Nairobi- Mr. Geoffrey Odundo, the CEO of the Nairobi Securities Exchange, an SSE Partner Exchange, met with investment experts in Nairobi to prioritize green growth in investments and reshape the investment landscape at the first Regional Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) Africa Conference. The event was co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Denmark and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

“The capital markets provide a well regulated and innovative ecosystem for raising capital that is to be channeled to green ventures, projects and institutions. The Nairobi Securities Exchange is keen to be a leader in sustainable development in Africa and will soon be listing a number of green products dedicated to renewable energy and education,” Mr. Odundo said.

On the final day of the forum, Mr. Odundo was joined with other finance sector leaders to address the need for attracting private funds to stimulate new markets, R&D, technology, skills and jobs in the larger effort to promote Green Growth on the continent.

The dialogue was moderated by Nuru Mugambi, Director of Communications and Public Affairs at the Kenyan Bankers Association and centered on two thematic areas – policy and market dialogue – narrowing down to four discussion categories, namely: Renewable Energy Sector; Capital Markets Framework; Risk & Reward of Green Finance; and the Role of Government.

Participants of the first Regional 3GF Africa Conference included Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP, Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya, Ajedra Gabriel Gadison Aridru, Uganda’s Minister of State for Investment, among many other high ranking officials.

3GF convenes governments, businesses, investors and international organizations to act together for inclusive green growth. Its mission is to explore and demonstrate how better collaboration among leading businesses, investors, key public institutions and experts can effectively drive market penetration and realize the potential for long-term inclusive green growth.

Nairobi Securities Exchange joined the SSE initiative March 10, 2015 as the 18th member and the 4th major SSE Partner Exchange in Africa to join the SSE, alongside Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa.

The SSE initiative is co-organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Global Compact, the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative, and the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).

Securities regulators, investors, companies and other key stakeholders are welcome to participate in the SSE initiative. For more information contact the SSE Secretariat at [email protected].