Women Changing Finance

Women are among those most affected by climate change. But what if we've been telling the wrong story? In this episode, Sana Kapadia, Chief Catalyst at Heading for Change, shares what she’s seeing in many countries: women are already creating many of the most innovative solutions to climate change. The real challenge is that climate finance hasn't caught up. Together, we explore what it really mea...

Brazil is becoming one of the most interesting places in the world for impact and climate finance. In this episode, Fernanda de Arruda Camargo, founding partner of Wright Capital Wealth Management shares her perspective on the country’s evolving ecosystem. With over three decades of experience in financial markets, Fernanda shares examples of how investors, regulators, development banks, and entre...

What does it take to finance a country's transition to a more sustainable economy? In this episode, Seçil Yıldız, Sustainability and Impact Leader at the Development and Investment Bank of Türkiye, speaks about the role development finance can play in accelerating environmental and social progress. Seçil shares how her team works at the intersection of finance, policy, and impact and how they help...

Why do less than 2% of investments go to female founders globally? And what are we missing because of it? In this episode, Tokunboh Ishmael, one of Africa’s leading voices in impact investing and gender lens finance, explores the realities of investing to improve lives across Africa. As co-founder of Alitheia Capital, managing over $250 million in assets, Tokunboh has spent nearly two decades inve...

What if financiers started thinking like finance ministers? In this episode of Women Changing Finance, Megumi Muto, Senior Managing Executive Officer and Deputy Group Chief Sustainability Officer at Mizuho Financial Group describes what it means to integrate impact into one of Japan’s largest financial institutions. Megumi brings a rare dual perspective: decades in development finance, including a...

What if it was possible to build a regenerative economy? In this episode, Laura Ortiz Montemayor, a pioneer of regenerative finance in Latin America and founder of SVX Mexico, unpacks assumptions behind today’s impact investing models and why they often fall short. Laura shares her perspective on one of the biggest challenges in the Latin American region: the belief that job creation alone equals...

How do you make sense of a rapidly evolving impact investing landscape? In this episode, Zuleyma Bebell, Co-Founder and COO of ImpactAlpha, explores how stories, data, and community are shaping the future of finance. Over the past 10 years, ImpactAlpha has grown from a start-up into the leading voice in the field, tracking trends, connecting people, and making impact investing more approachable. W...

In this episode, Angela Achitei, a true pioneer of the social economy in Romania, shares how she built one of the most inspiring ecosystems of social enterprises in Eastern Europe. She started simple: hiring 25 people with disabilities when no one else would. Over the past 15 years, she expanded from one business into a group of businesses across sectors, from recruitment to travel services, all d...

What if financing could adapt to the realities of a business, instead of forcing businesses to adapt to rigid financial models?  In this episode, Esther Ndeti, Managing Partner at Unconventional Capital, explains how she is pioneering new ways of financing SMEs, especially in the agricultural values chains across Africa. Esther shares why traditional funding models often fail entrepreneurs. M...

In this episode of Women Changing Finance, Susana Garcia-Robles, Managing Partner at Capria Ventures, speaks about what it really takes to build financial ecosystems in emerging markets. usana began investing in venture capital in Latin America in the late 1990s, long before “impact” was trendy. She shares the hard lessons why early “green funds” failed, and why sustainable impact must include str...

What if the capital we need most is the kind that stays where others won’t? In this episode, Urmi Sengupta from the MacArthur Foundation explains catalytic capital, patient, flexible, and risk-tolerant funding designed to go where traditional investors won’t. We explore how this capital can seed innovation, sustain essential services like affordable housing, and scale solutions in climate and smal...

Mental health is a core driver of how we change the world. What if it was also a smart financial strategy? In this episode, Sabine Flechet, co-founder of Masawa, one of the first funds in Europe dedicated to mental health innovations, shares how she is channeling capital into startups that address emotional well-being, mental illness, and tech-driven solutions, from gamified ADHD awareness to deme...

