Asia’s investors express a strong desire for impact, and the region’s small businesses are already delivering it. The primary gap is neither a lack of investor willingness nor a shortfall in enterprise performance. It is the need to invest in an efficient bridge, a scalable mechanism to aggregate, structure, and channel institutional capital directly into last-mile opportunities.
In our previous piece in March, we argued that Nigeria’s agricultural sector is not underfinanced. It is mis-financed. The capital exists. What doesn’t exist, at least not yet at the scale needed, are financing structures built around how agriculture works, its seasonality, its biology, its risk profile, its deep entanglement with smallholder livelihoods. We made that argument from our initial analysis. Then we went to see it for ourselves.
Jaipur-based NBFC Namdev Finvest Private Limited has raised $37 million (approximately Rs 324 crore) from FMO, IIX, Franklin Templeton AIF India and Symbiotics via listed NCD and ECB.
Indonesia is home to one of the world’s most dynamic micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) ecosystems. MSMEs account for more than 60% of national GDP and over 90% of employment, forming the backbone of community livelihoods and domestic production. Yet despite their scale and importance, many MSMEs remain excluded from larger, institutional markets – particularly public and corporate procurement.
As Indonesia advances its agenda for inclusive and sustainable growth, procurement is increasingly recognized as a powerful lever to bridge this gap. When designed well, procurement does more than move goods and services. It can strengthen supply-chain resilience, expand market access for smaller enterprises, and channel capital toward businesses delivering social and environmental value.
A central market question is now emerging: How can buyers reliably identify suppliers that are not only small and local, but also credible, capable, and impact-driven?
Dear Friends,
At IIX, there are four values that bind us together: PREM (also meaning “love” in Bengali): Passionate, Resilient, Equitable, and Maverick. These are not qualities reserved for easy moments. They define how we show up when systems are tested.
In 2025, it was our “R”, or Resilience, that was tested most as a global community.
Across capital markets strained by tightening fiscal space, across communities facing accelerating climate shocks, and across a global system grappling with uncertainty, resilience became more than a buzzword. It became a choice. And once again, this year affirmed a truth we have long believed: resilience is not built through exclusion or retreat, but through inclusion, partnership, and shared ownership of the future.
While parts of the Global North turned inward, 2025 saw the Global South lead, advancing market-led, gender-equal solutions that recognize women and underserved communities not as beneficiaries, but as architects of economic resilience. This leadership is not symbolic. It is practical, scalable, and increasingly impossible to ignore.
Against this backdrop, the Orange Movement™ continued to grow, not just in size, but in substance. Today, our global community stands at over 293,000 supporters, with USD 1.5 billion in capital committed, and 3.16 million lives empowered. These numbers matter, but what they represent matters more: a collective belief that inclusive finance is not a concession, rather a competitive advantage.
This year, that belief translated into historic milestones:
Beyond issuances, Orange took root at a structural level. Bangladesh recognized Orange Bonds within its regulatory framework, Vietnam surpassed the global average on the Orange Index™, and policymakers increasingly converged around a shared understanding: inclusive finance accelerates both national priorities and global development goals. Orange is emerging as a practical vehicle for aligning climate, growth, and social priorities in ways markets can actually deliver.
None of this emerged overnight. What we are seeing today is the result of years of unglamorous work. Building standards where none existed. Preparing ecosystems before capital arrived. Staying the course when inclusion was still viewed as risk rather than strength. It required partners willing to pioneer alongside us, from Orange Bond Verifiers who brought rigor and credibility, to governments, philanthropies, and private-sector actors who invested in systems, not shortcuts.
That same discipline is embedded in the tools we have built over 16 years. From IIX Values™ and the Orange Seal to our inclusion and impact assessments. They translate last-mile realities into intelligence markets can trust, allowing capital to move with confidence even in uncertain times.
The clearest lesson of 2025 is this: resilience is the product of inclusion. Financial systems that widen participation and invest in people are better equipped to absorb shocks, manage risk, and adapt to volatility. In a year marked by anxiety and retreat, Orange demonstrated something quietly decisive. Inclusion strengthens markets.
This is why despite global instability, 2025 was the year of Orange.
As we look ahead, the choice before us is clear. We can continue with narrow definitions of value, or we can build markets designed to endure. At IIX, we remain committed to the latter. With passion. With equity. With a maverick spirit. And with resilience built in.
With gratitude, determination and Defiant Optimism,
Prof. Durreen Shahnaz
CEO and Founder, Impact Investment Exchange (IIX)
PREM – Maverick
At IIX, in partnership with the Ford Foundation, we work to strengthen the ecosystems needed to bring Orange Bonds to market – building financial systems that work better for women, for markets, and for long-term development.
For years, sustainability commitments have been framed as moral imperatives – important, but often perceived as adding pressure on companies. As expectations evolve, a central question is resurfacing in boardrooms and policy circles: can responsible business conduct coexist with growth and competitiveness?
The World Benchmarking Alliance’s new discussion paper, Profit Meets Purpose, steps into this debate with data from more than 1,100 globally influential companies. The analysis explores how responsible business practices relate to financial outcomes and supply chain accountability – a question that is becoming increasingly relevant as regulations and investor expectations rise worldwide.
The trading floor of the Indonesia Stock Exchange filled with almost 500 in-person and online participants from more than 32 countries on the morning of November 17 in Jakarta. IIX CEO and Founder Prof. Durreen Shahnaz stood alongside Bappenas Vice Minister Febrian Alphyanto Ruddyard, IDX President Director Iman Rachman, and PT PNM’s Commissioner Veronica Colondam. In their hands: a ceremonial bell.
Its ringing symbolized Indonesia’s leadership in a financial movement reshaping how the Global South builds prosperity. The ceremony celebrated Indonesia’s first Orange Bond and the world’s first Orange Sukuk, instruments that embed gender equality and climate action into capital markets.
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has released a draft amendment to the Debt Securities Rules, 2021 – a move that could transform the country’s sustainable finance landscape. For the first time, Orange Bonds have been formally recognized within a national regulatory framework, alongside new provisions for gender bonds and sustainability bonds.
This milestone is especially significant for IIX and the Orange Movement, as it represents the fruition of years of dialogue and development to embed inclusive, gender-smart finance at the policy level.
India stands at a pivotal moment in its growth journey. While the nation is projected to experience robust growth of 6.4% in FY 2025 and FY 2026 (IMF, 2025), driven by strong domestic consumption, manufacturing push, a growing working-age population, and general macroeconomic stability, it continues to grapple with persistent challenges, including high unemployment, poverty, income inequality, and, most recently, the impact of new US tariffs.
