World�s Largest Orange Bond: Financing Global Gender Equality

Shearman & Sterling provided pro bono legal representation to the Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) for the Women’s Livelihood Bond™ 6 (WLB6), the sixth bond in the IIX Women’s Livelihood Bond Series™ (WLB Series). The transaction, which raised $100 million, is a sustainable debt issuance that aligns with the Orange Bond Principles, a set of guidelines developed by a coalition of impact investors and other market participants led by IIX to promote gender-lens investing. Doubling the funds raised in WLB5, WLB6 is the largest Orange bond in the market.

The WLB6 uses a blended capital structure to pool together a portfolio of high-impact enterprises that promote gender equality across multiple countries and sectors. It aims to empower over 880,000 women and girls in the Global South by building economic resilience and advancing climate action. The WLB6 also has a “green” aspect, with a portion of the proceeds allocated to empowering women to advance climate action. To date, the WLB Series has mobilized $228 million and has met or exceeded all its impact targets, collectively empowering 2 million women and girls from emerging markets in the Global South.

The Team