What does it mean to build a gender-smart investment fund in East Africa, and what makes it work? In this episode, Carolyne Kirabo, an investor based out of Uganda and the founder of M-Kyala Ventures, is transforming how capital flows to women-led businesses across East Africa. From funding a plastic recycling business to supporting a million-dollar eco-footwear brand, Carolyne shares what’s worki...

Can companies save the world? In this episode, Alison Taylor, author of Higher Ground and Clinical Associate Professor at NYU Stern School of Business, shares thought-provoking views. She brings two decades of experience consulting with multinational companies on sustainability, culture, stakeholder engagement, and political risk. Together, we explore how corporate responsibility has evolved, why...

In this episode, Connie Connolly, impact lawyer, co-founder of Keidos Impacto Legal, and former president of the Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers (GAIL), shares how lawyers are key actors for change across Latin America and beyond. From pioneering social impact bonds in Buenos Aires to helping NGOs and SMEs tap into capital markets, Connie brings concrete examples of what’s possible even in chall...

In this episode, Lisa Hehenberger, Director of ESADE Business School’s Center for Social Impact, and a leading voice in Europe’s impact ecosystem, shares her reflections about trends and tensions shaping the sector today. We explore how impact investing is evolving across Europe: from measurement and governance, to the shifting expectations of funders, investors, and social entrepreneurs. Lisa bri...

In this episode, we learn from indigenous wisdom what it really means to build a financial system that honours people and planet.  Fonteyn Moses-Te Kani, Poutiaki Director of Maori Strategy and Indigenous Inclusion at Westpac New Zealand, brings a systems-thinking lens to the world of finance, drawing from her lived experience as an Indigenous woman and a change leader working across banking,...

In this episode, Jessica Espinoza, CEO of 2X Global, shares how gender lens investing is transforming the financial system, from grassroots women entrepreneurs to global capital markets. Jessica shares the story behind the 2X Challenge, which has already mobilised $34+ billion in gender-smart investments, supporting women around the world. She explains how 2X Global is setting global standards and...

In this episode, Reema Nanavaty, Director of the Self-Employed Women’s Association of India (SEWA), shares the incredible power of joining forces to improve lives. Under Reema’s leadership, SEWA has grown into the largest union of informal women workers in India, now uniting more than 3.2 million members. Together, they are transforming finance into a tool for dignity and self-reliance. In our con...

In this episode, Fran Seegull, President of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and Executive Director of the Tipping Point Fund, shares her analysis and optimism about the future of finance. In this rich conversation, Fran traces the evolution of the impact investing movement in the U.S., from its historical roots to today’s multi-trillion-dollar global ecosystem. She shares her analysis about its...

In this episode, Krisztina speaks with Andrea Webster, Head of Financial System Transformation at the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA). With 25 years of experience in finance, Andrea brings a rare insider’s perspective to reshaping the rules of the game. At WBA, Andrea leads the effort to assess and rank 400 of the world’s most influential financial institutions — including banks, pension funds,...

In this episode of Women Changing Finance , Yijing Wang, founding partner of 2060 Advisory, a pioneering impact investing firm based in Shanghai, explains how China’s social and environmental entrepreneurs are building new solutions. We explore what’s happening on the ground in China: artisan cooperatives that support vulnerable women, inclusive tech startups, and climate ventures creating low-car...

In this episode of Women Changing Finance , Delilah Rothenberg, explains how investment structures can reduce inequality and build long-term resilience. Delilah shares why traditional finance tools often ignore the real risks — from income inequality to environmental collapse — and how a new mindset called systemic stewardship is helping investors think beyond short-term returns. We explore what f...

In this episode of Women Changing Finance , Ana Laura Fernández, Vice President of Impact Investing at Fondo de Fondos, where she leads a $70 million Latin America Impact Fund, talks about building Mexico’s impact investing ecosystem. The conversation dives into how her fund supports both emerging venture capital managers and direct co-investments across Latin America, targeting sectors like youth...

In this episode, Krisztina Tora sits down with Aunnie Patton Power, an investor, academic, and global thought leader, to explore how we can radically rethink the very foundations of investment. Aunnie shares why simply tweaking traditional models like venture capital and private equity isn’t enough, and how new, regenerative structures are urgently needed to better serve people and planet. Drawing...