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. Also Turkish National Advisory Board for Impact Investing was announced for the first time at the event.
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.
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.
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 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.