By: Mabel Adorkor Annang
The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, (GIPC) and the United Nations Development Programme, (UNDP) have jointly called on private lenders and businesses to invest in areas such as ICT and health as they are at the core of a robust recovery from the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Building a more inclusive and resilient health sector and pushing for digitalisation in all sectors of the economy will position Ghana to build back stronger and to prepare to withstand future shocks.
This will accelerate the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in Ghana. The maiden breakfast meeting on SDGs Investor Map Utilization hopes to close the financing gap, estimated at $43 billion per year. Chief Executive of GIPC, Yoofi Grant said opportunity exists in the ICT and health sectors that prospective investors can tap into for mutual gains.
According to Mr. Grant, “as a nation seeking development and the attainment of the SDGs, we are recognizing the need for a new global development strategy, which calls for stronger public-private partnerships to overcome the pre-existing yearly SDG financial gap of $200 billion in Africa. As such, we as government and the GIPC will actively support and guide investors who seek to invest in any of the priority sectors outlined in the SDG Investor Map to propel national development”.
“Enormous opportunity exists in the ICT sector and health sector that prospective investors can tap into to make profitable gains while making positive contributions to society, the environment and the economy at large”, he added.
A UNDP Resident Representative Angela Lusigi says UNDP remains resolute in helping bridge the current SDG financing gap of 43 dollars a year describing it as daunting but yet achievable as it will help push the transformation recovery agenda for SDGs.
“As UNDP in Ghana, our support to development financing takes a holistic ecosystem approach. We are working to leverage district and national planning and financing processes to strengthen partnerships, develop policy and promote innovative financing solutions for integrated COVID 19 recovery plans. We are coordinating multi-stakeholder engagements to support transformational recovery by linking businesses to investment opportunities as well as integrating insurance and risk financing into the financing architecture. We believe that both public and private capital are integral to SDG financing”.
”We know that the task to bridge the current SDG financing gap of USD 43 billion a year is daunting, but we remain resolute in our quest to support the mobilization of additional financing to support the implementation of the SDGs.” Angela Lusigi noted.
In partnership with the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) and Ministry of Finance, UNDP has supported 6 Metropolitan, Municipal and Districts Assemblies (MMDAs) to prepare COVID-19 recovery plans and Integrated Assembly Financing Frameworks to help position them to diversify their financing sources and explore innovative ways of financing development.