GIZ organises sustainable finance training in Sylhet

GIZ Bangladesh has organised a sustainable finance training programme for 30 bankers of Sylhet to support the mobilisation of climate and environment-friendly investment from the private sector.

The training programme titled ‘Sustainable Finance for Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities’ was jointly arranged by Sustainable Finance Department (SFD) of Bangladesh Bank and GIZ Bangladesh in Sylhet on August 11, said a statement on Sunday.

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.

On August 12, an awareness-raising event was held for more than 50 business leaders and entrepreneurs of Sylhet, who are interested in sustainable financing and investments. This event was 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.

Bangladesh Bank Sustainable Finance Department Director Khondkar Morshed Millat inaugurated the training programme while ICICF Project Principal Advisor Dr Firdaus Ara Hussain 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 Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) Director Prof Dr SM Ahsan Habib. Khondkar Morshed 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 sustainable finance policy.

In her opening speech, Dr Firdaus Ara emphasised 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,” she said.

Bangladesh Bank’s Sylhet office Executive Director Mohammad Mamunul Hoque was present as the chief guest and distributed certificates among the participants of the training.