The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) Nigeria recently collaboration with the Milken Institute, to raise awareness, foster collaboration, drive concrete actions, and enhance accountability. towards SDGs attainment.
To this end, the UNGC convened a CEO roundtable, held under Chatham House Rule, with C-level business leaders, policymakers, and development experts, as well as other key stakeholders from the private and public sectors in Nigeria to strategise on galvanizing Africa to move faster on five critical SDG themes: Gender Equality, Climate Action, Living Wage, Water Resilience, and SDG Finance & Investment.
Naomi Nwokolo, CEO, UNGC Nigeria, stated that the roundtable reaffirmed the importance of mobilising collective action to address Africa’s developmental challenges.
“With only seven years remaining until the 2030 deadline, there is a renewed urgency for stakeholders to collaborate, innovate, and act decisively to ensure Africa’s sustainable future,” she stated.
According to Nwokolo, the roundtable concluded with a call to accelerate Africa’s progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and in collaboration with Nigerian businesses.
She disclosed further that in addition to highlighting the United Nations Global Compact’s Forward Faster initiative, the roundtable also covered the strategic importance of Nigeria to the Milken Institute’s Africa strategy and its ongoing engagement.
According to Nwokolo, the opening remarks called for robust private sector actions on SDG’ goals, following the newly adopted pact of the future by the United Nations. “It also called for collaborations and partnerships to accelerate progress on the SDGs.”
Read also: Purpose-driven businesses and the power of the SDGs
Similarly, she disclosed that the keynote emphasised the importance of government policies that foster collaboration between the private sector and civil society.
She further called for bold steps in sustainable development and encouraged businesses to set ambitious targets that align with climate justice and gender equality.
Moderated discussions centered on the urgent need for businesses across Africa to take a leading role in addressing the continent’s most pressing developmental challenges.
Participants agreed that businesses must step up efforts to align corporate practices with the 2030 agenda and implement actions that deliver long-term impact.
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