Research / Insights

This study is an addendum to “Transforming for Sustainability: Driving Impact and Value through Supply Chain Action", conducted by the Centre for Impact Investing and Practices with support from Khazanah Nasional Berhad. This report was launched in May 2025 and can be found here. 

To support the development of the main report, Research For Impact conducted a study from April to July 2024 involving more than 3,500 MSMEs in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam who are current or potential international suppliers across four key sectors – consumer goods, electronics and electrical equipment, food and beverage (F&B), and tourism – to capture their perspectives on the specific dimensions below. This addendum contains additional data, analysis, and insights not present in the main report. and was completed in December 2024, with updates made in March 2025.

1. Current level of awareness of ESG practices and key drivers
2. Current adoption of ESG policy and standards
3. Trends in ESG practice and reporting
4. Current levels of resourcing for ESG
5. Underlying motivations and challenges with respect to ESG
6. Future plans and support for ESG practices

This study was supported by Local Survey Partners across the 4 main markets of focus, namely Katadata Insight Center (Indonesia), EY Malaysia (Malaysia), Blackbox Research (Singapore), and Indochina Research (Vietnam).  The data and insights in this addendum provide additional analyses not contained within the May report, particularly more detailed insights from our survey findings. 

The release of this deep-dive analysis is in line with CIIP's mission to build knowledge assets that serve as public goods to support the adoption of impact investing and impact practices across sectors, in this case, focused on MNCs, investors, and other stakeholders with an interest in the sustainable transformation of MSMEs and supply chains. 

Download "Bridging the ESG Gap: Insights from Southeast Asian MSMEs - Addendum Deck 2025" here.