Keynote H Wigwe GSFC 2017 KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY DR. HERBERT WIGWE ON “LEADING FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS WITH INNOVATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE” AT THE GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE FINANCE CONFERENCE (GSFC) ON JULY 13, 2017 Tom Friedman, Pulitzer Prize Winner said, “Ten years ago, Facebook barely existed, LinkedIn was a prison, Skype was a typographical error, Twitter was a sound, the Cloud was still in the sky, Big Data was a rap star, 4G was a parking space, and an application was what you sent to University.” Some ten years later these terms have all taken on a very different meaning. A meaning synonymous with the rise of many successful businesses offering technology never before dreamed of. Yet today, while we can smile at these terms and how fast their meaning has changed we must also acknowledge, that in parallel to such technological advances, we have failed our planet. If our planet were a flower it would be drooping. Fast. The change our world has witnessed, even celebrated, has come at massive cost. We are no longer only focused on economic development, the resolution of social problems and a better life for all. We now fight for the future health of our planet. What advances will these celebrated technologies represent if our planet fails? 1 www.accessbankplc.com Keynote H Wigwe GSFC 2017 Dr. Frank Mentrup – Mayor of Karlsruhe, Charge d'Affaires, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Germany, Minister of Finance and Economy, Uganda, Heads of foreign missions, CEO of the European Organisation for Sustainable Development Delegates from the world's financial market Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my honour and sincere pleasure to be given this opportunity to speak to you all today. Thank you to the European Organization for Sustainable Development for bringing together key stakeholders of the international community to address and discuss our world’s most pressing challenge……Sustainable Global Development. This conference could not be more timely as the financial industry grapples with the need to evolve into an innovative and progressive phase of existence. An existence, which must find answers to the challenges and risks facing the industry in order to serve a world under threat. Where we can serve a wide range of stakeholders, not the least of which is our planet. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris agreement has created a clear path for all business to act responsibly in driving the sustainable agenda globally. 2 www.accessbankplc.com Keynote H Wigwe GSFC 2017 As key stakeholders, we come together at this conference to galvanize our efforts and resources towards developing strategies that will help achieve a truly sustainable world. I will argue strongly, this is no longer a choice for us all to make, it is perhaps the most important necessity we will all face together. Our cities have expanded, pollution is at an all time high, poverty levels are rising, climate changes are upon us, deforestation is destroying many vital systems of life including our own, water shortages are on the rise, the list goes on. Therefore planning for sustainability is our only way to help ensure societies are economically, environmentally and socially efficient and resilient in the continuing face of climate change, and various threats to our planets survival. The growth needed to solve many of the world’s problems is known. However, financing this growth is a challenge. As leaders and members of financial institutions, we play a critical role. We have the ability, as financiers of the economy, to ensure that sustainable practices are adhered to on a multi-sectorial level. Our duty is to create financial products and services that birth responsible economic, social and environmental benefits by fuelling initiatives such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, cleaner production processes and technologies, biodiversity conservation, SME finance and financial services targeted to women. According to the United Nations Development Program, the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs require trillions of dollars of investments to bridge the infrastructure gap between what is needed and what is being built in developing countries. 3 www.accessbankplc.com Keynote H Wigwe GSFC 2017 According to the UNEP-FI, achieving the SDGs, implementing the global action plan to end poverty, and combating climate change and protecting the environment, is expected to cost $5 to $7 trillion every year through 2030. Existing funding from municipal governments’ revenues, debt, or national government transfers clearly will not fill this gap. This is where financial institutions must take a stand to join existing efforts to strategically facilitate the successful achievement of the SDGs through financing activities. On a global level, in 2015, multilateral development banks including the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank Group and the IMF informed the world of their 3-year plans to contribute more than $400 billion in financing by working more closely with private and public sector partners in mobilizing resources needed to ensure the achievement of the SDGs. This resulted in the development of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. The Addis Ababa Conference was the first in a series of UN events leading up to the adoption of the new UN sustainable development agenda, for successfully driving sustainable development. This collective action by global financial institutions is one of the key indicators of the trend of innovative sustainable financing amongst financial institutions today. At Access Bank, our vision is to be the world’s most respected African Bank. We fully understand that to achieve this, our business must embrace economically, environmentally and socially responsible approaches and practices. Sustainability has been part of our DNA since 2008. It is not something we visit once in a while, it’s embedded in our policies, procedures and practices that dictate how we 4 www.accessbankplc.com Keynote H Wigwe GSFC 2017 operate daily. It involves strategic planning and decision-making that adopt business practices, motivate paradigm shifts, and create a culture of responsibility across the Bank, its people and our entire value chain. We are constantly making sure that our business is not jeopardizing opportunities and resources for future generations. With new sustainability targets being set daily, we continue to improve on the way we conduct business in order to remain progressive, and take a leading role in the drive towards a sustainable financial future for Nigeria. I said earlier that financial institutions play a critical role. At Access Bank, we take this role very seriously. In countless ways. We initiated and led the development of the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles which have now been adopted by all Nigerian banks including the Central Bank of Nigeria. These principles were established in 2012 to accelerate the adoption of banking and finance practices, which are not only economically viable, they are socially equitable and environmentally friendly as well. Access Bank has chaired the NSBP Steering Committee to provide guidance to the Nigerian banking industry as part of the process of driving the adoption and implementation of the principles. We continue to show our support for new and existing sustainability champions across the Banking industry, by organizing educative seminars that address major challenges of the discipline, further driving sustainability across financial institutions in Nigeria. But our reach is not only local. As a global financial services provider with a diverse range of products tailored to individuals, businesses, institutions and governments, Access Bank is committed to making a positive contribution to global economic growth and the sustainability of our planet. 5 www.accessbankplc.com Keynote H Wigwe GSFC 2017 Our strategy, together with a solid corporate governance structure, has enabled us to retain a strong leadership position among the sustainable banks in Nigeria and the broader African continent. Let me share some of our achievements. We are driving Financial Inclusion by ensuring a financially literate community through the development of products and services aimed at reducing extreme financial illiteracy. To do this, our Inclusive Banking Group works effortlessly to identify financial inclusion and literacy gaps, and strategizing on how best to close these gaps. Our products and initiatives span several under banked segments such as Children and Youth, Senior Citizens, and Women. Through many innovative initiatives and products we have been able to develop money management skills amongst financially excluded segments, thereby reducing poverty, increasing economic opportunities and boosting national savings. America has Hollywood, India has Bollywood. Now, Nigeria has Nollywood. In 2016, Access Bank launched a N1 billion ‘AccessNolly’ fund. From a social standpoint, Nollywood is driven by our youth. Its value chain including acting, production and distribution is dominated by youth. Supporting such an industry makes a lot of sense, given that Nigeria’s youth unemployment at 34% is higher than our national unemployment at 25%. The AccessNolly Fund is proving innovative in ensuring that more and more Nigerian youth are employed in a sector that remains very elastic in absorbing more labour. In 2017, the Central Bank of Nigeria called