• Latest
SDG Activation Day Highlights Private Sector’s role in Advancing 2030 Agenda

SDG Activation Day Highlights Private Sector’s role in Advancing 2030 Agenda

6 months ago
Jacob Kiplimo Wins Chicago Marathon, Becomes 7th Fastest Man of all Time

Jacob Kiplimo Wins Chicago Marathon, Becomes 7th Fastest Man of all Time

47 minutes ago
Muntu Launches ANT Manifesto, Pledges ‘A Change You Can Trust’

Muntu Launches ANT Manifesto, Pledges ‘A Change You Can Trust’

1 day ago
Museveni to Nebbi Voters: Vote NRM to Achieve High-Income Status

Museveni to Nebbi Voters: Vote NRM to Achieve High-Income Status

1 day ago
From Ntungamo to Mogadishu: Uganda Exports Finished Inspire Africa Coffee to Somalia

From Ntungamo to Mogadishu: Uganda Exports Finished Inspire Africa Coffee to Somalia

1 day ago
Temporary Power Cuts Necessary as We Rehabilitate Ageing Substations – Nankabirwa

Temporary Power Cuts Necessary as We Rehabilitate Ageing Substations – Nankabirwa

1 day ago
Museveni Urges Youth to Embrace Ideology and Innovation at Afro-Arab Summit

Museveni Urges Youth to Embrace Ideology and Innovation at Afro-Arab Summit

2 days ago
SoftPower News
Sunday, October 12, 2025
  • News
  • Tourism & Travel
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
  • Regional
    • Kenya
    • Rwanda
    • Tanzania
    • Burundi
    • South Sudan
    • DR Congo
  • Defence & Security
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Africa
    • Columnists
    • Education
    • Health
      • COVID-19
    • International News
    • News in Pictures
    • OpEd
    • Pearl Of Africa
    • People
    • Politics
    • Special Reports
    • Women
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Tourism & Travel
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
  • Regional
    • Kenya
    • Rwanda
    • Tanzania
    • Burundi
    • South Sudan
    • DR Congo
  • Defence & Security
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Africa
    • Columnists
    • Education
    • Health
      • COVID-19
    • International News
    • News in Pictures
    • OpEd
    • Pearl Of Africa
    • People
    • Politics
    • Special Reports
    • Women
No Result
View All Result
SoftPower News
No Result
View All Result
Home News

SDG Activation Day Highlights Private Sector’s role in Advancing 2030 Agenda

by Muhamadi Byemboijana
April 9, 2025
SDG Activation Day Highlights Private Sector’s role in Advancing 2030 Agenda
14
VIEWS

On Monday, April 7, 2025, Speke Resort Munyonyo hosted the SDG Activation Day themed “Forward Faster Now in Africa,” a private sector space within the 11th Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-11).

The eleventh session of ARFSD (ARFSD-11) was co-organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Government of Uganda, in partnership with the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank, and the UN Global Compact.

Related Stories

Jacob Kiplimo Wins Chicago Marathon, Becomes 7th Fastest Man of all Time

Muntu Launches ANT Manifesto, Pledges ‘A Change You Can Trust’

Museveni to Nebbi Voters: Vote NRM to Achieve High-Income Status

The event, “Driving job creation and economic growth through sustainable, inclusive, science-and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063,” aligns with the 2025 HLPF theme on advancing sustainable solutions for the SDGs.

The SDG Activation Day focused on five key areas of the Forward Faster initiative, with emphasis on living wages, gender equality, and finance investments. 

Organized by the UN Global Compact’s Africa Hub, it brought together businesses from across Africa to raise awareness, share experiences, and showcase tools to accelerate progress toward Agenda 2030.

In his remarks, Antonio Pedro, the Deputy Executive Secretary (Programme Support) at ECA, emphasized that the SDGs require more than just public sector engagement, as they demand joint action across civil society, development partners, and especially the private sector.

“Africa stands at a defining moment, with high levels of labour informality and over 113 million people either unemployed or underemployed. Yet with over 60% of its population under 25, with its immense resource potential, and with the AfCFTA unlocking the potential of a $3.4 trillion market, the opportunities are immense. But we must remember that potential is not progress. We must unlock this potential inclusively, sustainably, and quickly,” Antonio Pedro stated.

While speaking on the Finance, Investments, and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) panel, Robin Bairstow, CEO I&M Bank Uganda highlighted that green finance offers a significant opportunity for banks, allowing them to tap into a growing sector that focuses on sustainability and environmental responsibility.

“Through this financing, we’re able to bring electricity to areas with no immediate plans to connect to the grid—. This illustrates how corporate-level funding can have a direct, life-changing impact on people living in remote areas,” Bairstow said.

Bairstow added that a centralized repository of available funding options from various benefactors could be incredibly useful.

“If such a hub existed, banks, financial services companies, and microfinance institutions, could easily access information about the funding options they could offer to underserved communities more effectively,” he said.

Other PPPs panellists included Mukami Kariuki- the Country Manager of the World Bank in Uganda, Sarah Carl- Head of Programmes and Policy Development at IOM Uganda, Robert Hanna- Director of Sustainable Energy Botswana, and Allan Mafabi- CEO of Britam Insurance Uganda, among others.

This session explored how to mobilize more internal and external capital- including for SMEs, mitigation and fair distribution of risk, and leveraging innovative financial tools (such as PPPs, carbon markets, and sustainable bonds) to advance the SDGs. It also focused on SDG-sensitive sectors where investment opportunities exist for SMEs and start-ups.

Tags: Soft PowerSoftPowerSoftPower NewsTop NewsTop News UgandaUganda

Recent Stories

Jacob Kiplimo Wins Chicago Marathon, Becomes 7th Fastest Man of all Time

Muntu Launches ANT Manifesto, Pledges ‘A Change You Can Trust’

Museveni to Nebbi Voters: Vote NRM to Achieve High-Income Status

From Ntungamo to Mogadishu: Uganda Exports Finished Inspire Africa Coffee to Somalia

Temporary Power Cuts Necessary as We Rehabilitate Ageing Substations – Nankabirwa

Museveni Urges Youth to Embrace Ideology and Innovation at Afro-Arab Summit

SoftPower News Logo

SoftPower News is a subsidiary of SoftPower Communications LLC, a Ugandan digital media group. Keep posted of the latest from Uganda and East Africa.
Plot 4B Malcolm X, Kololo
P.O Box 1497, Kampala - Uganda
Tel: +256-392-001-701
Email: info@softpower.ug

This news site is licenced by Uganda Communications Commission (UCC)

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Tourism & Travel
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Regional
  • Defence & Security
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • More

© SoftPower News

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

error: Content is protected
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Tourism & Travel
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
  • Regional
    • Kenya
    • Rwanda
    • Tanzania
    • Burundi
    • South Sudan
    • DR Congo
  • Defence & Security
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Africa
    • Columnists
    • Education
    • Health
      • COVID-19
    • International News
    • News in Pictures
    • OpEd
    • Pearl Of Africa
    • People
    • Politics
    • Special Reports
    • Women

© SoftPower News

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?