British International Investment (BII), the United Kingdom’s development finance institution and impact investor, has raised its gender investment target to 30 per cent of new investments under its 2026–2031 strategy.

The institution reaffirmed its commitment to the 2X Challenge at the 2X Global Summit in Montréal, Canada, where development finance and multilateral institutions renewed efforts to increase investment in women’s economic empowerment.

The renewed commitment came amid warnings from the United Nations that global efforts to achieve gender equality remain significantly off track.

According to new UN data quoted by BII, as many as 351 million women and girls could still be living in extreme poverty by 2030.

Since its launch in 2018, the 2X Challenge has mobilised more than $33 billion for investments supporting women’s economic empowerment.

The 2024–2027 phase of the initiative aims to mobilise at least $20 billion, with increased emphasis on attracting private-sector investors.

The growth of gender-lens investing has also expanded the pool of dedicated capital.

BII said the value of gender-lens funds had increased from $1.3 billion in 2017 to $7.9 billion, indicating growing investor interest in investments designed to address gender-related economic gaps.

Under its new five-year strategy, BII said 30 per cent of new investments in its core portfolio would be required to qualify under the 2X Challenge.

Amal-Lee Amin, Managing Director and Head of Climate, Diversity and Advisory at BII, said gender-lens investing remained important to promoting inclusive economic growth.

Amin said the refreshed toolkit was designed to provide investors with practical resources and evidence to translate gender investment commitments into action.