Co-organized by:
Wednesday, April 3 at 9:00 – 10:30am EST
Background:
Watch Event Recording
Performance-based incentives (PBIs), such as interest rate reductions that kick in once certain targets are achieved, are powerful instruments for development banks to incentivize behavioral changes within financial intermediaries (incl. banks, funds etc.) and corporates, encouraging them to increase financing or other opportunities for women-owned/led small and medium-sized enterprises (WSMEs). It is crucial to deepen our understanding of how these incentives work, explore changes resulting from PBI implementation, and assess their short- and long-term effects on both financial intermediaries/corporates and WSMEs.
In collaboration with IDB Invest, We-Fi is organizing this webinar to share new evidence on gender-related PBIs. The webinar will focus on the recently published IDB Invest study “Promoting Gender Equality through Performance-based Financial Incentives – An Analysis of IDB Invest’s Experience” and bring together We-Fi Implementing Partners, donors, and other ecosystem partners to discuss its findings and implications from both research and practitioner points of view. Moreover, participants will explore how to create more evidence in this area that can be applied in practice.
Research to be Discussed:
9:00 – 9:05 AM: Welcoming Remarks
- Wendy Teleki, Head of We-Fi Secretariat
9:05 – 9:20 AM: Presentation of Main Study Findings
- Patricia Yañez-Pagans, Lead Economist, IDB Invest
9:20 – 9:35 AM: Chat with Elcatex
- Isabel Berdeja, Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, IDB Invest
- Vania Montecinos, Director Corporate Social Responsibility, Elcatex
9:35 – 10:05 AM: Panel Conversation Among DFIs Implementing PBIs
Moderator:
- Aurica Balmus, Senior Program Officer at We-Fi Secretariat
Panelists:
- Matthieu Pegon, Director of Blended Finance, IDB Invest
- Maria João Pateguana, Head, Private Sector Development, ADB
- Hanh Nam Nguyen, Principal Investment Officer and Blended Finance Lead, IFC
10:05 – 10:10 AM: Actionable Insight Guide on PBIs by Dalberg
- Marcos Paya, Associate Partner, Dalberg Advisors
10:10 – 10:25 AM: Commentary and Q & A
10:25 – 10:30 AM: Closing Remarks by We-Fi
Patricia Yañez-Pagans, Lead Economist, IDB Invest
Patricia Yañez-Pagans is a Lead Economist in the Development Effectiveness Division of IDB Invest, where she directs the work on ex-post evaluation for operations in IDB Invest portfolio and the knowledge agenda connected to impact measurement. As part of this role, Patricia has been leading the research agenda connected to We-Fi supported interventions at IDB Invest. Previously, she worked as an Economist in the Office of Strategic Planning and Development Effectiveness of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and was Professor of Economics at the Universidad Católica Bolivia. She has also worked as a consultant on impact evaluation topics for different institutions, including The World Bank, UNICEF and the Bolivian Ministry of Development Planning, and the IDB Research Department. Patricia holds a Ph.D. in Applied Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master’s in Applied Economics from Pompeu Fabra University, and a Master’s in Social Policy and Development from the London School of Economics.
Matthieu Pegon, Director of Blended Finance, IDB Invest
Matthieu Pegon is the Director of Blended Finance at IDB Invest since 2017. His team manages over US$ 1 billion of concessional capital which unlocked more than US$ 22 billion in investments aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. Matthieu co-developed the Enhanced Principle on Blended Concessional Finance for Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) and has published several knowledge pieces on blended finance. He is frequently invited to speak at conferences and events, sharing his expertise in the field. Prior to joining IDB Invest, Matthieu worked in various origination and structuring roles at the Green Climate Fund, the largest climate finance multilateral fund, and BNP Paribas, a global investment bank.
Isabel Berdeja, Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, IDB Invest
Isabel is a Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Officer at IDB Invest, where she joined in 2019. Isabel is responsible for designing and executing advisory services for deals in the financial and corporate institutions sectors. She has led advisory engagements to support clients in their diversity and gender inclusion strategies, with an emphasis on the inclusion of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples throughout the value chain and in the workforce. Before joining the IDB Group, Isabel worked for General Electric in the energy business and at the Pan American Development Foundation in the execution of projects for the development with identity of indigenous peoples. Isabel earned a master’s degree in development studies from the Elliott School at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She also has a bachelor’s degree from the Universidad Iberoamericana Mexico.
