Founder & CEO
-Impact Investment Exchange (IIX)
Country: Singapore
Asset Class: Private Credit
Preferred Stages: Mature
Preferred Sectors: financial inclusion, clean energy, sustainable agriculture, WASH, affordable housing
Preferred Geos: Global South including, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka, Rwanda, and Kenya
Board Postions: Serves/has served in Board positions including: UNDP, United Nations ESCAP, G20 Steering Committee for Impact Investing and was also an appointed member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council.
Durreen Shahnaz is a global pioneer in impact investing, founder of Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) and IIX Foundation, and author of The Defiant Optimist: Daring to Fight Global Inequality, Reinvent Finance, and Invest in Women.
She is the visionary behind the Orange Movement™, which introduced the Orange Bond, a groundbreaking new asset class that advances gender equality and climate resilience. Through innovative financial solutions like Orange bonds, including the Women’s Livelihood Bond Series, and the world’s first social stock exchange, IIX has mobilized over $500 million in private sector capital, impacting over 160 million lives.
Shahnaz, a Forbes 50 over 50 honoree, has earned accolades like the Oslo Business for Peace Award and UN Women’s WEP award for her leadership in women’s empowerment, financial inclusion, climate action, and sustainability. She holds degrees from Smith College, Wharton, and Johns Hopkins.