FORUM HIGHLIGHTS WAYS TO LINK SOCIAL

ENTERPRISES WITH IMPACT INVESTORS

DHAKA, BANGLADESH (10 January 2011) – Social enterprises are making an important
contribution to inclusive economic growth and in providing opportunities for the poor in the Asia and
Pacific region, but they need financing from impact investors to scale up their efforts. A social stock
exchange offers a possible mechanism to bring the two together.

These were the conclusions of the “Impact Forum for Social Change” co-organized today in
Dhaka, Bangladesh by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Impact Investment Exchange Asia (IIX
Asia).

Social enterprises – organizations using business methods to address social or environmental

concerns – are tackling problems such as lack of access to basic goods and services in healthcare,
education, housing, and micro-financing. However, social enterprises are generally unable to make
widespread, systemic, and positive impact because they lack access to growth capital to expand their
operations.

Impact investors – investors seeking both financial and social returns – are addressing this need
by committing resources to businesses considered socially and environmentally responsible. However,
even social enterprises with access to some funding are seeing their capital needs quickly outpace the
capacity of investors in the private markets.

There is no platform in the region where socially minded impact investors can direct their capital
into reliable and liquid investments. Traditional stock exchanges tend to ignore social enterprises, as
their investors’ primary focus is on maximizing profits.

“ADB recognizes the powerful role of the private sector in promoting development and addressing
poverty in the Asia and Pacific region,” said Bart W. Édes, Director of ADB’s Poverty, Gender, and Social
Development Division. “This forum shows that there are substantial private funds available to invest in
social enterprises. To free up more of these funds, however, it will be necessary to identify social
enterprises ready to receive capital, agree on a way to measure their performance, and create vehicles
through which investments can take place.”

According to IIX Asia, a social stock exchange will allow sustainable social enterprises to raise
capital through the capital markets. “A regional stock exchange serving social enterprises from
Bangladesh and other developing countries would link social enterprises in need of funding with impact
investors who understand their business models and value their social mission,” said Durreen Shahnaz,
founder and Chair of IIX Asia.

Such a specialized exchange would reduce the cost of search for impact investors and increase
their confidence in purchasing shares and bonds issued by social enterprises looking to expand their
operations, added Ms. Shahnaz.

The one-day forum assembled 60 participants from government, development agencies, social
enterprises, and impact investors, as well as experts in capital market development and resource
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10 January 2011
Page 2

mobilization. It is aimed at providing participants with a deeper understanding of impact investment,

impact measurement, and the market readiness of social enterprises in Bangladesh and elsewhere in the
Asia and Pacific region.

ADB’s support for the forum was provided by the technical assistance project on Developing a
Regional Social Investment Exchange Initiative, financed by the Investment Climate Facilitation Fund
under the Regional Cooperation and Integration Financing Partnership.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive
economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is
owned by 67 members – 48 from the region.

IIX Asia is a Singapore-based social enterprise with a mission to provide other social enterprises
in Asia with greater access to capital, thereby allowing them to more rapidly expand the impact of their
activities. IIX Asia seeks to establish the region’s first social stock exchange to provide sustainable
social enterprises from developing countries with the opportunity to raise capital through the capital
markets, based on their social, environmental, and financial results. IIX Asia has received significant
financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation.

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For more information, please contact:

ADB
In Manila :
Harumi Kodama
Tel. No.: +63 2 632 5291
Email: hkodama@adb.org

In Dhaka:
Gobinda Bar
Tel. No. +880 2 815 6000-8
Email: gbar@adb.org

IIX Asia
In Singpaore

Ms. Lina Tang

Tel. No. : +65 6221 7051
Email: ltang@asiaiix.com.