In Dhaka:
Shazia Ahmed
Phone: (8802) 8833757 x 145
E-mail: sahmed15@ifc.org


Dhaka, Bangladesh, October 30, 2008—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has hosted eight capacity-building workshops for journalists, government officials, private sector businesses, and financial institutions as part of an effort to introduce sustainable finance to the Bangladeshi market. Sustainable finance is a critically important financial product that enables small and medium enterprises to adopt more environmentally sound business practices.

The workshops aimed to equip stakeholders with the basic technical understanding necessary to promote sustainable finance, which can be defined as the provision of financial capital and risk management products and services in ways that promote climate change mitigation, economic prosperity, and community well-being. Sessions were conducted by Troy Govender, Environmental Advisor to the United Nations Environment Programme. Senior reporters from leading newspapers, radio stations, and television channels participated. Also, a “reporting on sustainable finance” competition was announced, inviting print journalists to submit related articles during November 2008.  
This initiative is part of the IFC Advisory Services Sustainable Finance Program, which works with local banks, private sector businesses, and policymakers to encourage financing that is in line with the principles of sustainable development. IFC supports financial institutions by developing and promoting environmental and social performance standards globally. This experience places IFC in a unique position to support Bangladesh’s financial sector in developing relevant policy guidelines, designing country-specific sustainable finance products, and building the necessary skills to sustain this effort.

Deepak Adhikary, Deputy General Manager and Head of IFC Advisory Services in Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal, said, “Climate change has had a dire impact on Bangladesh and it’s important to take advantage of the opportunities that have risen from this crisis.” He asserted that sustainable finance is not an act of philanthropy, but rather, it makes good business sense for both financial institutions and private sector businesses.  

IFC Advisory Services in South Asia, in partnership with the governments of the Netherlands and Norway, the European Commission, DFID (United Kingdom), CIDA (Canada), and the Asian Development Bank, works to increase access to finance and quality business development services in Bangladesh, Bhutan, northeast India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. IFC also works to create a business enabling environment and support value addition to firms through sector development, advisory services, capacity-building programs, training, and research.