Driving Change Across ASEAN: Bintang’s Transformative Year

2024 was a year of transformation for Bintang as we deepened our commitment to creating meaningful impact across ASEAN.

A major highlight was Bintang’s inaugural impact conference, “Building a Better Future Together – Catalysing the ASEAN B Corp Movement” which was graced by both YB Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and YB Chin Tong Liew. The event united changemakers from the entrepreneurial, policymaking, academic and professional spheres to champion sustainability and the growth of purpose-driven businesses.

The year also marked the entry of two of our partner companies - Involve Asia and Care Concierge - into the global community of B Corp certified companies. Together, Bintang and our portfolio companies represent ~20% of Malaysia's B Corps, marking an early step towards our greater aspiration of reaching 150 B Corps by 2050 (we're 2% of the way there with 26 years to go!).

This year we also started collaborating closely with federal and state governments (including Penang State Government and Ministry of Finance Malaysia), regulators (notably Securities Commission Malaysia) and global impact organisations (AVPN, Taiwan Impact Investing Association (TIIA), amongst many others) to strengthen Malaysia’s and Asia’s impact ecosystem. While there’s still much work to be done, these partnerships reflect the real progress being made on the ground.

On the investment front, we made our maiden investment into a female entrepreneur-led business, The Flow Studio, which reaffirms our commitment towards the ideals of inclusivity and equality through action.

Bintang also made history by earning global recognition as the first Southeast Asian firm to win the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (“UN PRI”) Award, making us the first winner from Asia for the Private Markets award. We also won the Malaysia's United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs)(“UN WEPs”) Innovative Financing award for promoting gender diversity and inclusivity. Additionally, our “sequel funds” to BCP Asia Fund I achieved a Gold rating from BlueMark Fund ID, a testament to our commitment towards driving impact integrity.

Bintang’s values are reflected in our commitment to robust governance and transparency, reflected in our Responsible and Sustainable Investment Policy, and reporting initiatives such as our UN PRI Transparency Report, and annual Disclosure Statement for the Operating Principles for Impact Management. We remain committed to aligning with global standards while ensuring accountability in investment practices and impact measurement.

Last week, we celebrated the amazing team behind these milestones during our year-end townhall, honoring the dedication, passion, and shared mission that drives us daily despite past and future challenges.

These achievements were made possible by the unwavering support of our partners and stakeholders. Thank you for being part of our 2024 journey, and here’s to an even greater impact in 2025!