UNDP in Egypt and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development collaborate to deliver a two-day Social Impact Management training course

February 12, 2019

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Egypt, in collaboration with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), are implementing a two-day Social Impact Management training course developed and delivered by Social Value UK, to be held on Feb 12th and 13th, 2019.

The focus of the course is on the information needed to measure, manage and optimise the positive social and environmental impact of business undertakings. Complementing efforts by the Government of Egypt in capitalizing on new opportunities and expanding the economy, the enhanced adoption by enterprises of environmentally and socially sustainable business strategies and practices will have significant positive implications. In the Middle East and North Africa, such practices have the potential to unlock more than US$637 billion and generate 12.4 million jobs by 2030.

Globally, it is estimated that an additional US$2.4 trillion a year will be needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the world by 2030, with US$1.6 trillion needed globally for infrastructure financing alone.

“This course constitutes one of the key interventions of our Impact Investment Programme here in Egypt”, said Ms. Randa Aboul-Hosn, UNDP Resident Representative, a.i. “UNDP and EBRD have both provided long standing support to the private sector development process, both in Egypt and globally and thus it gives us great pleasure to be partnering in this first of its kind training. In Egypt, there is general agreement that private sector can flourish by capitalizing on social impact. We now depend on the first cohort of management consultants that graduate from this course to support enterprises achieve not only financial results, but positive social and environmental outcomes as well.”

Reem El Saady, Regional Manager, SME Finance and Development (Advisory) explained that “this training is a step towards promoting inclusive growth through enabling SMEs to improve their impact management skills thus creating more social impact and attracting new investments.”

EBRD, through the generous support of the EU, will continue supporting the growth of the Egyptian SMEs through providing access to finance and know- how.

Successful completion of this course will provide attendees with the skills and resources they need to carry out social impact analyses. It will also enable them to create the culture and systems in place for enterprises to improve their impact management. Impact assessments help enterprises manage and control the process of creating social impact as well financial revenue, in order to optimize both.

This first of a kind training in Egypt aligns with contemporary approaches to managing impact and aims to catalyse the impact investment ecosystem in Egypt. It also complements UNDP’s global SDG Impact Program. This program aims to empower investors and businesses with the clarity, insights, and tools required to support and authenticate their contributions to achieving the SDG’s. To learn more, visit the SDG Impact website