This session is organized by the African Regional Partnership for Sustainability and SDG Reporting (ARP), launched in 2022 to promote sustainability reporting in the region. The ARP aims to promote collaboration in the development of enabling policies for sustainability reporting and to improve comparability of data on the contribution of the private sector to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the region. The Partnership acts as a bridge to share knowledge among African countries and between the African region and international organisations and standard setters in the field of sustainability reporting. It has been joined by 55 members representing 28 countries.
In 2022 the African continent received not more than 3% of worldwide FDI. More investment oriented towards the SDGs is critical to facilitate sustainable growth in Africa. The meeting will focus on how sustainability reporting can act as an enabler to boost financial flows into the African region, highlighting the potential benefits of harmonized sustainability reporting standards and regulations. It will demonstrate how collaboration between different stakeholders can encourage and facilitate impact investment by synergizing countries’ efforts in developing capacity-building on sustainability reporting and impact finance. The meeting will bring together relevant national and regional stakeholders from the African continent, including government representatives, regulators, stock exchanges, professional accounting organizations, as well as investment banks that operate in the region.
Finally, the meeting will aim to establish and facilitate dialogue among regional stakeholders in the green finance space to share insights, experiences, and best practices, with the ultimate goal of promoting sustainable development in Africa.
Session themes:
- Foster a better understanding of the role of sustainability reporting in enabling investment flows and promoting green finance projects in Africa
- Share best practices in facilitating impact investment in Africa and identify opportunities for collaboration among stakeholders to promote sustainable investment practices in the region