Private Capital Mobilization in Infrastructure Investment

Recommendations

Invest in gender equality

• The G7 should empower development finance institutions (DFIs) with additional concessional capital aimed at crowding in private investment in gender-equitable infrastructure. Matching funds with concessional finance can de-risk investments while incentivizing gender inclusion across project structures, supply chains, and procurement. The G7 should set specific benchmarks for private capital mobilization and pair investors with expert partners to support gender data collection and integration.

• The G7 should scale up successful blended finance mechanisms like the Equality Fund that embed gender-lens investing criteria and provide sustainable funding for women’s rights organizations. The G7 should increase contributions, build on initial funding from Canada and the United Kingdom, and include crowd-in obligations for private capital.

• G7 governments should promote the development of gender-lens infrastructure bonds by offering tax incentives, partial risk guarantees, or credit enhancements for projects that generate measurable gender equality outcomes. The G7 should launch a G7-backed gender equality bond initiative in partnership with multilateral development banks (MDBs) and institutional investors.

• The G7 should tie infrastructure project financing to inclusive procurement policies that prioritize women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in construction, operations, and maintenance supply chains. G7 development agencies could require subcontracting targets or offer technical assistance programs to women-owned SMEs.

Increase accountability

• G7-supported infrastructure funds and blended finance vehicles should adopt and enforce gender-responsive investment standards that respect human rights and uphold environmental standards. This requires gender impact assessments, inclusive governance structures, gender-disaggregated monitoring, and measurable targets for women’s participation and benefit. The G7 should expand the 2X Challenge framework to infrastructure-focused funds, with G7 DFIs leading adoption and enforcement.

• The G7 should invest in the collection, analysis, and use of sex and/or gender-disaggregated data to inform infrastructure planning, financing, and evaluation. The G7 should institutionalize gender-based analysis as part of sectoral and project assessments and accountability standards.

  • Establish a G7 gender data fund to support developers and governments in gender-inclusive data collection.

  • Mandate gender impact assessments in all strategic environmental assessments and all phases of infrastructure projects.

  • Promote standardized gender data metrics across G7 countries and DFIs.

  • Utilize databases like that of the Global Emerging Markets Risk Database Consortium to assess gender risks and benefits.

  • Build capacity in partner countries to leverage gender-responsive data.

• The G7 should create a gender-smart multilateral certification system—like Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE)—for infrastructure that incentivizes private developers to meet high standards in gender inclusion through a G7–MDB partnership and pilot with major infrastructure projects in G7 member countries.

• The Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) progress report should include gender equality outcomes as a core performance indicator. The G7 should incorporate gender metrics in PGII reporting frameworks and use the findings to set future G7 investment priorities.

Rationale

Investing in gender equality and increasing accountability is crucial because it addresses systemic barriers faced by women entrepreneurs and ensures that infrastructure projects cater to women’s needs. Men manage 90% of investments.² However, nearly all investors in women-led businesses feel their expectations are being met or surpassed: 90% for financial performance and 97% for impact performance.³ Integrating gender-responsive criteria and requiring recipients to build gender knowledge and collect benchmarking data can drive systemic change and create more-inclusive economies.

Concessional capital can catalyze private investment in high-impact gender-sensitive projects, while bonds with gender criteria can mobilize institutional capital effectively. The Equality Fund’s success with feminist finance models demonstrates strong social and economic returns, and scaling these efforts will expand their reach and impact.

Transparency and data-driven reporting on gender equity will improve accountability and inform future infrastructure investments, ensuring smarter investments and greater equity.

Finally, gender-equitable infrastructure can empower communities by improving access to jobs, education, health care, safety, and digital connectivity, areas in which women remain underrepresented in infrastructure planning, underserved by infrastructure outcomes, and under-capitalized as entrepreneurs and leaders.

Footnotes

[1] International Finance Corporation. (2017)

[2] Market Watch. (2018)

[3] Gender Lens Investing. (2024)