12 July 2023, Cape Town: UNDP, through its Africa Sustainable Finance Hub (ASFH) and SDG Impact, along with its partner, Social Value International, delivered the second SDG Impact Standards Train-the-Trainer Course in Sub-Saharan Africa on 10 – 12 July 2023, after its inaugural edition in October 2022. The course took place on the sidelines of the Africa Impact Summit and was hosted by the Global Steering Group (GSG) for Impact Investing.
The course attracted nearly 20 experienced impact measurement and management professionals who want to build their own capacity and work as part of a global community accelerating the adoption of the SDG Impact Standards - voluntary management standards designed to guide businesses and investors on their sustainability journeys. Participants drew from diverse African markets, covering all sub-regions of the continent, and representing various National Advisory Boards (NABs) for Impact Investing, affiliated task forces, investors and strategy consultants, among others. The training provided a special opportunity for experts in the food sector from across the African Sahel region and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), supported through UNDP scholarships made possible by the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, to harness private finance and business for transforming food systems towards sustainability.
Attendees of the course who successfully pass an assessment become Accredited Trainers and will train individuals from companies in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond who are interested in adopting the SDG Impact Standards and, with their help, managing for impact to realize their sustainability and SDG intentions and commitments in a holistic, credible, and accountable way.
The SDG Impact Standards are the missing piece of the sustainable business and investing puzzle. While external reporting on sustainability is a critical element, so too are the decisions made by organizations throughout their operations. The SDG Impact Standards aim at transforming mindsets in the way business and investments are done so that both financial and non-financial value creation for the organization, people and planet are considered equally important in the business and investment decision-making process.
Joan Manda, Senior SDG Investment Advisor, UNDP ASFH, commented, “The Accredited Trainers from last year’s inaugural edition have made significant steps towards rolling out the SDG Impact Standards to African markets. I am delighted to have Amma Lartey, the CEO of Impact Investing Ghana who joined the inaugural edition, also training this cohort and sharing her experience in the past year in delivering noteworthy ecosystem building initiatives and capacity building exercises. With our second cohort, we are able to offer additional scale and, importantly, provide an opportunity to focus on food systems as a critical sector for Africa’s sustainable development progress. The partnership with GSG and its National Advisory Boards allowed us to reach the key individuals that will help to bring the broader sustainability practices to African businesses and investors.”
Yewande Ososanya, Sustainability Strategy Lead at PwC Nigeria and a training participant specialized in food systems, added, “The SDG Impact Standards Train-the-Trainer Course took us on a lively and informative tour of the fundamental actions organisations should take to make impact driven decisions. The SDG Impact Standards are about listening to all stakeholders, using data to generate insights and ultimately taking action to increase positive impact and reduce negative impact. They are not about perfection, but about rapid progress. I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of a community of doers.”
To access a list of Accredited Trainers for the SDG Impact Standards across Africa and the globe, and learn more about future training opportunities, visit sdgimpact.undp.org. For further information about the course, please contact Joan Manda at joan.manda@undp.org.
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