RFP: Develop a policy paper for intersectionality of gender equality and climate action for impact investing in Vietnam

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

DEVELOP A POLICY PAPER FOR INTERSECTIONALITY OF GENDER EQUALITY AND CLIMATE ACTION
FOR IMPACT INVESTING IN VIETNAM

Release Date: 26 April, 2024
Deadline for Application: May 20, 2024

1. BACKGROUND

In Vietnam, the Impact Investment Readiness Vietnam (IIRV) Project is funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and implemented by Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), between 2022 and 2027. IIRV aims to enhance the economic well-being of vulnerable groups, especially women and people in disadvantaged areas, by improving the impact investment readiness of targeted social impact businesses (SIBs) and sustainable, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The project aims to create sustainable livelihoods and uplift the overall socio-economic status of the targeted groups in Vietnam.

As part of IIRV's Research & Advisory (R&A) component, the project focuses on developing a series of policy papers to explore key policy instruments that may further drive the growth of SIBs/SMEs. These policy papers aim to identify the potential impact of different policies on the growth of SIBs/SMEs and provide recommendations to policy-makers to create an enabling environment for these businesses to thrive. The upcoming policy paper will focus on the intersectionality of gender equality and climate action for impact investing in Vietnam. This research effort will be undertaken under the auspices of the IIRV, which is financially supported by GAC and executed by IIX.

About IIX

Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) is a pioneer in the global impact investing movement, dedicated to reshaping finance for sustainable development with a focus on gender equality and climate action through capital mobilization and data-based solutions. For over a decade and a half, we've been building the sustainable investing market, from establishing the world's largest crowdfunding platform for impact investing

(Impact Partners^TM), operating award-winning enterprise technical assistance programs, creating innovative financial products such as the

Women's Livelihood Bond^TM Series, (listed 6 bonds in the public market with zero credit default) and establishing an Impact Institute and Research & Advisory. While we are very deep with our work in Asia, the Pacific, and Africa, our work spans 60 countries globally, where we have invested close to $500 million of private-sector capital, positively impacted over 160 million direct and household lives, and avoided over 1.9 million metric tons of carbon and have collected over 90,000+ data points on sustainable micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The base of IIX's work is IIX Values^TM, an impact verification tech solution measuring investments' social and environmental impact to the last mile, amplifying the voices of the underserved. IIX plans to enroll 1,000 SMEs from Vietnam onto the IIX Values^TM platform by the end of 2024. In 2022, we, along with global partners, launched the 

Orange Movement^TM and, within that, created a new asset class, Orange Bond, to demonstrate the intersectionality of gender equality and climate action and unlock $10 billion in capital markets by 2030, impacting 100 million women, girls, and gender minorities and making them a key player in climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. In 2024, we unveiled our global data hub, 

IIX Intelligence^TM, which aggregates, evaluates, and benchmarks data from sustainable MSMEs, offering unparalleled insights into gender diversity, climate action, ESG performance, and community risk management. IIX Intelligence demonstrates with data the importance of MSMEs as a backbone of sustainable development. Numerous accolades, including the Oslo Business for Peace and the UN Global Climate Action Award, have recognized our efforts. Our team’s 'PREM' values—passion, resilience, equity, and mavericks—propel our efforts, bringing meaningful change to Global South communities and the 99%.

2. POLICY PAPER

IIX will work with prominent intellectuals and thought leaders in Vietnam’s impact investing space to publish a policy paper exploring the topic of gender-empowered green financing for SIBs/SMEs at the intersection of gender equality and climate action. This paper aims to evaluate the current landscape of gender-empowered green finance in Vietnam, challenges, and opportunities for SIBs/SMEs , as well as investors in this sector, and to examine the existing practices and policies to provide recommendations that drive the growth and development of green financing in Vietnam with the integration of gender equality. Furthermore, it will be used for policy advocacy work, hoping to influence the Government of Vietnam's policy direction related to the nexus of gender equality and climate action in terms of demand and supply. IIX will work towards ensuring the widest possible dissemination of this paper, covering both online and offSline media channels. Additionally, the policy paper will be considered for potential presentation at the Vietnam Impact Investing Annual Forum if appropriate.

Key themes may include but are not limited to:

• Analyze the current landscape, challenges, and opportunities for SIBs/SMEs in accessing gender-empowered green financing in Vietnam, considering the nexus between gender equality and climate action.
• Examine current policies and regulations on the intersectionality of gender equality and climate action and their limitations.
• Conduct stakeholder mappings to identify ongoing efforts that provide green finance or facilitate access to green finance opportunites to address intersectional climate and gender issues in Vietnam and key stakeholders in the field.
• Analyze investment trends and investor interest in gender-climate intersectional issues, with a focus on gender-empowered green financing for SIBs/SMEs in Vietnam and the region.
• Identify gaps/barriers and discuss the main financial, regulatory, and market gaps/barriers faced by both SIBs/SMEs in attracting gender-empowered green financing and investors in deciding to invest in such businesses, utilizing available data from IIX Intelligence^TM to benchmark Vietnam's progress in comparison to other countries within the region or globally.
• Explore international best practices and lessons learned on integrating gender equality and climate action into financing for SIBs in emerging markets that could be adapted or adopted in Vietnam.
• Propose specific data-driven policy measures, supported by available data from IIX 
  

  Intelligence^TM, that the Government of Vietnam could implement to promote gender-empowered green financing for SIBs.

3. REQUIREMENT

IIX is seeking an experienced and qualified service provider to develop one (01) Policy paper for the Intersectionality of gender equality and climate action for impact investing in Vietnam. The agreement between the service provider and IIX is as follows:

• The policy paper’s length is 20 pages, or c.a. 10,000 words.
• Familiarity with IIX Values and IIX Intelligence platform is preferred. The service provider will be provided with necessary information and resources to understand these platforms.
• Completion of impact measurement courses offered by the IIX Institute is highly recommended to ensure a deep understanding of IIX's methodologies and works.
• The service provider should demonstrate experience in impact investing, ESG regulations, climate change, gender equality, climate finance, and other topics related to green financing. Experience with the banking industry or consultancy services for the Development Finance Institutions in relevant topics is an asset.
• The service provider will be working closely with IIX staff to deliver the final draft of the paper by the end of July 2024.
• The policy paper is subject to be reviewed by experts in the field.
• The service provider will revise and finalize the policy paper per the feedback of experts in the field by the end of August 2024.

4. APPLICATION

Interested candidates should send their application, which includes the following documents:

• A brief outline of the policy paper’ content and how they would develop the paper;
• Samples of previous work that are relevant to the topic;
• The team composition and their expertise on impact investing, ESG regulations, climate change, gender equality, climate finance, and IIX work
• The list of their past publications, with online access, if possible.

Please send your application to Duong Dinh at [email protected] by the end of May 20, 2024 (Vietnam time).