ORANGE FORUM 2024
Join us at Orange Forum 2024 in Singapore, where we will celebrate the transformative impact of Orange Bonds™ in driving gender equality and climate action. This groundbreaking asset class, designed for the Global South, highlights the vital role women and gender minorities play in creating sustainable futures. Under the theme “Sustainable Futures through Orange,” the forum will unite leaders from diverse sectors to explore innovative financial solutions and forge impactful partnerships. Together, we’ll redefine what sustainable finance can achieve for a more inclusive and resilient world.
PAINTING THE WORLD ORANGE
GLOBAL CONFERENCES AND EVENTS
June 2024 - Environmental Finance Sustainable Debt Conference, Singapore
In a dynamic panel discussion on the future of ESG-labelled bonds in Asia that took place on June 4, 2024, IIX’s Chief Investment Officer, Mr. Robert Kraybill spotlighted IIX’s pioneering initiatives, especially Orange Bonds, which sparked enthusiastic conversations among attendees. He shared compelling insights on leveraging social bonds' potential, emphasizing how investors can measure and track their impact for smarter, more meaningful investments.
May 2024 - ESG Investor Conference 2024, Vietnam
IIX participated in the Vietnam ESG Investor Conference 2024 happened last May 16th and 17th. Our representative was part of the panel "Supporting SMEs on their Investment Readiness and ESG Impact Journey," highlighting the significant challenges Vietnamese SMEs face in adopting ESG practices due to data availability, resource constraints, and lack of awareness. With SMEs making up 97.8% of all businesses in Vietnam, it is crucial to address these issues. The discussion focused on overcoming barriers to investment readiness, leveraging available tools and resources for impact measurement and management, and identifying opportunities for SMEs to enhance their social and environmental impact. The panel emphasized the need for increased awareness and capacity building to support SMEs in their ESG journey.
March 2024 - Gender Lens Investing: The Next Decade, USA
On March 24, 2024, Ms. Sue Suh, advisor at IIX, moderated a panel emphasizing the global reach and financial returns of gender-lens investing, along with its tools' accessibility and its role in fostering a greener, collaborative, and equitable world.
March 2024 - Impact Investing Summit, Australia
IIX led impactful discussions and introduced the Orange Movement, fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships and contributing to global impact investment trends. IIX’s partners who spoke at the hosted event include DFAT, Uniting Financial Services, and the Institute of Economics and Peace held last March 20-21, 2024.
February 2024 - Sankalp Africa Summit, Kenya
Last February 28th and 29th, 2024, IIX engaged with diverse stakeholders, including entrepreneurs, investors, and sustainable development practitioners from the impact investing ecosystem. IIX’s participation involved initiating discussions and conversations to expand and amplify impact investing activities in Africa.
February 2024 - Feminist Finance Forum 2024 UNESCAP, Thailand
At the Feminist Finance Forum, which took place on February 9, 2024, hosted by the United Nations ESCAP, the session "Scaling the Orange Movement" highlighted IIX’s significant contributions to advancing feminist finance. This initiative is in collaboration with DFAT, ANZ, and institutional investors, including Nuveen, a TIAA company, APG Asset Management, and PayPal. The collaboration aims to bridge diverse markets and empower women, girls, and gender minorities throughout the Global South. The session underscored the pivotal role of collaboration and innovative finance in driving gender equality and empowering underrepresented groups through the Orange Movement.
January 2024 - AFIFORUM, Thailand
IIX delivered an insightful address on the pivotal role Gender Lens Investing held on January 23, 2024 plays in women's empowerment, emphasizing the necessity for gender-empowered financial markets.
WEBINAR
June 2024 - An informative webinar on Orange Capital for Orange-seal certified SMEs/Impact
In June, IIX hosted a webinar for Orange Capital aimed at promoting it among SMEs across Asia, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and Africa. The webinar provided a detailed overview of the eligibility criteria for Orange Capital products such as Orange Loans and Orange Bonds, emphasizing the importance of SMEs signing the Orange Pledge and obtaining the Orange Seal to improve their access to financing opportunities. Insights from IIX's Credit and Portfolio Management Teams clarified investment mandates and criteria, helping SMEs qualify for these capital options. The webinar, in partnership with Water.org, targeted SMEs in sectors related to WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) and gender equality, expanding outreach and supporting sustainable business growth.
March 2024 - The Final Leap – Showcasing Orange Movement Trailblazers From Global South
The Investor Showcase highlighted visionary impact entrepreneurs from India, Nigeria, and Vietnam who are dedicated to advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These entrepreneurs, who are approaching critical funding stages, are poised to bring about significant change through the Orange Movement™. They aim to transform business models and societal norms, showcasing the transformative potential of their enterprises within the Orange Movement™ and their ability to drive innovation and sustainable impact on a global scale. The showcase emphasized the pioneering spirit and innovative solutions of these entrepreneurs, illustrating their commitment to addressing social and environmental challenges.
August 2023 - ORANGE FORUM
The 'Orange Forum 2023,' held on August 17th at the United Nations (UN) Asia-Pacific Headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, marked a pivotal moment within the broader UN Feminist Finance Forum. With a gathering of approximately 100 key stakeholders, the event brought together policymakers, women entrepreneurs, investors, financial service providers, and representatives from civil society, academia, and women's grassroots organizations. The focus was on propelling the mission of the Orange Movement™, aiming to mobilize $10 billion by 2030 to empower 100 million women, girls, and gender minorities. The forum's discussions transitioned the gender lens investing narrative from mere strategy to actionable initiatives.
