender-disaggregated data during portfolio management.
• Innovative financial mechanisms can be used to align institutional incentives with gender and nature objectives. Examples include impact-linked structures with interest rate adjustments based on nature-related disclosures or gender composition of senior management. Specific instances include a USD 160 million blue loan to Produbanco in Ecuador in 2023 for SMEs including women-owned enterprises, the African Forestry Impact Platform, and sovereign-guaranteed climate resilience debt swaps in Barbados.
• Expanding technical assistance (TA) can build investee capacity to meet both gender and nature goals. TA can support the development of biodiversity risk assessment tools, monitoring frameworks aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), and TNFD-aligned recommendations. Integrated TA can specifically develop gender indicators for monitoring biodiversity outcomes and include gender considerations in environmental and social safeguards.
• DFIs and MDBs are encouraged to use existing communities of practice and platforms to share case studies, methodologies, and lessons learned regarding investments that deliver joint gender and nature outcomes to accelerate collective learning.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2025). Investing in Gender and Nature: Opportunities for DFIs and MDBs. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Investing-in-Gender-and-Nature-action-brief.pdf

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Investing in Gender and Nature: Opportunities for DFIs and MDBs. 2025. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Investing-in-Gender-and-Nature-action-brief.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Investing in Gender and Nature: Opportunities for DFIs and MDBs |date=2025 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Investing-in-Gender-and-Nature-action-brief.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2025investing, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Investing in Gender and Nature: Opportunities for DFIs and MDBs}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2025}, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Investing-in-Gender-and-Nature-action-brief.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }