#CharlesKeithCares
Empowering Women Entrepreneurs
CHARLES & KEITH x UN Women
EMPOWERING WOMEN TO LEAD CLIMATE INNOVATION
The CHARLES & KEITH Group Foundation continues to champion gender equality and support women entrepreneurs through its ongoing partnership with UN Women. With a renewed 2-year commitment of USD 100,000 annually, the Foundation is helping women-led enterprises scale their impact, serve underserved communities, and drive meaningful change. This partnership has evolved from storytelling for gender equality to actively empowering women entrepreneurs, recognising them as key drivers of innovation and catalysts for equal access to finance, leadership opportunities, and full economic participation. Through seed funding and communications support, this opportunity enables these businesses to grow and thrive.
The Foundation supports the following UN Women programmes:
UN Women Care & Climate Entrepreneurship Accelerator, which supports gender-diverse enterprises in care and green economies to enhance job opportunities for women.
UN Women Climate Technology Accelerator, which empowers women-led enterprises to tackle climate challenges with technology solutions.
Originally funded by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family of the Republic of Korea, the UN Women Climate Tech Accelerator has a diverse cohort of female entrepreneurs that are spurring technological innovation to address persistent challenges to climate change within the ASEAN region whilst offering more opportunities for women in the blue and green economy. By fostering an ecosystem where women can thrive, we are accelerating progress toward a more inclusive and sustainable future.
WHY FUNDING MATTERS
Investing in women-led businesses drives innovation, fosters equality, and creates lasting impact by unlocking untapped potential and diverse solutions.
Early stage firms that receive access to capital are able to grow 30% faster than those that cannot. However, women founders continue to face the typical hurdles of limited access to funding opportunities and gender bias within investor and business networks.
Unlocking Green Jobs for Women
Research suggests that climate investments can generate 213 million cumulative jobs around the world by 2030. With women’s labour force participation at ~50 percent compared to 80 percent for men, there is significant room for women to make labor market gains in climate-related fields.
Estimates suggest that USD 5-6 trillion more in net value could be generated globally if women entrepreneurs reached parity with men. However, women founders continue to face hindrances to growth beyond the early stage – such as limited access to targeted mentorship and strategic networks, lack of representation in decision-making circles, and the additional burden of societal expectations create even greater challenges in fundraising and expansion.
Only 3% of Climate Funds Support Women
Globally only 3% of adaptation financing gets allocated to projects with gender equality objectives content.
ABOUT CHARLES & KEITH GROUP FOUNDATION
Every commitment made by the CHARLES & KEITH Group Foundation is guided by this single, unifying belief: that we exist to make meaningful impact in society by playing an active role creating a more inclusive and kinder world for everyone.
In collaboration with our partners, CHARLES & KEITH Group Foundation designs long term programmes to effect qualitative change, be it through empowering women with equal opportunities, increasing eco-consciousness within our communities, nurturing creative and entrepreneurial talents and supporting the education journey of those in need.
ABOUT OUR PARTNER
UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.