Thematic event "New forms of investments as drivers for a sustained post-COVID-19 recovery" as part of the 19th session of the UNIDO General Conference
When: 2 December 2021 at 8:20 – 9:20 a.m. (CET)
Where: The event will be hosted on Zoom and will be accessible to all interested participants via a dedicated link. Participants registered for the Conference will receive a direct link. Those not registered to the General Conference who wish to participate in this event are requested to click here.
Target participants:
The main target audience would come from the institutional as well as the policy-level and may comprise the following:
- Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs)
- SME Development Agencies
- Private sector associations (Industrial associations, Chambers of Commerce)
- Women associations
- Industrial Parks Management Authorities
- ITPOs
- Development Finance Institutions (DFIs)
- Ministries with a mandate of investment promotion (Industry, Energy, Environment, Infrastructure)
- Other investment government-owned investment regulators or registration bodies
- Firm level actors in priority sectors
A fundamentally new approach is required on how developing countries define their investment promotion and facilitation efforts to better cater to the needs of new investor groups, particularly impact investors and “quality” foreign direct investment (FDI). Impact Investment presents a paradigm shift to conventional investment thinking by focusing on positive social and environmental change. Impact investing can unlock substantial resources and presents new opportunities for business development targeting social impact, particularly in sectors deeply affected by COVID-19.
This is why the role of entrepreneurs and innovators becomes key as highlighted in the Sustainable Development Goals, and especially in Goal 9. The fast technological advancements facing our world today is unleashing exciting opportunities and at the same time creating challenges for us as experts and decision makers.
In this context, the UNIDO ITP Network, of particular ITPO Bahrain, developed the approach of the Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Program (EDIP). EDIP enhances the domestic investment ecosystem stakeholders thus offering non-financial services and links to financial services to ensure financial inclusion and access to finance while, at the same time, building on ITPO Network services for technology sourcing and networking with international counterparts. Through the EDIP program achievements, ITPO Bahrain attributed to supporting entrepreneurs with “bankable projects” and has changed the lives of countless entrepreneurs worldwide who are creating prosperity for themselves, their communities and economies. Economic growth is driven by entrepreneurship, as well as by continuous economic diversification, increasing trade, industrial upgrading and technological innovation.