Lilian Mramba is Regional Director, Africa at Grassroots Business Fund, where she manages the investment portfolio, business advisory, and impact measurement activities. She spoke to us about the gender finance challenges and opportunities on the continent in the wake of COVID, and the need for more rigorous analysis to prevent ‘genderwashing’.

Women of colour are the fastest growing entrepreneurial demographic in the U.S., and key to an inclusive recovery, but they face considerable barriers to capital - including perceptions of risk from lenders. New findings from a multi-year research programme suggest they are not riskier borrowers, writes CNote’s Danielle M. Burns; it’s time to invest in them through CDFIs and counteract biased lending practices.

The constraints imposed by the COVID pandemic have made it difficult to get capital to those who need it most. But several in the gender-smart community and beyond are exploring ways of keeping finance flowing through COVID, by leveraging virtual tools and global networks.

We speak to Ruth Shaber MD, founder and president of Tara Health Foundation, and co-founder of Rhia Ventures about the ongoing importance of access to reproductive health in the United States, and the ways in which private investment has responded to protect this access in the wake of the pandemic.