Vania Montecinos, Director Corporate Social Responsibility, Elcatex
Vania has more than 25 years of professional experience in different industries, including Banking, Telecommunications, Community Development and currently works as Corporate Director of Social Responsibility and Communications of Elcatex Group, where she was responsible for leading with the purchasing team the Women Suppliers Program. She has a degree in Industrial and Business Administration from the Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana (Unitec) and a Masters in International Marketing from the University of Gerona.
Maria João Pateguana, Head, Private Sector Development, ADB
Maria Pateguana leads ADB’s Private Sector Development Unit in Hanoi. She has more than 15 years’ experience in private sector infrastructure finance, cutting across energy, telecom and transport sectors and, more recently, blended finance instruments. Maria has worked across Africa and Asia and has previously lived and worked in the Philippines, South Africa, Mozambique and Tunisia. She graduated from Universidade Nova in Lisbon, Portugal and holds an MBA from Vitoria University, Australia.
Hanh Nam Nguyen, Principal Investment Officer and Global FIG Blended Finance Lead, IFC
Hanh Nam Nguyen is the Global Sector Lead for the Financial Institutions Group (FIG) in IFC’s blended finance and partnership department. She joined IFC in 2003, leading a multi-disciplinary team to deliver IFC’s investments and advisory projects in the financial sector across all countries in Asia. She was managing the IFC’s FIG for the Mekong region from Vietnam and was leading the IFC’s equity business in Asia from Hong Kong. In 2019, she relocated to Washington D.C., and since then holds global responsibility for IFC’s gender and inclusion blended finance. She also manages the We-Fi IFC global program, among others.
Marcos Paya, Associate Partner, Dalberg Advisors
Marcos Paya is an Associate Partner and Director of the Mexico City office, where he leads teams and clients in solving some of the world’s most pressing development challenges. Marcos is a leader in Dalberg’s global Finance & Investment practice, where he has worked extensively on addressing the financing gap for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through sustainable capital allocation. He works closely with institutional asset owners and allocators, development finance institutions, investment managers, and investee companies. Marcos is also a leader in Dalberg’s Latin America practice.
Wendy Teleki, Head of the We-Fi Secretariat
Wendy Teleki is Head of the We-Fi Secretariat, which is housed in the World Bank Group. The Secretariat is responsible for supporting the We-Fi Governing Committee in the allocation and supervision of We-Fi funding as well as communications, advocacy, and learning focused on strengthening opportunities for women entrepreneurs in collaboration with the GC, Implementing Partners and other stakeholders. Ms. Teleki joined We-Fi in May 2019. Prior to that, Ms. Teleki worked with the International Finance Corporation leading numerous activities and initiatives focused on small and medium enterprise development in emerging markets around the world. This included several blended finance, investment and advisory programs, including IFC’s We-Fi program and the Global SME Finance Initiative. Wendy has an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of Business and an MA in International Economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Aurica Balmus, Senior Program Officer at We-Fi Secretariat
Aurica Balmus’ role includes coordinating with the Implementing Partners and Governing Committee to ensure strong governance, effective reporting on implementation of We-Fi funded initiatives, and learning across stakeholders. She has over 10 years of experience working with financial institutions and entrepreneurs focusing on increasing SMEs’ access to finance. Prior to joining the We-Fi Secretariat, Aurica worked at IFC in the Blended Finance Department and Financial Institutions Group, where she supported the IFC We-Fi program “Creating Finance and Markets for All” and the Global SME Finance Facility. Both initiatives include blended finance investments targeted to increasing access to finance to SMEs and women-owned/led firms, as well advisory on how to more effectively expand services to such entrepreneurs. Before joining IFC, Aurica was Consultant Lead at Enclude (now part of Palladium), where she focused on small business finance advisory projects and expanding financial inclusion for women entrepreneurs. Aurica holds a Master’s in International Development from University of Pittsburgh.
