PRESS STATEMENT
For Immediate Release
12 December 2025
GILFI 2025: AI-POWERED RISE Platform Marks a New Era in Sustainable Finance and Systemic Impact
Karlsruhe, Germany – At the 2nd edition of the Global Impact Leadership in Financial Industry (GILFI) program held from the 3rd to 5th of December 2025, leaders from the financial industry and regulators witnessed AI-powered RISE Platform, a transformative initiative spearheaded in Uganda by the Uganda Development Bank Limited (UDBL). The initiative represents a bold new approach to industrial transformation, sustainable finance, and systemic impact—designed to move beyond cosmetic solutions and incremental change.
A specially produced documentary showcased the RISE Platform, demonstrating how Europe and emerging markets can leapfrog traditional development paths through technological collaboration, shared vision, and courageous leadership. RISE is positioned as a model for deploying capital, technology, and expertise in ways that create durable, measurable, and systemic change, proving that sustainable development can be both profitable and socially transformative.
Arshad Rab, Chairman of the International Council of Sustainability Standards for Value-Driven Financial Institutions and CEO of EOSD, described RISE as a movement, not a program. “Today’s technologies, when embraced with bold resolve and commitment to sustainable breakthroughs, give countries the chance to leapfrog traditional stages of development. Just as many skipped landlines and telegrams, moving directly to cellular networks and digital solutions, so too can emerging economies harness technology to accelerate progress.”
Rab also highlighted the power of leadership at all levels. “Local leadership can have global impact. The courage to co-create solutions without asking who has done it before is what transforms vision into reality.”
Rab emphasized that RISE is built on partnership. It mobilizes capital, empowers entrepreneurs, and channels resources into industries that benefit both people and the planet. “At the heart of RISE is not just development or technology—it is about people, potential, and hope,” he added.
Dr. Patricia Ojangole, MD of UDBL and Chair of the African Association of Development Finance Institutions (AADFI), outlined the four pillars of the initiative: Transformation, Partnership, Courage, and Legacy. She explained that RISE confronts structural challenges, such as the centuries-old global value chain model, by fostering green economy innovation, resilient enterprises, and inclusive industrial development. Through courageous investments in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and pioneering technologies, RISE proves that sustainability is not a luxury – it is a necessity.
Ojangole emphasized that RISE is not for Uganda alone but a global call to action. “The decisions we make today will echo for generations,” she said. “Through RISE, we are shaping industries, redefining prosperity, and creating a world that is equitable, inclusive, and regenerative.”
The program also highlighted Karlsruhe as a global hub for sustainable finance and innovation, with Lord Mayor Dr. Frank Mentrup positioning the city as a model for integrating technology, nature, and research into systemic economic development. Dr. Mentrup called on leaders to move beyond superficial sustainability and embrace courageous leadership capable of delivering real, lasting impact.
RISE at GILFI demonstrates the critical importance of investable, high-quality, genuinely sustainable ventures. By channelling capital toward initiatives that deliver strong social, environmental, and economic returns, the platform ensures that resources are activated rather than just allocated, transforming industries, economies, and societies. The initiative exemplifies a new frontier in sustainable finance, where ambition is matched by execution, and vision is backed by rigor and partnership.
As Arshad Rab concluded, “This is a moment to rise – not only to meet the challenges of today but to shape the future of our world. The power to create systemic change lies in our hands. Today we rise – and the world rises with us”.
Photo (L to R): Frank Mentrup, Patricia Ojangole, Arshad Rab and Tom Hoyem