Private Equity and Value Creation: a Fund Manager's Guide to Gender
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PRIVATE EQUITY AND VALUE CREATION A FUND MANAGER’S GUIDE TO GENDER-SMART INVESTING About CDC CDC Group plc (CDC) is the world’s first impact investor with over 70 years of experience successfully supporting the sustainable, long-term growth of businesses in Africa and South Asia. CDC is a UK champion of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals – the global blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for us. CDC has investments in over 1,200 businesses in emerging economies with total net assets of £6.4 billion and a portfolio of £4.7 billion. CDC invests in companies in Africa and Asia with a focus on fighting climate change, empowering women and creating new jobs and opportunities for millions of people. CDC is funded by the UK Government and has a dual objective to support business growth that lifts people out of poverty and to make a financial return. All proceeds from its investments are reinvested to improve the lives of millions of people in Africa and South Asia. About IFC IFC—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2020, we invested $22 billion in private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org COPYRIGHT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER FOR CDC/IFC GUIDE ON GENDER-SMART INVESTING © International Finance Corporation 2020. All rights reserved. 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington DC 20433 U.S.A. © CDC Group Plc 2020. All rights reserved. 123 Victoria Street London SW1E 6DE United Kingdom International Finance Corporation (IFC) and CDC Group Plc (CDC) have agreed that the copyright and all related intellectual property rights in this Guide are jointly owned by them. This Guide has been produced solely for informational purposes to increase awareness of gender-smart investment strategies among investment fund managers, including elevating strategies that can be deployed to strengthen gender diversity within firms and portfolio operations or applied across investment operations. Copying and/or transmitting portions or all of this Guide without permission may be a violation of applicable law. IFC and CDC encourage dissemination of their work and will normally grant permission to reproduce portions of the work promptly, and when the reproduction is for educational and non-commercial purposes, without a fee, subject to such attributions and notices as may reasonably be required. Neither IFC nor CDC (which for all purposes herein includes their respective employees, representatives and affiliates) guarantees the accuracy, reliability or completeness of the content included in this Guide, or the conclusions or judgments described herein, and neither of them accepts any responsibility for any damage or liability which may arise from any omissions or errors or misleading statements (including, without limitation, typographical errors and technical errors) in the content whatsoever, or for reliance thereon. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this Guide do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of any members of the World Bank Group (WBG) or the governments they represent or CDC. Certain parts of this Guide may link to external Internet sites, and other external Internet sites may link to this Guide. IFC and CDC are not responsible for the content of any external references. The information, content and materials included in this Guide are for general informational purposes only. This Guide shall not constitute, and should not be construed as, an offer, a guarantee, an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment or investment strategy, a solicitation or invitation to buy or sell any securities, financial instruments or services the reference to which may be contained herein or as investment-related advice. This Guide is not intended to provide, and should not be relied upon as providing, financial, accounting, legal, regulatory or tax advice. The reader should rely solely on his or her own legal and other professional advisors in the relevant jurisdiction who alone can provide advice and assurances as to legal or investment matters. Neither IFC nor CDC shall have any liability to any of the recipients of this Guide, nor to any other party in connection with or arising in any way from, or in relation to, the information or any opinions expressed in the Guide, and accordingly, IFC and CDC do not accept any responsibility whatsoever for any action taken, or omitted to be taken by any party on the basis of any matter contained in, or omitted from, the Guide. IFC is an international organization established by Articles of Agreement among its member countries and a member of the WBG. CDC is a public limited company owned by the UK Government. All names, logos and trademarks of IFC and CDC are the property of IFC and CDC respectively and may not be used for any purpose without the express written permission of IFC or CDC as the case may be. Additionally, “International Finance Corporation” and “IFC” are registered trademarks of IFC and are protected under international law. 2 CONTENTS Foreword 4 Acknowledgements 5 Executive Summary 7 Abbreviations and Acronyms 9 Introduction 11 What is Gender-smart Investing? 11 Objectives, Audience and Methodology 12 The Investor’s Journey 15 Getting Started: Set a Focus 15 Five Gender-smart Investment Strategies 16 Firm Level 19 Strengthen Gender Diversity at the Firm/Fund Manager Level 19 Implement a Firm-wide Gender Strategy 32 Steps to a Successful Strategy 33 Portfolio Level 45 Select a Gender Lens 46 Gender-smart Investment Strategies 46 Apply a Gender Lens 47 Deal Origination 48 Due Diligence 51 Gender Analysis 56 Deal Structure and Terms and Levers 59 Measure a Gender Lens 68 Portfolio Management 68 Portfolio Measurement 74 Exits 77 Conclusion 80 Appendices 82 A: The Business Case for Closing Gender Gaps 82 B: Firm Level HR Indicators 84 C: Three Steps to Baseline 87 D: Deal Level Indicators 91 E: Deal Level Benchmarks 94 F: Resources on Gender-based Risks 97 G: Gender-smart Investing Tools 98 H: Sample Gender Action Plan 100 Key Gender Definitions and Terms 102 Boxes, Case Studies, Figures and Tables 103 Notes 105 3 FOREWORD Gender-smart Investing – a growing asset class that supports an inclusive and resilient private sector The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has delivered a significant shock to the global economy, provoking deep recessions in many countries that are taking an enormous toll on millions of people’s lives and livelihoods. We know from previous economic shocks that the Private Equity (PE) industry will quickly contract as General Partners (GPs) stabilize their portfolios and investors hesitate to make new commitments. According to IFC research, GPs will have to contend with shifting valuations as demand and supply shocks lower the performance of businesses.1 However, the pandemic also provides an opportunity for the industry to transform its business model and support companies and economies differently. PE funds contribute to the growth of industries by providing not just capital, but also operational capabilities to firms. To ensure portfolio companies become resilient to future shocks, it is vital for PE funds to pursue strategies that focus on long-term sustainability and value creation. One approach that GPs and Limited Partners (LPs) are increasingly adopting is gender-smart investing – an investment strategy that seeks to use capital to address gender gaps between women and men which will ultimately expand the total addressable market size for private sector businesses. The uptake of investing with a gender lens is increasing: capital raised with a gender lens across private equity, venture capital, and private debt vehicles cleared $4.8 billion in 2019, up from $1.1 billion in 2017.2 This may be due to the compelling business case for gender focused private equity investments. IFC research conducted in 2019, Moving Toward Gender Balance in Private Equity and Venture Capital, found that PE and venture capital (VC) funds in emerging markets with gender-balanced senior investment teams generated up to 20 percent higher returns compared with other funds. Additionally, portfolio companies with gender-balanced leadership teams outperformed in valuation increases by as much as 25 percent compared to non-diverse teams. Given the evidence for value creation through gender-smart investing, and the fact that women around the globe have been impacted more severely by the pandemic, it is more important than ever for GPs and LPs to direct capital towards solutions that drive gender equality. While the opportunities are promising, more clarity is needed by investors to understand how to implement gender-smart investing. This Guide aims to help GPs and LPs sharpen their focus and scale up investments with a gender lens. It also provides Fund Managers with a road map to strengthen gender diversity within their firms, and incorporate a gender lens into investment decision-making. It synthesizes learnings from CDC and IFC’s experience and dialogues with more than 160 GPs and LPs, and draws on best practices with a series of case studies from stakeholders across the private equity industry. There has never been a more opportune time to adopt and implement gender-smart investing. At CDC and IFC, we are firmly committed to using our role as investors to help close gender gaps between women and men. We are confident this Guide will help Fund Managers to apply a gender lens to their operations, while uncovering new opportunities for inclusive value creation that ultimately results in higher investment returns.