• Through a promotional day
• And a framework for exchanges between the different actors
• Funding for sought-after social sectors
If it is easy to obtain funding for certain sectors, it is on the other hand the cross and the banner for others, in particular, the social sectors. This is the case for education, health and the environment, where private initiatives are struggling to find funding. In order to find a solution to this, the Taskforce on impact investment brought together, this Thursday, December 5, 2024, in the conference room of the Burkinabè Shippers’ Council, the different actors for discussions whose outcome will be the implementation establishment of the National Advisory Council.
The initiative began in Europe, with the aim of getting decision-makers to look into the issue of impact investing, with a view to granting it all the necessary legality and a context conducive to its practice. The impact investment ecosystem is made up of companies, capital providers, governments and public institutions and actors such as academic structures.
To be better heard, Taskforces promote a collective approach that aims to change public policies and create large-scale financial solutions. In Burkina Faso, after the launch of the Taskforce on May 6, 2022, stakeholders in the impact investment ecosystem are working to set up a National Advisory Council which will be the local respondent to Global Steering Group for Impact Investment ( GSG), an independent, global, multi-sector organization based in London, United Kingdom. The GSG is a collaboration between pioneering investors, philanthropists, civil society organizations, businesses, governments and entrepreneurs working together to solve the world’s most pressing social and environmental problems, unleashing the powers of impact capital and impact entrepreneurship. The GSG currently represents 35 countries plus the EU through their National Advisory Councils and partners with institutions like UNDP to accelerate impact across the world.
For effective and impactful participation in the next G7 and G20 summits, scheduled for 2025, stakeholders are already mobilizing to harmonize their speeches and actions. Also, the United Nations intends to organize a Summit in July 2025, in order to reform the architecture of development finance. To seize these opportunities and influence policy decisions, the GSG will take part in the annual conference of the financing network of public development banks in Cape Town, South Africa, in February 2025.
“In Burkina Faso, as everywhere in Africa, the transition to a sustainable and inclusive economy is essential. We are committed to supporting and collaborating with local actors for this,” indicated the presidency of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG). For Issa Compaoré, head of Humanist Group, impact investment will be beneficial for the social sectors which contribute to the development of Burkina Faso but which struggle to obtain funding. “Impact investing is an excellent initiative, because it aims to redirect efforts, enormous financial flows, towards things that ultimately matter for humanity, for our future, our future. This is why we feel not only interested, but concerned by these issues of impact investment,” he said. For his part, the Technical Advisor to the Minister of Economy and Finance, François Xavier Bambara, underlined the importance of impact investment for Burkina Faso. “The concept, although relatively new, presents several characteristics which are of capital importance for our country, because it plays a crucial role in achieving the objectives of sustainable development,” he noted.
The meeting marks the start of a process which should lead to the establishment of the National Advisory Council, the body which will carry out activities on the ground for the promotion and consideration of impact investment in public policies in Burkina Faso. “Different actors are working on the issue. There are those who offer capital, those who demand capital, in particular our SMEs. There are also institutions that provide capital intermediation, regulatory institutional framework and advocacy and institutions that work to develop the impact investment market system. The objective is to be able to work with all the different actors so that together we can define a common vision for Burkina,” said Dr Yacouba Ouédraogo, Secretary General of the Impact Investment Taskforce.
Issa SAWADOGO (Collaborator)
Boxed
Impact investments are made in companies, organizations and Funds, with the intention of generating, in addition to financial performance, a positive and measurable social and environmental impact. The meeting on December 5, 2024 should result in the establishment of the National Advisory Council. Its mission will be to make any investment made in Burkina Faso an impact investment. The Council will work to develop and strengthen the ecosystem and catalyze public, private, philanthropic and mixed financing for lasting impact.
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