Viability of Gender Bonds in SSA

The report examines the nascent gender bond market, which as of March 2020 consisted of 13 issued bonds. It identifies a lack of universal standards, with most issuers relying on the Social Bond Principles or UN Sustainable Development Goals. The analysis categorises gender bonds into 'corporate behaviour' and 'financial inclusion' types, noting a significant gap in bonds funding products and services that directly benefit women. In sub-Saharan Africa, the report finds that while there is interest in gender lens investing, no gender bonds have been issued. South Africa is identified as the most viable market for commercial issuance due to a receptive investor base, while Kenya and Nigeria face challenges related to conservative institutional investors and debt capital market instability.

• As of March 2020, only 13 gender-labelled bonds have been issued globally, and the market lacks a universal definition or dedicated guidance principles.
• Gender bonds are primarily divided into 'corporate behaviour' bonds, which reward internal gender equality policies in the Global North, and 'financial inclusion' bonds, which focus on closing the financing gap for women in emerging and frontier markets.
• The current gender bond market is dominated by on-lending to female-owned SMEs and corporate behaviour, leaving a gap in the funding of products and services that disproportionately benefit women, such as menstrual hygiene and maternal healthcare.
• There is a significant lack of transparency and evidence regarding the 'additionality' of gender bonds, with many only measuring 'loans disbursed' rather than long-term impacts on women's lives.
• No gender bonds have been issued in sub-Saharan Africa to date, and institutional investors in the region are generally conservative, treating thematic bonds as vanilla bonds without providing premiums for impact.
• South Africa is considered the most viable location for a commercial gender bond issuance in the short term due to an investor base sensitised to social issues.
• A gender bond issuance in Kenya would likely require concessional support from development finance institutions because local debt capital markets have been stagnant since 2017 and investors have high coupon expectations.
• Nigeria has a strong gender lens investing sector focused on private equity and venture capital, but lacks significant investor interest in themed listed debt.
• To make gender bonds viable in sub-Saharan Africa, the report recommends that FSD Africa provide technical assistance for framework development and potentially anchor investments to reduce issuer risk.

APA

De Battista, G., Bukuru, M., Musili, D., Oyofo, I., & Calder, R. (2020). Viability of Gender Bonds in SSA. FSD Africa. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/20-09-22-Gender-Bonds-Report_AK.pdf

Chicago

De Battista, Gaia, Melissa Bukuru, Daniel Musili, Ighosime Oyofo, and Rebecca Calder. Viability of Gender Bonds in SSA. FSD Africa, 2020. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/20-09-22-Gender-Bonds-Report_AK.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=De Battista |first1=Gaia |last2=Bukuru |first2=Melissa |last3=Musili |first3=Daniel |last4=Oyofo |first4=Ighosime |last5=Calder |first5=Rebecca |title=Viability of Gender Bonds in SSA |publisher=FSD Africa |date=August 2020 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/20-09-22-Gender-Bonds-Report_AK.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{debattista2020viability, author = {De Battista, Gaia and Bukuru, Melissa and Musili, Daniel and Oyofo, Ighosime and Calder, Rebecca}, title = {{Viability of Gender Bonds in SSA}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2020}, month = aug, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/20-09-22-Gender-Bonds-Report_AK.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }