GIZ Bangladesh organized a Sustainable finance training programme for 30 bankers of Rajshahi, so they support the mobilization of climate and environment-friendly investment from the private sector.
The training titled “Sustainable Finance for Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities” was jointly arranged by the Sustainable Finance Department (SFD), Bangladesh Bank and GIZ BD at Royal Raj Hotel, Rajshahi recently, reads a press release.
The Improved Coordination of International Climate Finance (ICICF) project, implemented by GIZ Bangladesh, on behalf of the German Federal Government, is partnering with SFD to organize a series of training on sustainable finance in five out of eight divisions of Bangladesh.
The awareness-raising event was held for more than 50 business leaders and entrepreneurs of Rajshahi, who are interested in sustainable financing and investments.
This event was also held at the same venue, titled “Sustainable Finance for Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities for the Private Sector”, the bankers and private sector participants engaged in in-depth discussions with Bangladesh Bank officials on how to easily access the low-cost funding options for sustainable businesses and initiatives.
Md Rajab Ali, director of the Sustainable Finance Department, Bangladesh Bank inaugurated the training programme while Dr Firdaus Ara Hussain, principal advisor, ICICF Project, welcomed the participants at the event.
Technical sessions of the training were conducted by Amitabh Chakraborty- additional director, Rabeya Khandaker, additional director, Md Abu Rayhan- joint director, from the SFD of Bangladesh Bank.
The speakers covered different important areas such as sustainable finance reporting, screening of sustainable financing proposals, green refinance schemes, utilisation of refinancing products, sustainable financing options offered by Bangladesh Bank and low-cost funding alternatives for green investments. The programme was moderated by Prof Dr S M Ahsan Habib, Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM).
Ali in his speech said: “There are no alternatives to sustainable financing now. So, senior management of commercial banks must shift their focus towards green investments immediately”
In her opening speech, Dr Firdaus Ara emphasized the importance of accessing additional climate finance from external sources due to the increasing effect of climate change on the country.
Bangladesh’s internal resources will not be enough to meet the increasing demand for finance for mitigating the effects of climate change.
So, the capacities of the stakeholders to access international financing need to be enhanced.
S M Mahbub Alam, joint secretary, ERD, Ministry of Finance was also present at the event. He discussed the issue of climate change in Bangladesh and stressed the importance of climate action for sustainable socioeconomic development in the country.
Jagannath Chandra Ghosh, the executive director of Bangladesh Bank’s Rajshahi office attended the event as chief guest and distributed certificates among the participants of the training.
He encouraged the local bankers to get well familiarized with the Sustainable Finance Policy of Bangladesh and urged them to promote environment-friendly investments among their clientele.
The Improved Coordination of International Climate Finance (ICICF) project, works closely with the Bangladesh Government to support the country to access international climate finance and mobilise finance from the public and private sectors to address the disastrous impact of climate change.
