Financial systems are not neutral; they are shaped by choices and practices that either reinforce or dismantle systemic inequities. If we are to advance gender equality and social justice through finance, it is not enough to increase representation or move more capital. We must also address the underlying ways in which power, privilege, and bias operate in financial systems. This requires recognizing, codifying, and amplifying innovations in investment practice that challenge the status quo and open pathways toward systemic equity.

Over the past few years, Criterion Institute has formalized a system of Advanced Practice to make these shifts visible and replicable. Built on four guiding interconnected principles – Will to Act, Integrity, Accountability, and Inclusion – this system provides a coherent framework for identifying current investment practices, analyzing the power dynamics embedded within them, and proposing shifts that can become new standards for asset owners and managers.

This series highlights and celebrates fund managers who are putting Advanced Practices into action. In this post, we spotlight Inua Impact Fund – Uganda’s first resident, women-led, gender lens private equity fund, founded in 2023 – as a demonstration of how the fund is shifting power in finance through innovative practices. We celebrate not only what makes Inua Capital unique in its approach to gender and power, but also how their intuitive and intentional practices are actively reshaping the Ugandan ecosystem to be more just, inclusive, and transformative.

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