The Sterling One Foundation and the United Nations office in Nigeria, co-conveners of the Africa Social Impact Summit 2023, have unveiled partners for the second edition of the Summit, scheduled to hold on August 10 and 11, at the Eko Convention Centre.
The partners unveiled at a press conference included the Coca-Cola Company, the United Nations Global Compact Network Nigeria, Sterling Bank, the British Council, MTN Foundation, SBG Insurance, the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA), the UNIDO Investment Technology Promotion Office, Nigeria, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Microsoft.
Others are SCALE Palladium, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Impact Investors Foundation, Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre (NCIC), the Nigeria INGO Forum (NIF), the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), the National Council on Climate Change Foreign Policy, Proshare, Ventures Africa, TechCabal and Trace TV.
The Impact Summit is a transformative summit that targets thought leaders, impact investors, and stakeholders from diverse sectors to address pressing challenges and design market-led solutions for sustainable outcomes in Africa.
Themed: “Global Vision, Local Action: Repositioning the African Development Ecosystem for Sustainable Outcomes,” the Summit seeks to reshape Africa’s development landscape by fostering collaboration, innovative thinking, and impactful investment into critical areas such as Climate Solutions, Circular Economy, Agriculture, Renewable Energy, Education, Health, and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH).
The Summit aims to accelerate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 and the African Union 2063 Agenda.
The Summit seeks to reshape Africa’s development landscape by fostering collaboration, innovative thinking, and impactful investment into critical areas such as Climate Solutions, Circular Economy, Agriculture, Renewable Energy, Education, Health, and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH).
Speaking about the Summit, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Matthias Schmale, highlighted the UN’s dedication to working with the private sector and government to implement a cooperation framework for sustainable development.
He stressed the need for the private sector to move beyond corporate social responsibility (CSR) and integrate sustainability into their business models.
“We want to see all stakeholders, especially the private sector, use the Africa Social Impact Summit as an opportunity to join hands to formulate a rescue plan for the SDGs,” he said.
Unveiling the partners for the Impact Summit 2023, the CEO Sterling One Foundation, Mrs. Olapeju Ibekwe, noted that “The African continent needs every impact resource and every player focused on how we can move from just potential and that is what each of us here has committed to.”
She added that the number of partners shows that the message of sustainable development is resonating and commended the collaborating organizations for taking a bold step towards redefining Africa’s future.
Sterling One Foundation Board of Trustees Member and the Managing Director MD/CEO, Sterling Bank Limited, Abubakar Suleiman, thanked all the partners for their collaboration.
He reiterated the Foundation and Sterling Bank’s dedication to fostering collaboration among organizations and connecting like-minded entities to achieve common goals.
He said: “I am always pleased to see organizations prioritizing social impact in the way they operate and not as an afterthought because this means that we then have strong commitments and a solid chance at actually pulling people out of poverty,” and urged “available capital and resources to be channeled into meaningful and sustainable impact.”
