The Association of African Sustainability Practitioners (AASuP) has commenced a two-day event for the 6th Africa Sustainability Report and Think Energy SDGs Awards 2025. This focuses on the continent’s progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Day one of the event brought together policymakers, business leaders, academics, and development partners to assess Africa’s progress toward key goals, particularly Climate Action (SDG 13), Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7), and Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9).

The event, themed “A Decade of SDGs in Africa: Resetting Our Climate Goals for Agenda 2030,” provided a platform for dialogue on how African countries can accelerate efforts to meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Speaking to the media, President of the Association of African Sustainability Practitioners, Humphrey Tetteh, emphasized the need for the banking sector to pay closer attention to financial inflows as part of efforts to combat illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey. He described the issue as a major threat to Ghana’s sustainability agenda and called for stricter financial monitoring to disrupt funding networks that enable the activity.

“Money is the bottom line of all these things. Money is going through the banking sector so the bank should get to identify who and who are using the money to finance those activities. I think the banking sector should be very strict on that. I don't think one person can just walk and buy excavators from his pockets, but definitely have to go to the banking sector so there is something wrong there,” he stated.

Also addressing participants, Assistant Director of Bank Examination at the Bank of Ghana, Owusu Ankoma, reaffirmed the Central Bank’s commitment to promoting sustainability within Ghana’s financial system.

According to him, “The board of directors of banks are being engaged to understand the Ghana sustainable banking principles and also the climate financial risk directive. Internally we are building capacity for BOG staff and it will interest you to know that we have established a climate and sustainability office that we are committed to addressing the impact of climate risk on the broader financial stability and will go on to strengthen our mandate of ensuring and maintaining financial stability across the country.”

Meanwhile, Head of Legal at the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), Louisa Quacoe, disclosed that the Fund has developed an ESG policy aimed at establishing clear principles for responsible investment, governance, and oversight in Ghana’s extractive sector.

“I'm happy to say with pride that MIIF has also commenced a comprehensive ESG policy that establishes clear principles for responsible investments governance and oversight. This policy protects people, environments, their communities while also ensuring transparency and accountability through some core performance standards and these are labour and working conditions, resource efficiency and pollution prevention, community health, safety and security, land acquisition and voluntary resettlements, biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of living natural resources,” she revealed.

The two-day event will climax with an awards ceremony recognizing individuals and institutions making outstanding contributions to sustainability and the advancement of the SDGs across Africa.