SWITCH Africa Green National Networking Forum

The Burkina Faso SWITCH Africa green networking forum was held on June 4, 2018, at the Ramada Hotel in Ouagadougou. The Honorable Batio Nestor Bassiere, Minister of Environment, Green Economy and Climate Change; Mr Jérôme Compaoré, representative of the Prime minister of Burkina Faso; Jean Lamy Charge d’Affaires of the European Union in Burkina Faso and Dr. Patrick Mwesigye Regional programme coordinator, UN Environment officiated the meeting. The main objective of the forum was to draw the attention of the authorities to the actions taken, the results and impacts achieved and their duty to support promoters of sectoral projects at the local level. While the theme of the meeting was Importance of stakeholder networking in the promotion of Green Enterprise in Burkina Faso for a transition to an inclusive Green Economy.

During the meeting it was noted that there should be strong linkages between the green economy activities being implemented by the various partners of the country to consolidate the interventions including the various policy interventions. During the green financing session it was noted that capacity building of financial institutions in financing and investing in rural based initiatives should to be carried out.

In his speech the minister noted that The SWITCH Africa Green programme has been instrumental in consolidating the ongoing initiatives in Burkina Faso specifically through regular monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the SAG projects and providing linkages with other ongoing initiatives on SCP and green economy in the country. He hailed the programme noting that the Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) is a priority in the country and is integrated in the National Economic and Social Development Plan.

About 20 enterprises participated in the exhibition. The exhibitions demonstrated the Eco innovative implementation of SAG by grantees and beneficiary MSMEs in the priority sectors in Burkina Faso mainly in green manufacturing, integrated waste management, sustainable agriculture and eco-tourism.

The European Union Representative reiterated their commitment to supporting green business development in the country. Earlier, the EU recently launched the SWITCH Africa Green phase II grant in Burkina Faso on integrated waste management “Moins de déchets, plus d'opportunités: l'économie verte au service de MPME de Ouagadougou”.

The forum attracted about 200 participants including Governors, mayors, directors general, civil society, private sector, SWITCH Africa Green grantees and beneficiary Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

The overall objective of SWITCH Africa Green is to support 6 countries in Africa to achieve sustainable development by engaging in transition towards an inclusive green economy, based on sustainable consumption and production patterns, while generating growth, creating decent jobs and reducing poverty.

SWITCH Africa Green is developed and funded by the European Commission and implemented by UN Environment in partnership with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).