Voices from the Field: Tammy E. Newmark, Eco Enterprises Fund
For our ‘Voices from the Field’ series, we speak to Tammy E. Newmark, CEO and Managing Partner at Eco Enterprises Fund, about how a period of excess and greed in the financial sector in the 1980s inspired her to join like-minded women on Wall Street in pursue of micro-finance and socially responsible investing.
How has applying an integrated climate and gender lens helped you to achieve a greater impact on climate?
At EcoEnterprises Fund, a pioneering impact fund, we invest in businesses that drive meaningful climate action while advancing gender equity. We recognize that gender and climate are deeply interconnected; climate change disproportionately affects women, particularly in rural areas, yet they are often at the forefront of solutions. By applying an integrated climate and gender lens, we not only address systemic inequities but also unlock greater impact and innovation.
In rural economies, women often play a key role in natural resource management, agricultural production, and community resilience. Evidence from the field suggests that when women have greater access to financial resources, decision-making power, and leadership roles, climate initiatives are more effective, adoption rates of sustainable practices increase, and communities become more resilient. Investing in women-led and gender-inclusive businesses therefore strengthens local economies while supporting the transition to climate friendly food systems, nature-based solutions such as regenerative agricultural practices, or circular economies.
Women tend to take a long-term, holistic approach to economic and environmental sustainability, prioritizing resilience and stability over short-term gains. By integrating gender into our investment strategy, we ensure that climate solutions are not only more inclusive but also more effective, scalable, and impactful. For 25 years across four funds, we have elevated women's leadership, perspectives and participation as not just a matter of equity, but as a strategic imperative for building the platform that will allow the scaling of effective climate solutions.
How is climate and gender integration showing up in your fund?
Gender equity and climate action have been integrated into our investment strategy from our launch in 1998. Being a women owned and led firm, we are attuned to identifying and supporting female leaders. We are not only first movers in identifying, nurturing, and scaling nature-based solutions but also in actively incorporating a gender-lens into our investment strategy, meaning we intentionally bring climate and gender considerations to each step of our investment process to drive both environmental and social impact.
As we build our pool of potential pipeline companies, we exclusively seek out companies that promote sustainable resource management and the protection of biodiversity, that enhance climate resilience along rural supply chains, and that scale nature-based solutions to achieve effective climate mitigation and adaptation goals. At the same time, we apply a gender lens in pipeline construction and due diligence, ensuring that gender equity is a consideration even before a company enters our portfolio. We proactively invest in businesses that are women-led or managed, as well as those that create positive gender outcomes through equitable employment, leadership opportunities, and inclusive supply chains. Acknowledging the realities of rural industries in Latin America, we don’t expect perfection in order to consider a company for investment. However, we seek out companies that are keen to embark on a journey of continuous improvements. Once an investment is made, we provide value-creation through advisory or technical assistance services to help companies strengthen their gender and sustainability outcomes, setting and achieving measurable goals.
Our participation in the 2X Challenge, a global initiative to mobilize $3 billion for women’s economic empowerment, serves as a guiding framework for what we define as gender-lens investment. Under the 2X criteria, companies must meet at least one of several benchmarks, such as female ownership, representation in senior leadership, workforce participation, or providing products and services that specifically benefit women. In our current investment portfolio, we have worked closely with our entrepreneurs to strengthen their gender strategies. As a result, nearly 100% of our portfolio companies now meet one or more of these criteria.
In your own words, what opportunities does investing at the climate-gender nexus provide to investors?
Conversations around the financial benefits of investing in women are gaining momentum, underscoring the broader advantages this focus brings to business performance and resilience. We have observed over the decade that whether the goal is to build a more equitable economy, restore biodiversity, or drive climate solutions, women’s inclusion—particularly in leadership and board positions—is essential. Nature positive companies that proactively embed gender equity into their strategies possess a competitive advantage in the marketplace and therefore, are better positioned to attract investment.
For us, investing at the climate-gender nexus is not just about financial returns; it is about value alignment and transformative change. Gender equity is not an optional add-on but a fundamental essence of sustainable business practices at large. By integrating gender considerations, and being intentional in their actions, our portfolio companies become more resilient, innovative, and serve as business models to catalyze change.
How did you get to where you are — what inspired the interest/ commitment to climate and gender strategies?
My trajectory began during the 1980s, a period of excess and greed in the financial sector which compelled me to root out another way of doing. Fortunately, at that time, there were many like-minded women on Wall Street that convened informally to learn how to engage with our skills for good. We moved into the nascent microfinance sector and the socially responsible investment movement, with many forerunners in the industry. For me, after a stint working with women entrepreneurs in Mozambique, I found my path in emerging markets fostering small business growth for economic and social impact.
Catalyzing sustainable livelihoods in rural areas in Africa, Asia and Latin America, I inevitably worked with entrepreneurial ventures tied to natural resources. Fast forward to EcoEnterprises Fund, founded within The Nature Conservancy with an investment mandate that carries on my heartfelt life’s work: to address a void in the capital markets to transform the way business is achieved to benefit peoples and planet. After we spun off from The Nature Conservancy to establish our women-owned and led fund, now launching our fourth fund in 2025, we honed in on the importance of planetary health and community wellbeing, all tied into climate action. My guiding principles have remained consistent over the years, to back the inspiring and forward thinking entrepreneur as the agent of change.
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