The Ministry of Economy and Planning launched Wednesday in Tunis, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the SDG Investor Map and a study on the investment ecosystem. This is part of the Joint SDG Fund involving a number of UN agencies, including the UNDP and UNICEF.
Increased financing for sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Tunisia is the aim sought, particularly by means of supporting investments and the ecosystem of investment with measurable social and environmental impact.
The map, a market intelligence tool that will direct private capital to emerging markets where SDG priorities, government policy and market opportunities converge, identified 18 Investment Opportunity Areas (IOAs) in eight priority sectors which are in tune with domestic policy priorities and development needs in infrastructure, agri-food business, financial services, transport, education, healthcare services, renewables and ICT.
The study on the impact investing ecosystem helped identify nine key fields of high impact investing potential. They are mainly increased energy independence by means of resorting to renewables and better energy efficiency and management of resources to fight against climate change, in addition to promoting high added value textile production to stimulate economic growth and tapping into digital solutions to narrow the divide between regions.
Attending the launch event, Minister of Economy and Planning Samir Saïed said Tunisia had undertaken to achieve SDGs and uphold the principle of "Leaving no one behind"- the central promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To this end, 80% of SDGs are aligned with the development plan 2016-2020.
The minister also said there is a need to reconsider the development model, prospect new niches of high sustainable growth potential and innovate in development funding.
Director General of the Deposits and Consignment Fund (French: CDC) Nejia gharbi said the fund targets, as a responsible investor- high-impact projects and developed to this end a battery of indicators to assess the impact of financed projects.
UNDP Resident Representative in Tunisia Celine Moyroud said the ambition to achieve growth must be properly attuned to the ambition to achieve SDGs. Thus, the need to reconsider development funding and new partnerships, especially with the private sector and civil society.
Arnaud Peral, the UN Resident Coordinator in Tunisia, said the private sector needs to be highly involved in the achievement of SDGs given limited resources.
Originally published on www.tap.info.tn
