Both physical and online participation is possible

Registration online event here.

Since their inauguration in 2015, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been promoted and included on an unprecedented scale in almost all sectors imaginable. The global community has adopted the agenda in a manor fitting for its vital purpose. As we’re now approaching 2030, the deadline for reaching the 17 goals, the question is: why are we not further ahead in the 2030 Agenda? Globally, we are falling behind on reaching the SDGs and with climate change exacerbating, geopolitical risks increasing, and pandemics seeing the light of day, achieving the goals outlined in the SDGs is becoming increasingly more difficult.

Yet with another eight years to go, and with plenty of green and sustainable business solutions developed, new actors on board, moving significantly forward is still a possible scenario. So, what do we need to ensure acceleration of sustainable business innovation? How do we foster the right conditions for new solutions to reach markets and scale? And how do we remove the most obvious barriers – like adequate legislation and access to risk finance -- to sustainable business innovation and development?

In this event, UNDP and IDA Global Development are coming together to discuss exactly this and much more. The event will present some of the moonshot ideas that will – with the right help – turn into feasible solutions to sustainable development. Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, Special Envoy to the UN SG for the Horn of Africa and Katherine Richardson, Professor and Leader of the sustainability Science Centre, University of Copenhagen will address barriers, opportunities, and legislation and discuss how and where we go from there in the final years before 2030. The event will also feature three presentations showcasing how the private sector can play a key role in achieving the SDGs, one by one.

Programme
Facilitator: Erika Jørgensen, Former Regional Director, WFP. Board member of IDA Global Development 

17:00 – 17:10 Opening remarks
Hans Peter Dejgaard, Chair IDA Global Development and Henrik Fredborg Larsen, Director UNDP Nordic Representation

17:10 – 17:25 None of the SDGs can wait!
Katherine Richardson, Professor and Leader of the sustainability Science Centre, University of Copenhagen

17:25 – 17:35 Scaling innovative SDG-aligned tech in emerging markets
Emil Damholt, Head of Impact, Bluetown 

17:35 – 17:50 SDGs: Barriers and Opportunities for 2030
Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, Special Envoy to the UN SG for the Horn of Africa

17:50 – 18:00 Nordic investment into emerging market innovations – current challenges and impact opportunities
Ella Rytsölä, Project Manager at TechVelopment and Co-Author of the Nordic Investment into Emerging Market Solutions Report 

18:00 – 18:10  WFP Igniting Innovation in East Africa
Mangana Gikandi, Private Sector and Innovations Officer and Safia Verjee, WFP-CARE Innovation Advisor 

18:10 – 18:25 Q&A 

18:25 – 18:30 Final remarks by Erika Jørgensen  

Registration online event

Participation in the meeting is free. If you aren't a member of IDA Global Development, we encourage you to sign up here.