GIZ Bangladesh organised a Sustainable finance training programme for 30 bankers of Sylhet, 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 Sustainable Finance Department (SFD), Bangladesh Bank and GIZ BD at Rose View Hotel, Sylhet. 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 organise a series of training on sustainable finance in five out of eight divisions of Bangladesh.
An awareness-raising event was also held for more than 50 business leaders and entrepreneurs of Sylhet, who are interested in sustainable financing and investments. This event was also held at Rose View Hotel, Sylhet. 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.
Khondkar Morshed Millat, Director, 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, Delwar Hossain- Joint Director, Md Arifiul Kabir- Deputy 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).
Mr. Millat in his speech said, there are no alternatives to sustainable financing now. The target for the banks for sustainable and green investment will increase in the coming years. He also conducted a training session on the Sustainable Finance Policy.
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.
Mohammad Mamunul Hoque, the Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank’s Sylhet office was present as Chief Guest and distributed certificates among the participants of the training. Encouraging the bankers to promote sustainable finance among their clients in Sylhet, he also emphasized on the need of similar trainings in the future for the bankers of Sylhet.
The Improved Coordination of International Climate Finance (ICICF) project, works closely with the Bangladesh Government to support the nation to access international climate finance and mobilize finance from the public and private sectors to address the disastrous impact of climate change.
