SWITCH Africa Green Regional Networking Forum Uganda

The SWITCH Africa Green Regional Networking Forum was held on 28 and 29 May 2016, back-to-back with the ninth African Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production, held in Kampala from 30 May to 2 June 2016. At the SWITCH Africa Green exhibition, selected enterprises had the opportunity to showcase what they had been doing under the programme. The theme of the meeting was 'Supporting African countries in the transition towards an inclusive green economy based on sustainable consumption and production patterns'.

The main objectives of the forum were to:

• Discuss the opportunities, challenges and barriers faced by the private sector in transitioning to an inclusive green economy that promotes sustainable consumption and production practices and patterns in Africa, and ways of scaling up and replicating green business;
• Foster networking among the various project entities and other stakeholders involved in green business development and sustainable consumption and production activities.

The forum attracted about 170 participants drawn from the six SWITCH Africa Green pilot countries and other stakeholders involved in sustainable consumption and production activities, including representatives of government, financial institutions, international development organizations, civil society  and the private sector, including MSMEs. Members of the SWITCH Africa Green Joint Steering Committee, representing the European Commission, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), also participated in the forum.

The forum was funded by the European Union and jointly organized by the Uganda National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Uganda National Cleaner Production Centre, UNEP, UNDP and UNOPS.

The forum was officially opened by Mr. Kristian Schmidt, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Uganda. Also delivering a statement, Mr. Desta Mebratu, Deputy Director, UNEP Regional Office for Africa, reiterated his organization’s support for the establishment and implementation of coherent national sustainable consumption and production policies that promote green business development. He noted that Uganda had made significant progress, including in the development of the most comprehensive sector-specific national policy and strategy measures in Africa, the most encouraging development being that sustainable consumption and production was not stopping at the policy level but was influencing national planning processes. The majority of African countries now had sustainable consumption and production and green economy principles.

Started in 2014, the SWITCH Africa Green programme, funded by the European Union with a budget of €19 million, has supported over 3,000 MSMEs in six pilot countries (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda) in creating models for the development of sustainable green businesses.

During the forum, Mr. Schmidt said that the European Union was keen to help Africa seize green business development opportunities, not just for the sake of helping the environment but also to create jobs that were sustainable and good for the economy. Green business development success stories were shared by various MSMEs, showing the achievements of the programme so far. 

In an effort to promote learning and the exchange of knowledge, experiences in implementing SWITCH projects were also shared by representatives of SWITCH Med and SWITCH-Asia. Over 20 achievements under the SWITCH Africa Green programme were exhibited from the six pilot countries, providing a practical demonstration of the adoption of sustainable consumption and production practices.
 
In addition, a session on financing MSMEs for green business development looked at the financial challenges they face in advancing green business development in Africa. Both private and public sources of financing for green business development were discussed, and presentations were given by the Africa Agriculture and Trade Investment Fund (AATIF), the African Development Bank, Acumen East Africa and South Africa’s Green Fund. It was agreed that various financing mechanisms would be looked at to support green business development through the policy support component of SWITCH Africa Green. Proposals included providing support for MSMEs in developing bankable proposals, creating linkages with funds such as AATIF, and instituting tax-related measures and incentives.

In terms of the way forward, it was noted that the forum was the first to be held under the SWITCH Africa Green networking forum and was only the beginning of the networking activity expected under the programme to take green business development to the next level in Africa. It was reiterated that Governments in Africa were committed to green business development and to providing jobs for the growing population in Africa. Participants were encouraged to use the lessons learned at the forum in strengthening green business development in their respective countries. In her closing remarks, Ms. Florence Adogo, Director of the Uganda Directorate of Water Resources Management, Ministry of Water and Environment, thanked everyone for participating and, on behalf of the pilot countries, commended the partners for their support of green business development in the region.

The networking forum provided a platform for discussing the opportunities, challenges and barriers faced by the private sector in scaling up and replicating green businesses, transitioning to an inclusive, green economy and promoting sustainable consumption and production practices and patterns in Africa. It also paved the way for 
networking between different project entities with other stakeholders involved in green business development and sustainable consumption and production activities in the region.