Building Bridges took the lead on bringing together for 3 days in Kenya a delegation from private sector leaders from Europe and East Africa to strengthen bridges for sustainable investment. The first Bridging Africa – Europe SDG Investment Summit took place in Nairobi, from June 3 to 5, 2024. 

Central to the mission of Building Bridges is the creation of a multi-stakeholder platform, dedicated to channeling capital where it can achieve maximum, sustainable impact. “Only by creating the right conditions to facilitate capital flow can we aim to build an economic system aligned with social and environmental sustainability goals,” said Patrick Odier, Chair of the Building Bridges Foundation. “This initiative embodies our collective will to drive meaningful change.”

The 2024 “Bridging Africa – Europe SDG Investment Summit” in Nairobi builds on a mission to Kenya in April 2023, during which the Building Bridges team engaged with diverse stakeholders, including government officials, development partners, and the private sector.

This inaugural Summit was a collaboration between Building Bridges, the Embassy of Switzerland in Kenya, and the United Nations in Kenya through its SDG Partnership Platform, with support from the Nairobi International Financial Centre and Equity Bank Group. It aimed at forging links and cultivating trust to enable financing and investment pathways among diverse communities, deepening European investors’ and African stakeholders’ understanding of the region’s and the continent’s sustainable investment landscape. And it was a success!

通过实地考察、初创企业路演、交流活动以及与金融机构、政府部门、行业领袖、杰出企业家和创新者的积极对话，这项意义重大的举措为未来的合作与伙伴关系奠定了坚实的基础。此次访问使欧洲代表团深入了解了肯尼亚和东非先进的可持续发展生态系统及其充满潜力的投资机遇。与此同时，肯尼亚当地的私营和公共部门代表以及科技创新者展示了他们雄心勃勃的增长战略，旨在吸引和维持东非地区的本地和外国投资。东非拥有4.97亿人口，是非洲大陆人口增长最快的地区之一。.   

The conversations initiated through this landmark event in Nairobi are a first step into building a proper Africa-Europe bridge and will continue as part of the 5th edition of Building Bridges in Geneva, December 9-12, 2024. Beyond our end of the year flagship event, we will continue building this intercontinental bridge. Stay tuned if you want to join us on this journey or feel free to reach out.

Karen Hitschke, CEO of the Building Bridges Foundation, concludes this 3-day event: “Our objective was to build a strong bridge between our two continents and bring traffic on it. And we succeeded, through a collaborative approach, by connecting and engaging with key local actors, strengthening links and fostering trust among a wide array of communities.”

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