Renowned ESG expert, Professor Christopher Marquis graced our Malaysian staff gathering at PARC, Subang Jaya last November. An exclusive interview was arranged for Chris by The Edge Malaysia, which also highlighted Genashtim’s B Corp certification and our role as a B Market Builder for Southeast Asia (except Singapore).

 At the interview, Thomas recounted Genashtim’s establishment in 2008 as a modest for-profit social enterprise that only became profitable during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s continuous affirmative actions toward disability inclusion earned it the B Corp certification in 2015. Today, over half of its 150+ employees are people with disabilities (PWDs), and 30% belong to disadvantaged groups.

Amid growing interest in B Corp certification in 2021, B Lab provided an opportunity for Genashtim to assist in the verification process of companies seeking B Corp certification. Ee Beng, who is partially blind was selected to lead this crucial effort. Under his remarkable leadership, Genashtim’s 100 or so employees in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) Services team are doing a good job.

Ongoing discussions between Thomas and a Malaysian government agency underscore the vision of integrating the B Impact Assessment (BIA) into small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across Malaysia – bidding businesses to initiate the free B Corp certification process for positive economic, social, and environmental impact.

Genashtim is strongly committed to helping SMEs in Malaysia and the Southeast Asian region to achieve B Corp certification so that businesses can truly be a force for good.