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:

  • In Indonesia, we advised PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM) on the issuance of the country’s first Orange Bond and the world’s first Orange Sukuk, valued at nearly USD 980 million
  • In Japan, ITOCHU Corporation issued USD 103 million in Orange Bonds, the first ever by a non-financial corporation, demonstrating that gender equality and climate resilience are no longer peripheral to corporate strategy  but integral to long-term value creation.
  • Through Women’s Livelihood Bond™ 7, our largest Series to date, IIX mobilized USD 60 million in its first tranche alone, supporting over 770,000 women and girls across India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.

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