<p>Ghana is set to host the third Green Financing for Sustainable Development Conference to expand access to climate-focused finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel on 21 November 2017.The event is under the auspices of the International Trade Centre (ITC), the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) and the Nordic Development Fund (NDF).</p> <p>The conference which will be will be followed by a training workshop for selected staff from selected financial institutions on how to lever green finance and the AGF Green Guarantee Facility will take place on 23-25 November at the Best Western Plus Accra Beach Hotel.The conference and consecutive training workshops aim to expand access to climate-focused finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa and are in line with the Government of Ghana’s efforts to green the country’s economy.</p> <p>The conference will provide an opportunity to review the current status of green finance in Ghana and the country’s efforts to green its economy. Ministers and representatives from the Ghanaian public sector will share their experience and lessons learnt from implementing the ‘Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda II’, and the ‘National Climate Change Policy’.</p> <p>Participants from other countries will explore the perspectives of regulators and finance providers and the changes required to spur the development of new products and services.This conference and the workshops are part of a partnership between ITC, AGF and NDF to promote sustainable finance in Africa in four pilot countries. In addition to this third event in Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire will host a similar event for francophone countries in the first quarter of 2018. The first event was organised in Zambia in March 2017, and another was held in Kenya in June 2017.</p> <p>Officially launched on 1 June 2012, the African Guarantee Fund is a pan-African non-bank financial institution owned by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). AGF’s primary mandate is to assist financial institutions in Africa to scale up their SME financing through the provision of partial loan guarantees and capacity development assistance.</p> <p><strong>About the Nordic Development Fund</strong></p> <p>Established by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in 1989, NDF is a joint Nordic finance institution focusing exclusively on climate change and development in low income countries. It supports public and private sector led climate finance operations across Africa, Asia and Latin America and became an AGF shareholder in 2016 with the launch of the green guarantee facility.</p> <p><strong>About the International Trade Centre</strong></p> <p>ITC is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. ITC assists small and medium-sized enterprises in developing and transition economies to become more competitive in global markets, thereby contributing to sustainable economic development within the frameworks of the Aid-for-Trade agenda and the Global Goals for Sustainable Development.</p>