Melding the best of both worlds

Singapore

THE concept of investing for returns and doing good at the same time is a powerful one and is gaining traction. But this was not the case in 2009 when the Impact Investment Exchange Asia (IIX) was set up.

Former investment banker Durreen Shahnaz set up IIX Asia with the ambition of founding the first social stock exchange that would facilitate social enterprises' access to capital. That, however, was an uphill climb. The social enterprise scene in Asia was fragmented, nascent at best.