Adelle believes that breaking the chain of poverty can be done by empowering women and providing access to financial services.According to data from the BPS (Central Statistics Agency), women managed up to 64.5 percent of all MSMEs in Indonesia in 2021. This figure demonstrates the critical role of women in Indonesia’s economic recovery following the global pandemic.
IWEF, which stands for Indonesia Women Empowerment Fund, oversees these opportunities and addresses barriers to women’s economic empowerment by investing in disruptive tech solutions led by women entrepreneurs. Under the wings of YCAB Ventures and Moonshot Ventures, IWEF invests in tech-focused and innovation-driven startups in their pre-seed or seed stage. Adelle Odelia, Head of Impact Investments at YCAB Ventures, emphasized the importance of evaluating founders’ qualities in investing, – adaptability, product execution, and leadership qualities are among the keys to a startup’s success.
“We invest in startups that have female co-founders because they are underestimated and undervalued by social and gender biases. We also believe that women consumers are a powerful demographic, as women spend more time than men each day making purchasing decisions for their families,” mentioned Adelle Odelia Tanuri, in a special interview with Daily Social.
Adelle believes that breaking the poverty cycle can be accomplished by empowering women and providing them with access to capital – both of which have historically been lacking. Through its Gender Lens Investing, IWEF aims to develop solutions for these women as this could significantly increase Indonesia’s GDP.
Gender Lens Investing (GLI) refers to a strategy/ approach to investing that takes into consideration gender-based factors across the investment process. GLI will not only advance gender equality but also improve the quality of investment decisions. In Indonesia, a few investors have adopted the GLI strategy, though IWEF is the 1st fund that focuses on the Indonesian market.
Within a year of its launch in 2020, IWEF has invested in 11 start-ups, including Titik Pintar, Binar Academy, Skivul, TransTRACK.ID, Eateroo, Farmacare.id, lakuliner, Shoplinks, Sustaination, Keyta, Pod