Proparco is the French development finance institution, committed to reducing gender inequalities and supporting women’s socio-economic empowerment. This commitment is formalised in Proparco’s 2023-2027 Strategy as part of its third strategic impact pillar, with a target for at least 25% of all new investments to qualify under the 2X Challenge.
Between January and November of 2024, Kore Global conducted a theory-based evaluation to better understand the development impacts for women of Proparco’s investments meeting the 2X ‘Employment’ criteria. The overall purpose of the evaluation was to generate robust evidence on how their investments have contributed to development outcomes for women and in order to inform refinements to Proparco’s approach to gender-smart investing.
Over a period of 11 months, we:
- Refined a theory of change for how Proparco’s investments in companies, banks, MFIs and funds with gender-diverse employment were expected to contribute to development outcomes for women as employees, leaders, suppliers, consumers, and entrepreneurs.
- Applied a mixed-method approach, including desk-based review and key informant interviews with 27 clients and partners to explore the portfolio’s gender-related outcomes and impact.
- Developed four in-depth case studies that explore Proparco clients’ gender-related journeys.
- Produced a final evaluation report and summary report including actionable recommendations for Proparco, with relevance to other DFIs.
- Disseminated findings with Proparco staff, clients / partners.