Central to the event were engaging dialogues and presentations by practitioners, all aimed at elevating the voices of women and gender minorities. Recognizing their role as solution providers with immense potential to drive economic growth, especially in climate action, peacebuilding, and prosperity. An intersectional perspective emerged, highlighting the promising overlap between climate and gender finance, showcasing avenues for both equity and environmental sustainability. The spotlight was also on data's crucial role in promoting transparency and diversity. Cutting-edge technology solutions were unveiled to reshape data collection, emphasizing the need for transparent tracking of progress, especially in matters related to gender and climate.
The event facilitated fruitful connections among notable entities such as Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), UN Women, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT), Green Climate Fund, UNESCAP, Swedish Embassy, TIME, 2X Global, Sweef Capital, Griffith University , AVPN, She Loves Tech, and Value For Women, fostering collaborative momentum for transformative change.
Watch a recording of the session here
June 2023 - UN RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM
Ms. Kathy-Thuy Nguyen, Country Director, IIX discussed the world’s first Orange Bond and how the Orange Bond Initiative™ supports women Initiative supports women leadership in accelerating the just energy transition. Ms. Nguyen outlined the cross-section of gender and climate and the ability of bonds to distribute necessary capital to communities across emerging markets.
Ms. Nguyen was joined by Ms. Athena Denise Galao, Program Analyst, UN Women, Ms. Amira Bilqis, Energy Modelling and Policy Planning Analyst, ASEAN Centre for Energy, Ms Duong Khanh Ly, Director, Nghia Ta Agricultural and Forestry Cooperative, and Ms. Alice Jipius, Project Manager, Tonibung.
Ms. Kathy shared, “We redefine the role of women and recognize them as solutions to issues such as climate change and as drivers of change across sectors. The Women's Livelihood Bond Series has mobilized US$128 million, empowering over 1 million women and girls across Asia and Africa to transition to more sustainable and climate-resilient livelihoods. It specifically supports low-income and rural women to better adapt to climate change and to be part of the energy transition."
Mr. Dinesh Sharma, Head – Credit Portfolio Management, IIX and Ms. Eleanor Keppelman, Investment Officer, U.S. DFC discussed the Orange Bond Initiative™ on a Green, Social, Sustainable, and other labelled (GSS+) bonds panel at AFIFORUM 2023. They were joined by Mr. Boo Hock Khoo, Co-Founder, The Development Guarantee Group, and the session was moderated by Mr. Rafiqul Islam, Managing Director and CEO, Green Delta Securities. Mr. Sharma and Ms. Keppelman discussed the Orange Bond Initiative™ approach to investing in gender equality and its importance in providing emerging markets a value in capital markets while discussing the role both IIX and the U.S. DFC have played in Orange Bond issuances such as the WLB™ Series.
March 2023 - G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group
The first meeting of the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group focused on the existing approaches for enabling financing towards the UN SDGs. Ms. Natasha Garcha, Senior Director, Innovative Finance, Impact Investment Exchange was on a panel to specifically discuss the role of social impact financial instruments wherein she shared insights from IIX’s Women’s Livelihood Bond™ (WLB™) Series and discussed the alignment of the Orange Bond Initiative™ with the broader goals of the G20
Ms. Garcha was joined on the panel by Mr. Sebastián Welisiejko, Chief Policy Officer, Global Steering Group for Impact Investment, Mr. Vineet Rai, Founder, Aavishkaar Group, Ms. Dean Hand, Chief Research Officer, Global Impact Investing Network, and Ms. Eila Kreivi, Chief Sustainable Finance Advisor, European Investment Bank (Moderator).
March 2023 - Australia Impact Investment Summit
Professor Durreen Shahnaz, Founder, and CEO of Impact Investment Exchange, hosted a session on the 'Making of Orange Bonds' at the Australian Impact Investment Summit 2023.
Prof. Shahnaz was joined on the panel by Ms. Stephanie Copus Campbell, Ambassador for Gender Equality, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ms. Trisha Gray, Assistant Director, Gender Equality, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Ms. Katharine Tapley, Head of Sustainable Finance, Australia and New Zealand Bank.
The panel addressed how the Orange Bond Initiative™ is a cross-cutting asset class tackling green- and impact-washing in the sustainable debt market. They also discussed the Initiative’s approach to ensuring women are seen as solutions, not just as victims of these issues, and bringing the Global South back to the decision-making table.
October 2022 - SOCAP
At SOCAP 2022, Ms. Natasha Garcha, Senior Director, Innovative Finance, Impact Investment Exchange, Mr. Stephen Liberatore, Managing Director, Head of ESG/ Impact, Global Fixed Income, Nuveen, and Mr. Richard Greenberg, Managing Director, Social Enterprise Finance, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation hosted a fireside chat about the Orange Bond Initiative™.
The panel provided an overview of the Initiative including insights from market intelligence reports, data-driven impact reporting, democratization tools, and upcoming transactions such as the Women’s Livelihood Bond™ 5. It also shared pathways for ecosystem actors to showcase gender-equal capital market support.
Mr. Greenberg, Managing Director, U.S. DFC shared, “The Orange Bond Initiative™ goes beyond setting standards to mobilizing capital for gender equality and building an ecosystem committed to transitioning from strategy to action.”