Greetings, all. I’d like to start by thanking sincerely panelists Boots, Su-Mei,  Leena, and Shalaka for helping us to better understand how investors, women entrepreneurs, women’s rights activists, and development practitioners are engaging in the field of gender lens investing in Asia.  They’ve helped us to better appreciate how important it is to link gender expertise with philanthropic, investment, and government funding, for the greater social good.

I read an article recently in the New York Times by Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer, who in her bestselling book calls on women to “lean in” at work and embrace the will to lead.  She’s also calling for a new way to advocate for gender parity.  She writes: “We need to go further and articulate why equality is not just the right thing to do for women but the desirable thing for us all.”

Today we heard about the high growth opportunities there are to invest in women entrepreneurs in the Philippines and in ASEAN, with links to regional economic growth; we learned about investments in businesses that address social impact for Indian women and girls, and what that means for overall indicators of a healthy or climate resilient community; we heard how finance can be a tool for social change; and we learned more about how investors are viewing opportunities for gender lens investing in Asia.  As a group of trendsetters, I’m struck by how much what you are already doing exactly mirrors Sheryl Sandberg’s call to action.

At USAID, we are working to advance gender equality and female empowerment as smart development – smart social outcomes that benefit all, regardless of the sector we’re working in.  We engaged in this activity to map the field of actors, and identify specific opportunities to advance gender lens investing, because we knew there were many others who share this same commitment for equality, empowerment and inclusive social growth.

And today, I am pleased to announce a partnership between USAID’s Regional Development Mission for Asia and our USAID colleagues in Washington – specifically the U.S. Global Development Lab, the Office of the Senior Gender Coordinator, and the Asia Bureau –to help us bring forward evidence of how investments by women, to women, and for women and girls will generate beneficial social impacts -- along with good financial returns to investors.

Under a new $400,000 investment, USAID will partner with Asian and U.S.-based organizations to identify key data gaps in some of the opportunities highlighted today, such as investing in women entrepreneurs in ASEAN, or investments in Indian women and girls’ impact businesses. Through additional analysis, we can better understand the long-term impacts of investments on both investors and society – and with that understanding, can work smarter, moving forward. 

We hope the results of this analysis will attract more investors to take the gender lens approach in their investment strategies.  We also hope it will be an invitation for experts in gender equality and women’s empowerment to firmly “lean in” to the world of finance.

I agree with Kristina Kvien, our Deputy Chief of Mission, in offering my deep appreciation for your interest and participation in this effort.  USAID is honored to partner with such a talented group with such broad expertise, and we look forward to continued success as we collectively work to advance gender lens investing in Asia – to benefit more people who need it most, as quickly and as efficiently as we can.

Thank you.