Etkiyap illuminated the Impact Investing Potential of Turkey, at the Bosphorus Summit.

Sustainable Development Goals Investor Map Turkey, initiated by UNDP Turkey with the Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development in partnership with the Investment Office of the Presidency of Turkey, was launched at the Policy Dialogue Event at the Bosphorus Summit in Istanbul today. The map aims to mobilize SDG-oriented investments and accelerate SDG progress in the country.

Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator delivered the keynote speech, whereas UNDP Turkey Resident Representative Claudio Tomasi gave the welcoming remarks at the panel moderated by UNDP IICPSD Director Sahba Sobhani, and attended by Burak Dağlıoğlu, President of the Investment Office of the Presidency of Turkey, İbrahim Öztop, CEO of the Development and Investment Bank of Turkey, and Şafak Müderrisgil, Chair of Impact Investment Platform. Global and local investors, private sector representatives, development finance institutions and other multilateral organizations, civil society groups and non-profits, government and other public sector representatives, and academic experts were among the participants of the event.

Find detailed information about the event

At the Policy Dialogue Event, the honorary keynote speech was delivered by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Turkey.

“Any investment, which is not considering the social good and not creating added value for sustainable development, is an incomplete investment. Impact investments, which put together sustainability, social entrepreneurship and social responsibility, present important opportunities for the humanity. We find it very significant to support companies, which bring together this innovative approach with today’s business and social life. We will give all necessary support to the works on impact investment as the Presidency and through our institutions,” Erdoğan said in his honorary keynote speech.

President Erdoğan also thanked UNDP, Impact Investment Platform (Etkiyap), Development Investment Bank of Turkey and the Investment Office of the Presidency of Turkey for the establishment of Turkish National Advisory Board for Impact Investing and congratulated the board members. The Advisory Board aims to create an enabling environment to facilitate the growth of impact investing and to establish a well-functioning ecosystem in Turkey. 

In his keynote speech, UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner elucidated the necessity of SDGs to build back better, especially after the unprecedented pandemic crisis that has taken its toll on human development in the whole world. In his welcoming remarks during the panel, UNDP Turkey Resident Representative Claudio Tomasi drew attention to the current situation of the world economy and told that it is possible to cope with the crisis through taking steps towards sustainable development.

Şafak Müderrisgil, Chair of Impact Investment Platform started her speech by drawing attention to the importance of getting the private sector involved in order to be able to expand the SDG related investments for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Şafak Müderrisgil addressed the difficulty of identifying bankable projects for investors which is the major challenge constraining SDG related investments. To constrain SDG related investments, it is vital to inform asset owners on how to create measurable and positive social and environmental impact through their investments, she added. Şafak Müderrisgil portrayed Impact Investment from the perspective of supply, demand, and enablers in her speech and she mentioned that the SDG Investor Map is an evidence-based tool that provides impact intelligence by specifying national priorities and development needs, particularly figuring out sub-sectoral and sub-regional development needs while informing policy-makers.

Şafak Müderrisgil announced that the Turkish National Advisory Board for Impact Investing will be established by the end of March this year, for the first time and she stated “In order to leverage the opportunities and manage the transition to the impact economy in Turkey, establishing a National Advisory Board for Impact Investing was a crucial step. Among the founders of the Turkish National Advisory Board are The Development and Investment Bank of Turkey, Impact Investing Platform Etkiyap, the Investment Office of the Presidency, UNDP Private Sector Center, and UNDP Turkey.” Şafak Müderrisgil elaborated that the Turkish National Advisory Board shall act as a platform and facilitate the development of impact investing in Turkey. “Core aim of the board is to create an enabling environment to facilitate the growth of impact investing and to establish a well-functioning ecosystem with a vision to make impact investing to become a mainstream investing choice in Turkey,” she said.

SDG Investor Map Turkey will be available on UNDP SDG Impact online platform in the coming months. 

For more information: Faik Uyanık, Head of Communications for UNDP in Turkey – faik.uyanik@undp.org

For further information on the Turkish National Advisory Board for Impact Investing, you may contact Alara Üçüncüoğlu – alara@etkiyap.org 

For more information on the Sustainable Development Goals: kureselamaclar.org/en

Summit also had wide media coverage;