Prudential Plc Partners with Invest Africa, a Leading Trade and Investment Platform, to support ESG-focused investments in Africa

Prudential plc has partnered with Invest Africa, a leading trade and investment platform for African markets, to support the development Environmental, Societal and Governance standards. The partnership will centre around Invest Africa’s flagship programme, The Africa Debate, which sees the Continent’s business leaders and policy makers assemble annually to discuss future investment priorities for the region.

Arjun Mallik, Managing Director, East Africa, Prudential plc, will join a discussion with leading figures in risk management, finance, business and law to outline why ESG policies should be a priority for investors in Africa and share best practice in ESG strategies. Alongside Prudential plc, DLA Piper, EBII Group, Jersey Finance and Vodafone Group will take part in the debate, drawing on experiences across the region.

In recent years, ESG has moved up the agenda for businesses globally as investors have placed greater emphasis on the integration of ESG measurements to strategic plans and operations. With Covid-19 placing severe strain on African economies, fulfilling local needs while meeting ever more stringent international standards is a challenge for emerging markets. Given the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on these regions, the private sector has an important role to play in setting the agenda for the region’s push to build back better from the current crisis.

Now in its 7^th year, The Africa Debate will provide the platform to amplify the social, environmental and governance priorities of the region’s leaders as they seek to secure the long-term investments needed to drive progress towards the sustainable development goals. The conference will assemble leading figures from government, multilateral institutions and multinational companies including the IMF, World Health Organisation, Google, Afreximbank and the African Development Bank

Karen Taylor, CEO of Invest Africa said, “The focus on ESG-led investment within our membership network has become more prominent over the last five years. It is ever more important for businesses to have a set metrics for their plans to define, achieve and measure ESG goals and we aim to facilitate this through cross-sector and cross-border collaboration at The Africa Debate. We are delighted to have a leading institutional investor like Prudential lend their experience and expertise to the discussions.”

Arjun Mallik, Managing Director, East Africa, Prudential commented, “Prudential’s purpose in Africa – as elsewhere – is to help people get the most out of life. Our ESG strategy is integral to how we fulfil that purpose, and we are committed to living the three pillars of this ESG strategy across the continent: making health and financial security accessible to as many people as possible, taking steps to curb the human impact on climate change and building social capital through promoting diversity of thought, a culture of inclusion and a sense of belonging within and outside our organisation.”