Abidjan, March 22, 2023 – As part of the AADFI’s objectives for promoting sustainability-centric development finance institutions, the Association has continued to encourage its member institutions to embrace the Sustainability Standards & Certification Initiatives (SSCI). A number of the African national DFIs have been certified, including the Uganda Development Bank Ltd UDBL) – the lead institution of the l-Lead of the Certified DFIs sharing its experience among member institutions.
Recently, from March 6 to 10, 2023, the UDBL hosted a team from the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) Kenya, a member of AADFI, on a benchmarking visit. The visit was to understudy the UDBL’s transformation into one of the leading national DFIs in Africa, as a result of embracing the SSCI and being an SSCI-certified institution.
The AFC delegation was led by Eng. John Mruttu, Chairman of the Bank’s Board of Directors. It was composed of Mr. George Kubai, the Managing Director, other members of the Board, and the senior management of the Bank.
The delegation was impressed with the UDBL’s governance framework, strategy, strategy alignment with their national priorities, and the bank’s innovation and business model. The impact of UDBL’s successes resulted from going through the SSCI process and being a sustainability-certified institution. The outcome of being SSCI certified was visible in the Bank’s governance, operations, fund mobilization, and development impact of projects funded.
According to Mr. George Kubai, Managing Director of AFC, the visit to UDBL was informative on the practical steps that would transform national development finance institutions and make them a solution provider to their country’s development. The UDBL’s transformation journey into a strong national DFI was inspiring. The AFC has signed on to being SSCI certified, and the UDBL has offered to hand-hold AFC in its SSCI certification journey.
Furthermore, UDBL is disposed to share its experience with other prospective AADFI member DFIs that are desirous of undergoing the SSCI process. The UDBL will also be hosting a delegation from the Banque Nationale pour le Development Économique (BNDE), Burundi, on another benchmarking visit. AADFI, as the umbrella body of Development Finance Institutions in Africa, is striving to make its member institutions Sustainability Certified. The certification process requires the applicants of the Sustainability Certification to comply with the Sustainability Framework to achieve cutting-edge governance and become drivers of social, economic, and environmental sustainability in their respective countries.