Investor’s Journey In Gender Lens Investing: Examples From The Field (AVV)
A returns-first investor promotes gender diversity as a core principle
Ascend Vietnam Ventures (AVV) is a venture capital firm based in Vietnam that is incorporating gender lens investing, motivated by a desire to do good investing and to prove that a gender lens makes business sense for all investors.
AVV got started on its gender lens journey with a firm belief in, and commitment to, the value of focusing on women founders and gender-inclusive teams. Along the way, the firm has leveraged its key assets: an actively engaged and gender-aware senior leadership team, staff buy-in and experience from previous VC work, a personal awareness of the value of diversity in the team, and a growing body of internal gender data.
AVV is demonstrating that gender is a fundamental part of all investing, not just impact or gender lens investing. It offers an example for the industry on how to move forward as a finance-first and gender-aware investor.
This case study documents AVV’s gender lens investing journey while engaged with Value for Women. It is part of a series of case studies that promote awareness and knowledge exchange of gender lens investing practices.
Key audiences for this case study include:
- Investors who can glean inspiration and insights from this example of an investor’s gender lens investing path, including the wins, challenges, and lessons learned; and
- Donors who can identify the contributions they can make to promote gender lens investing adoption in impact investing and wider investment practices.
Explore other case studies in the series:
