Kampala Declaration calls for scaling up Forward Faster initiative across Africa

KAMPALA, Uganda, April 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — To accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa, the United Nations Global Compact hosted the SDGs Activation Day earlier this week as part of its Forward Faster Now Africa initiative.

The SDG Activation Day served as the private sector space within the 11th Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-11) held 7-11 April. With the theme, “Moving Forward Faster Now on the SDGs with African Businesses”, the SDG Activation Day brought together CEOs, corporate sustainability professionals, private sector leaders as well as representatives from Governments, policymakers, UN officials and other stakeholders from across Africa for high-level discussions.

With only 17 per cent of SDG targets on track for 2030, the UN Global Compact launched its Forward Faster initiative in 2023 to mobilize ambitious corporate action in high-impact areas: gender equality, living wage, water resilience, climate action and sustainable finance. Forward Faster calls on business leaders everywhere to drive companies to take measurable, credible and ambitious action in 5 areas that have the power to accelerate progress across all 17 SDGs where the private sector can collectively make the biggest, fastest impact by 2030.

Opening discussions, Sanda Ojiambo, CEO and Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, emphasized the critical role of private businesses in achieving the 2030 Agenda:

“To achieve the Africa that we all want, we know that we need forward thinkers – bold private sector leaders committed to working together and alongside Governments and civil society. Our UN Global Compact Forward Faster initiative is designed to guide and support business leaders and companies in areas where the business community is best equipped to scale sustainable business and sustainable development. These companies tell us that joining Forward Faster has helped shape company strategy, increase visibility, and build public trust, as well as get ahead of new regulations.”

The convening highlighted the urgent need for businesses to take action, inspiring participants to raise their ambitions. Through dedicated sessions on gender equality, sustainable finance and living wage, attendees heard tangible examples from leading African companies, facilitating peer learning to share best practices. In each session, attendees explored innovative approaches to enhance private sector engagement in sustainability, especially actions that businesses can take now, without any need for additional resources.

In his remarks, Antonio Pedro, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), urged business leaders to act decisively, noting that with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) unlocking the potential of a $3.4 trillion market, the opportunities to harness Africa’s potential are immense if done inclusively and sustainably.

“The private sector is no bystander; it is indispensable to job creation, innovation, and ultimately, prosperity for all Africans,” Pedro said. “We must move beyond visions, declarations, and plans— beyond even conferences—and translate these commitments into concrete action.”

The Kampala Declaration, the outcome document of the ARFSD-11, included a call for incentivizing private sector investments aligned with the SDGs and for scaling up the Forward Faster initiative in Africa to accelerate progress on the SDGs and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

Advertisement

Key discussions on driving SDGs action

On sustainable finance, SDG Activation Day participants discussed how innovative public-private-partnerships (PPPs) can serve as a way to collaboratively create transformative impact. Financial services executives also shared how capital can be mobilized towards the SDGs, sharing learnings on risk management, blended finance and financial inclusion.

During the gender equality session, private sector leaders shared how they were able to move the needle within their organizations through recruitment, retention, procurement and male allyship. On living wages, participants called for cross-sector collaboration—from policy and awareness to research and technical support to ensure fair pay that lifts workers out of poverty and fuels economic growth.

Members of the Africa Business Leaders Coalition (ABLC) highlighted how collective action is a multiplier for impact. Leaders shared how the ABLC has already mobilized nearly 5 billion USD for climate action and centred the importance of promoting women’s economic inclusion with the ABLC Gender Statement.

The ARFSD is an annual inter-governmental and multi-stakeholder platform mandated to review progress in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063, while identifying and promoting interventions to accelerate implementation of the two Agendas, and generating Africa’s regional inputs to the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) and other major national, regional, and global meetings.

The African private sector has embraced the sustainable development agenda and the UN Global Compact now counts more than 1,100 participants in the region. To date, more than 115 companies in Africa have made 585 specific commitments to deliver meaningful progress by 2030. We all call on African businesses of all sizes to commit to one or more forward faster targets. For those who are not yet Global Compact participants, learn more about joining the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative HERE.

About the UN Global Compact

The ambition of the UN Global Compact is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the SDGs through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. With more than 20,000 participating companies, 5 Regional Hubs, 63 Country Networks covering 80 countries and 13 Country Managers establishing Networks in 18 other countries, the UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative—one Global Compact uniting business for a better world.

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2597908/UNGC_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/un-global-compact-and-private-sector-move-to-accelerate-progress-on-sdgs-in-africa-302426834.html

Advertisement

SINGAPORE, April 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — AB Charity Foundation has officially launched its global operations and unveiled its newly upgraded website at www.ab.org, marking the beginning of a public-interest initiative built on institutional credibility and advanced blockchain technology. Headquartered in Ireland with recognized legal status under EU law, the Foundation is positioned as a global nonprofit entity committed to reshaping the future of public trust and sustainable development by bridging governments, civil society, and the tech community.

The Foundation’s governance is led by a distinguished board of directors composed of former heads of state from Europe. The board is chaired by Bertie Ahern, former three-term Prime Minister of Ireland and a key architect of the Good Friday Agreement. Board members include Lawrence Gonzi (former Prime Minister of Malta), Péter Medgyessy (former Prime Minister of Hungary), Danilo Türk (former President of Slovenia), and Petar Stoyanov (former President of Bulgaria).

The Foundation is actively expanding its global advisory board, bringing together respected figures from all five continents—including former presidents, scientists, diplomats, and cultural leaders—to guide strategic planning and foster international collaboration in delivering impactful social initiatives.

At the heart of the Foundation’s mission lies a commitment to public good: advancing global efforts in education, healthcare, environmental protection, and humanitarian aid. The Foundation aims to build a “verifiable model of cooperative goodwill,” powered by transparent governance and next-generation technology. As its founders emphasize, “It is not a specific technology that changes the world—but the shared consensus around trustworthy institutions and global cooperation.”

AB Charity Foundation is technically supported by AB DAO, which provides the blockchain infrastructure underpinning the Foundation’s operations. Through smart contract automation, 15% to 30% of the gas fees from every transaction on the AB public chain are directed into a dedicated charity pool. This mechanism enables a new operational model for charitable funding—combining on-chain fundraising, automated distribution, full-chain auditability, and third-party compliance assurance.

In addition, 15% to 30% of the returns generated from investments by the AB Ecosystem Fund will also be directed into the Foundation’s pool. The fund has already supported dozens of projects, with more initiatives in the pipeline—strengthening the financial sustainability of the Foundation’s mission.

By leveraging blockchain’s inherent transparency, the Foundation aspires to become a scalable model for next-generation philanthropic infrastructure—ensuring every donation is traceable, every distribution verifiable, and every intention honored.

To follow AB Charity Foundation and support its mission

• Official Website: www.ab.org
• Global Community Portal: www.ab.org/community

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ab-charity-foundation-launches-to-pioneer-a-new-global-model-for-public-good-driven-by-institutional-trust-and-technology-302426287.html

KIEV, Ukraine, April 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The Federation of Employers of Ukraine has called on the leaders of Europe to accelerate Ukraine’s integration with the EU in response to rising geopolitical tension. The organisation warns that campaigning from lobbyist and other interest groups have distorted the debate by framing Ukraine’s agricultural sector as an existential threat to Europe’s farmers.

Speaking following the tenth meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council in Brussels Mykhailo Bno-Airiian, special trade representative of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, appealed to Europe’s leaders to call out the false and misleading picture painted by lobbyists.

“We need a reset to change the established narrative that has framed the wider debate around bilateral economic relations between the EU and Ukraine to the topic of competition in agriculture. Such reductionism not only distorts the real picture but stands in the way of a deepening economic partnership that both sides will greatly benefit from.

“Closer economic, security and cultural links with Ukraine is clearly the best option for Europe’s decisionmakers in response to growing geopolitical tension between east and west. Deepening economic integration with Ukraine will not only support the rules-based order but also presents huge opportunities for the EU to improve its international competitiveness in an increasingly challenging market. In a world highly saturated with geopolitical tensions we must not forget our mutual goals. Right now, it’s especially important for the EU to set its priorities straight and remember to remain united for our shared strategic economic & political interests.

“The war has woven Ukraine even more deeply into the contours of the European common economic space and the EU has an institutional and moral interest in maintaining open and predictable access for Ukrainian products, which is the basis for further economic integration and jointly strengthening the single market. We cannot allow lobbying from interest groups, many of whom are sympathetic to President Putin, to continue to delay Ukraine’s integration with the EU.”

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ukrainian-employers-federation-calls-for-deepening-economic-integration-between-the-european-union-and-ukraine-302426628.html