The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Yofi Grant, has said the government would support investors who seek to invest in any of the priority sectors outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Investor Map to propel national development.
The SDG Investor Map, which the UNDP initiated, was introduced earlier this year to help steer capital into inclusive and sustainable investments in key economic sectors.
The Map provides market intelligence for private sector investors to channel finance towards development needs, SDG attainment, and national priority sectors.
Mr Grant, who made the point at the GIPC and UNDP breakfast meeting on the SDGs Investor Map utilisation in Accra, said an enormous opportunity exists in the ICT and health sectors that prospective investors could tap into to make profitable gains while making positive contributions to society, the environment and the economy at large.
According to Mr Grant, “as a nation seeking development and the attainment of the SDGs,” Ghana recognised the necessity for an innovative global development plan, and that called for stronger public-private partnerships to overcome the pre-existing yearly SDG financial gap of $200 billion in Africa.
The UNDP Residence Representative in Ghana, Dr Angela Lusigi, said public-private partnerships were essential in mobilising funds needed to implement policies to help attain the SDGs by 2030.
According to her, there was currently a colossal financing gap of $43 billion needed annually to put measures to help attain the SDGs in Ghana.
“We know that the task to bridge Ghana’s current SDG financing gap of approximately USD 43 billion a year is daunting, but we remain resolute in our quest to support the mobilisation of innovative financing for the implementation of the SDGs,” she said.
For Ghana, the SDG Investor Map provided information on 12 Investment Opportunity Areas (IOAs) across five priority sectors: Agriculture, Infrastructure, Technology & Communications, Healthcare, and Consumer Goods.
Ishmael Batoma, ISD