Durreen Shahnaz wins Oslo Business for Peace Award

Durreen Shahnaz, a social entrepreneur from Bangladesh, has won the Oslo Business for Peace Award 2017 for her commitment to promoting an evolved form of capitalism that values both financial returns and positive social and environmental impact.

She is the founder of Singapore based Impact Investment Exchange Asia (IIX), the home of the world’s first social stock exchange and the world’s largest private placement platform for impact investing, according to a press release.

She was the first Bangladeshi woman to work on Wall Street and to graduate from the renowned Wharton School of Business.

The winners of Oslo Business for Peace Award were announced at the Oslo City Hall on Tuesday. The other honourees this year are Dr Harley Seyedin, Murad Al-Katib and Elon Musk.

The award highlights exceptional individuals who are able to ethically create economic value while generating value for society, according to the press release.

Recipients are selected by a committee of Nobel Prize winners and past award recipients include Sir Richard Branson of Virgin (2014), Ratan Tata of Tata Group (2010), Mo Ibrahim of Mo Ibrahim Foundation (2009), and Paul Polman of Unilever (2015).

This year, the four honorees, including Durreen Shahnaz, will be presented to the public and the media at an award ceremony on May 16 at the Oslo City Hall, the same location as that of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.

The Oslo Business for Peace Award is granted by the Business for Peace Foundation, which is an Oslo based foundation which honours individual leaders who create value for business and society in an ethical and responsible way, helping to build a peaceful and prosperous environment for the world.