Lighting the Torch in Gender-Smart Investing: A Conversation on 2X Certification
Join BCV and 2X for a candid conversation between Beyond Capital Ventures founder/Managing Partner Eva Yazhari and 2X Global CEO Jessica Espinoza as they discuss BCV's milestone achievement as the first VC fund to receive 2X Certification Level "Best in Class." Eva and Jessica will unpack what this certification means for the future of venture capital, share insights from BCV's success in building a truly diverse portfolio, and explore how standardizing gender-smart investing practices can transform emerging markets.
About Jessica Espinoza
Jessica Espinoza is CEO of 2X Global, a global industry body for gender lens investing convening the entire spectrum of capital providers. She is also Chair of the 2X Challenge that has raised more than US$ 34 billion of gender lens investments since its launch at the G7 Summit in 2018. Jessica has a track record in originating, structuring and executing debt, mezzanine and equity deals in emerging and frontier markets with a strong focus on inclusive innovation. The latest innovation she is spearheading with 2X colleagues is 2X Ignite, a bold facility to unlock capital for gender-smart business at scale by backing women-led fund managers.
Prior to her current role, Jessica was Vice President for Private Equity & Venture Capital Investments at DEG/KfW. She was also a Member of the Management Board at ProCredit Bank Nicaragua responsible for the Business Clients Division and managed the Africa Regional Office of MicroFinance Transparency.
About Eva Yazhari
Eva Yazhari is the Managing Partner of Beyond Capital Ventures, an early-stage emerging markets venture capital firm offering a diversified portfolio of early-stage purpose-driven companies in "need-to-have" sectors in India and East Africa, two of the top four emerging markets. Previously, Eva was Vice President at EnTrust Capital Inc. where her team invested over $5 billion into top hedge funds. She specialized in due diligence, underlying fund portfolio analysis, and shareholder activism.
Eva is an active investor and is pioneering equity and power transformation in venture capital at Beyond Capital Ventures, giving ownership to every founder in the portfolio.She is a member of YPO, and serves on corporate boards including Viebeg Medical, CarePoint, XENO, Lal10, and Redwing Labs, in addition to the Barnard Athena Center Leadership Council. Eva is also the co-host of the Beyond Capital Podcast, founder of The Conscious Investor online magazine, and author of ‘The Good Your Money Can Do.’ She splits her time between London and Los Angeles with her family. Eva holds a degree in Mathematics from Barnard College, Columbia University. Her family has ties in Tanzania and Kenya.
About Beyond Capital Ventures
Beyond Capital Ventures is an emerging markets venture capital firm, building a diversified, dynamic, and de-risked portfolio with a strong focus on driving performance. The firm invests in the next wave of innovations that address the growing needs of more than one billion consumers in India and East Africa. Beyond Capital Ventures backs conscious leaders building businesses to address growing demand in essential sectors, primarily in healthcare, financial services, and climate (agriculture, mobility, climate data). The Fund also pioneers an Equitable Venture structure that provides founders in the portfolio with a profit share in the General Partner carry pool upon meeting predetermined performance milestones.
About 2X Global
2X Global is a membership and field-building organisation focused on unlocking gender-smart capital at scale. We engage the full spectrum of investment actors, capital providers, and intermediaries working in public and private markets, across both developed and emerging economies towards this mission. Through a broad and diverse set of activities we activate and engage our global community to advance intersectional investment agendas, scale the field, shift mindsets, and facilitate capital deployment. Learn more at www.2xglobal.org.