Categories
Catalyst Capital & Community Impact

iGravity

iGravity logo FTT

Through mandates and investment facilities including Balim Investments, the Refugee Investment Facility (RIF), and the Impact-Linked Finance Fund (ILFF), iGravity supports SMEs and entrepreneurs, particularly across emerging markets, through tailored financing approaches designed to strengthen business growth, resilience, and long-term impact. Across several of these mandates, gender inclusion remains an important investment lens, with dedicated efforts to support women entrepreneurs and enterprises creating positive outcomes for women and underserved communities.


iGravity aligns the funding and initiatives with broader societal impact by anchoring every mandate and investment decision in clearly defined impact themes and translating those themes into measurable outcomes and metrics. This approach helps mobilize capital toward inclusive entrepreneurship and sustainable growth in emerging economies, while strengthening accountability and transparency around the real-world results achieved.


iGravity implements a “2X Challenge criteria” into the investment decisions: this makes gender a shared business question rather than a “women’s topic”; concretely, when screening deals against 2X criteria (women in leadership, workforce composition, products/services benefiting women), the investment team engages directly with founders to understand how these factors contribute to stronger, more inclusive, and resilient businesses.

About iGravity AG

iGravity is an impact investment management and advisory firm specializing in SME finance through private debt in emerging markets. We design and manage blended investment solutions that support local enterprises, delivering sound financial returns and tangible impact for both institutional investors and philanthropic partners.

Categories
Inclusive Decision Making & Value Chain

International Trade Center

ITC logo

The SheTrades Initiative is ITC’s flagship women and trade programme. Since 2015, ITC SheTrades has worked in 94 countries and supported over 100,000 women producers and entrepreneurs. It works to remove the structural barriers that prevent women from competing in public and private markets through procurement reform, supplier development partnerships, and policy change. Its Supplier Diversity Toolkit helps companies identify, assess, and source from women-led suppliers. ITC co-convened more than 300 partners to establish internationally harmonised definitions for women-led businesses under ISO International Workshop Agreement (IWA) 34.

A common vocabulary allows institutions to identify, define, and develop programmes that target women-led businesses, and makes data more comparable across countries and organisations.

About International Trade Center (ITC)

The International Trade Centre (ITC) is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. Established in 1964, it is the only international development agency dedicated entirely to helping small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries become more competitive, grow, and participate in international trade. ITC works with governments, business support organisations, and the private sector on trade competitiveness, market access, and the policy conditions that allow smaller businesses to trade and grow.

Categories
Organizational Culture

IKEA AG

Ikea logo BP

The company’s long-term work on gender equality, equal pay, inclusive parental leave, balanced representation, and flexible work models earned the company a very positive employee satisfaction rate, especially pointing out the company culture. In addition, the advocacy for equal rights and fair opportunities for all co‑workers reflects the alignment with Sustainable Development Goals.
Gender equality is embedded through balanced leadership teams, inclusive policies, equal pay, and regular gender metrics follow-ups, including bi-yearly Diversity & Inclusive surveys, and annual pay analyses.


IKEA reduces bias through diverse leaders championing equality and being convinced that a diverse and gender equal team brings value. IKEA holds five EDGE certifications, with four of them being Lead, the highest certification level; however, the careful rollout of the initiatives fostering equality and fairness results in a lived organisational culture that speaks more than certification and awards.
IKEA co‑founded Advance, advocated nationally for paternity leave in 2019 and marriage equality in 2021, and shares best practices in multiple forums to drive gender equality.

About IKEA

IKEA is a global corporation known for designing and selling affordable, ready-to-assemble furniture, home accessories, and kitchen appliances. Founded in Sweden, it combines minimalist Scandinavian design with cost-efficient production to make stylish home furnishings accessible to a wide audience. Its large warehouse-style stores and self-service model are a distinctive part of the shopping experience, often paired with curated room displays.