Bintang Capital Partners Berhad (“Bintang” or the “Firm”), has been named “Global SME of the Year” at the 2023 Sustainable Company Awards by Environmental Finance magazine, a major online publication reporting on sustainable investment, green finance, as well as individuals and companies which are active in environmental markets.
The “Global SME of the Year” category recognises companies that are taking significant steps to transform their operations to create a more sustainable future. Winners were selected by a panel of judges consisting of over forty (40) prolific investors, pension funds, insurers and industry experts from
around the world.
The judges highlighted Bintang’s “very robust governance and policies” and that the Firm “holds the assets in its portfolio up to a high ESG performance standard and is focused on transparency.” They also applauded Bintang’s Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (“JEDI”) metrics and programmes,
commenting that the initiatives have strong social equity considerations in place.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bintang, Johan Rozali-Wathooth shared, “Our team at Bintang is deeply honoured to be recognised as Global SME of the Year by Environmental Finance.
“This award recognises our team’s commitment towards Bintang’s vision: each of us took a giant leap of faith when we struck out as pioneers in attempting to trailblaze a private equity impact investing ecosystem within Southeast Asia since our founding in 2018.
“We deeply believe that responsible capitalism must be the way forward for future generations: and this can only be achieved by inculcating an investing mindset that combines purpose, people and planet to underpin the creation of ethical profit through innovative solutions.
“We are glad that our global peers recognize the importance of these efforts, and we are very grateful for the support and endorsement.”
In order to qualify for the award, Bintang had to demonstrate its achievements in four key areas:
1. Transformation Journey: Evolving from a traditional private equity strategy, Bintang has shifted its focus towards impact and sustainability, now operating under rigorous standards and certifications.
2. Sustainability and Impact Frameworks: The Firm has adopted globally-recognised frameworks such as the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment and the Operating Principles for Impact Management. By also attaining B Corporation certification, the Firm further cemented its commitment to responsible investing. The B Corp certification framework – developed by B Lab through the B Impact Assessment – also enables Bintang to assess and measure the impact of its portfolio companies on a standardised basis. This approach allows Bintang to extend its impact outreach to incorporate impact considerations and initiatives within the Firm’s Value Creation Plans for its portfolio companies.
3. Creating Impact: Bintang takes a proactive approach in identifying business opportunities that address societal and environmental challenges and implements holistic Value Creation Plans to maximize its portfolio companies’ positive impact. Bintang takes pride in being the first B Corp certified private equity firm in Southeast Asia and has pledged to create 150 B Corporation certified companies by 2050.
4. Results and Recognition of Success: Through its B Corp certification, Bintang’s commendable B Impact Score of 109.1 positions it amongst the top-tier private equity and investment firms globally in terms of impact creation.
This marks the second award Bintang has won in September 2023, having recently won the Innovative Investment award at the 2023 ASEAN Business Awards. The ASEAN Business Advisory Council award is given to companies who have demonstrated outstanding creativity in their investment strategies and is an endorsement of Bintang’s Triple-I Strategy (“Investing in Impact & Innovation”). The ASEAN Business Awards have been organised annually by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council since 2007, and Bintang was the only Malaysian awardee in 2023 from more than 700 applicants.
Recent investments by the Firm include Involve Asia, a technology company that operates a performance-based marketing platform and Care Concierge, a multi-award-winning provider of elderly care solutions. Both Involve Asia and Care Concierge were recently featured in the 2023 Forbes Asia 100 To Watch list, a prestigious list which spotlights notable rising companies across the Asia-Pacific region. Another portfolio company of Bintang, iHandal, was featured in the inaugural edition of Forbes Asia 100 To Watch in 2021.
