Durreen Shahnaz

Global Leader, Social Impact and Impact Investing

Durreen Shahnaz is the founder and CEO of Impact Investment Exchange (IIX). As a pioneer in social impact, Shahnaz has led IIX to create the world’s first social stock exchange, the largest crowdfunding platform for impact investing (Impact Partners) and innovative financial structures such as the Women’s Livelihood Bond series. Shahnaz developed industry benchmarks such as Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS), and is launching IIX Values, a technology-driven impact measurement and management platform.

For her pioneering work, Shahnaz received the 2017 Oslo Business for Peace Award— the ‘Nobel Prize for Business’— and the 2016 Asia Game Changer Award, among others. She is also an advisory member of UNDP, UNESCAP, World Economic Forum, and TED fellow. Shahnaz holds a BA from Smith College; a joint degree – MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MA from the School for Advanced International Studies at John Hopkins University.

Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) is the pioneer in impact investing and the global leader in sustainability. We have transformed the financial system so that women, the environment and underserved communities are finally given a value and a voice in the global market. Over the past decade, we have built the world’s largest crowdfunding platform for impact investing (Impact Partners), created innovative financial products such as the Women’s Livelihood Bond Series, digitized our impact assessment to effectively measure and value the impact of an enterprise on people and planet through IIX Values, operated award-winning enterprise technical assistance programs such as IIX ACTS, and established an Impact Institute for training and education. To date, our work has spanned 46 countries, unlocked close to US$200 million of private sector capital and positively impacted over 80 million direct and household lives. IIX has received numerous awards for its work including the Oslo Business for Peace Award, the ‘Nobel Prize for Business.’