The four-day seminar, being attended by representatives from over 35 banks and specialised deposits taking institutions (SDIs) is being organised by Development Bank Ghana (DBG), in partnership with the Ministry of Finance and the World Bank.

The seminar is to ensure the effective implementation of environmental and social management in the financial sector.

It is also to facilitate the DBG’s partnership with financial institutions and others to evaluate and mitigate inherent environmental and social risk exposures in their credit decisions.

Significance

The Head of Banking and Non-Bank Unit of the Financial Sector Division of the Ministry of Finance, Andy Ameckson, said the seminar was primarily to help financial institutions to better understand environmental and social risk management, sustainable finance and explore sustainability-related business opportunities.  

He said for any nation to flourish, its financial architecture needed to be robust, inclusive and dynamic and that the DBG should be the fulcrum around which such architecture pivoted.

Mr Ameckson said it was not only providing credit or helping commercial banks to nurture businesses, but also crafting an environment to streamline and sustain their activities.

He added that in a world fraught with uncertainties, where global economic dynamics could impact local aspirations, the importance of home-grown institutions such as the DBG could not be overstated.

Mr Ameckson further said that the integration of effective risk management practices enabled the DBG to align its operations with international sustainability standards, mitigate potential negative impacts, while creating and enhancing positive social and environmental outcomes of financed projects. 

Sustainable development

The Managing Director of the DBG, Kwamena Duker, whose speech was read on his behalf by the Director of Wholesale, Lending, Credit Origination and Coverage, Otwiwa Offei-Akoto, said the development bank had recognised that responsible and sustainable growth was a fundamental necessity and that economic progress, well-being of communities and success of projects all hinged on the intricate interplay between development initiatives and environmental and social impact.

He said at the DBG, the outcomes of interventions being deployed with its partners in the economy was to keep the radar on support to build a resilient private sector to improve the lives of the people.

Mr Duker said that the DBG would be establishing an international centre of excellence for Environmental Social Governance (ESG) and sustainable finance with partners and academic institutions.

The goal of such a centre of excellence, he said, was to build ESG excellence and capacity of partners of financial institutions, transform micro, small and medium enterprises to be ESG compliant and also promote sustainability reporting and impact measurement.