Ghana’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Investor Map Pipeline Builder tool has successfully identified a base value of USD 39million worth of Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) investments in Ghana.

Dr Angela Lusigi, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Resident Representative in Ghana said, this was within six months to September 2021 under its pilot scheme, and there was a potential for an additional USD 15.5million.

Dr Lusigi said this at the first breakfast meeting on the SDGs Investor Map utilization organised by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) in collaboration with the UNDP in Accra.

The Map provides market intelligence for private sector investors, to channel finance towards development needs, the attainment of the SDGs and national priority sectors.

It is also an intermediary that streamlines the investment origination process to drive more capital to SDG focused SMEs in emerging markets.

The SDG Investor Map, which was initiated by the UNDP was introduced earlier this year to help steer capital into inclusive and sustainable investments in key economic sectors.

She said the interactions would highlight important Investment Opportunity Areas identified in the Health and ICT sectors.

“It translates Ghana’s SDG gaps and priorities into strategic investment opportunities and viable business models,” she said.

The Resident Representative said by providing data on the expected development impact, this Investor Map translates development needs into tangible investments and provides sustainable options for financing the SDGs.

She said the meeting comes at an opportune time as the government sought to increase investment and financing, towards the achievement of national development goals that were aligned with the SDGs, while simultaneously mitigating the negative effects of the Covid -19 pandemic.

She said the focus of the meeting was on two sectors of ICT and health and they were at the core of a robust recovery from the ongoing impact of COVID-19.

The Resident Representative said building a more inclusive and resilient health sector would position Ghana to build back stronger and to prepare to withstand future shocks.

“We applaud the Government’s ambition and drive to infuse digitalization in all aspects of the economy. This is commendable as Ghana already has the second-highest data penetration rate in sub-Saharan Africa, the fastest-growing mobile money market on the continent and a flourishing tech start-up scene,” she said.

She pledged UNDP’s continued commitment and support towards making Ghana an investment destination of choice, and to support the SDG Investor Maps as a vehicle for strategic development investment.

Mr Yofi Grant, the Chief Executive Officer of GIPC, said “as a nation seeking development and the attainment of the SDGs, we are recognizing the need for a new global development strategy.

He said this strategy calls for stronger public-private partnerships to overcome the pre-existing yearly SDG financial gap of $200 billion in Africa.

He said government and the GIPC would actively support and guide investors who sought 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,” Mr Grant added.

For Ghana, the SDG Investor Map provided information on 12 investment opportunity areas across five priority sectors namely, Agriculture, Infrastructure, Technology and Communications, Healthcare and Consumer Goods.

The Maps will provide investors and businesses with much-needed country-level data and SDG investment roadmaps.