Conference | Financing local green enterprises in developing and emerging countries | Finance Watch
Conference

27 Oct 2022

Conference | Financing local green enterprises in developing and emerging countries

Add to calendar 20221027 20221027 Europe/Paris Conference | Financing local green enterprises in developing and emerging countries Hybrid: Renaissance Hotel (Rue du Parnasse 19, 1050 Brussels) & Online - Finance Watch contact@finance-watch.org aDFdtugMkzeEXUhHCmVG49806

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) represent the backbone of developing and emerging economies, accounting for a large share of their GDP and representing up to 90% of employment in some countries. MSMEs also have a great potential to develop sustainable activities but often lack supportive legislation and access to formal sources of finance.

Finance Watch and the Green Economy Coalition (GEC) hosted a conference in October 2022 to discuss concrete ways to increase funding flows towards green MSMEs in developing and emerging countries. At the event, discussion focused on barriers faced by these local green enterprises in access to funding, reforms that could improve the investment climate, but also topics such as the interplay between sustainable finance tools (e.g. green taxonomies, corporate sustainability reporting, etc.) and the reality of developing and emerging countries such as the importance of the informal economy.

Speakers included representatives from MSMEs from seven developing and emerging countries, development finance experts, DFIs, academics and policymakers.

Discussion was supported by our September 2022 report Financing Local Green Enterprises – Closing the funding gap for sustainable MSMEs in developing countries. You can also find the full presentation from the event here.

Add to calendar 20221027 20221027 Europe/Paris Conference | Financing local green enterprises in developing and emerging countries Hybrid: Renaissance Hotel (Rue du Parnasse 19, 1050 Brussels) & Online - Finance Watch contact@finance-watch.org aDFdtugMkzeEXUhHCmVG49806

Programme

27 October 2022

12:30 - 14:00

WALKING LUNCH

14:00 - 14:05

WELCOME: Finance Watch - Benoît Lallemand - Secretary General

14:05 - 14:15

OPENING WORDS - European Commission, DG INTPA - Chantal Marijnissen - Head of Unit

14:15 - 15:15

BARRIERS | What are the barriers to local green enterprises development and access to finance? What are potential solutions?

  Finance Watch – Ludovic Suttor-Sorel – Research & Advocacy Officer
•  Presentation of project findings – Country partners
•  CANARI – Nicole Leotaud, Executive Director (Trinidad & Tobago)
•  SOAS – Ulrich Volz – Director of the Centre for Sustainable Finance
•  ECDPM – Hanne Knaepen – Head of climate and green transition, adaptation and resilience

Panel moderated by: Stuart Worsley – Director for Country Dialogues – Green Economy Coalition (GEC)

15:15 - 15:30

COFFEE BREAK

15:30 - 16:45

PRIVATE FINANCE | Can sustainable finance policies increase funding flows towards green MSMEs in developing and emerging countries?

•  European Commission (DG INTPA) – Caroline Wellemans – Head of Unit, Sustainable Finance Policy

•  SIMUSOLAR – Marianne Walpert, CEO (Tanzania, Uganda)

•  GET.invest – Michael Franz – Team Leader

•  INPULSE – Bruno Dunkel, General Manager

•  Making Finance Work for Africa (MFW4A) – Hugues Kamewe Tsafack – Financial Sector Advisor

Panel moderated by: Benoît Lallemand  – Secretary General – Finance Watch

16:45 - 18:00

PUBLIC FINANCE | How to unlock the potential of DFIs and MDBs to support green MSMEs in developing & emerging countries?

•  EDFI – Laure Blanchard-Brunac – Director Policy & Partnerships

•  ECDPM – Karim Karaki – Policy Officer

•  AFD – Laurent Biddiscombe – Deputy Executive Director for SDGs

•  E3G –  Enrique Madereel – Senior Researcher, Public banks programme

Panel moderated by: Vince Chadwick – Brussels Correspondent – Devex

18:00

WALKING DINNER