Bappenas opens financing opportunities for SDG projects through leadership programme
Malang, East Java (ANTARA) - The Ministry of National Development Planning (PPN/Bappenas) is bridging financing opportunities for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) projects within the SDG Certified Leadership Programme by bringing together participants and parties possessing funding resources.
Rachman Kurniawan, Manager of the Environmental Pillar of the SDGs National Secretariat at the Ministry of PPN/Bappenas, stated that Bappenas serves as a coordinator and matchmaker, connecting small businesses with various parties that hold different resources.
“At the national level, we act more as a coordinator and matchmanaker. We bring together parties that each possess their own resources,” Rachman said in Malang, East Java, on Saturday.
Rachman explained that financing needs can be met through innovative financing concepts that do not rely solely on the State Budget (APBN) or Regional Budgets (APBD), but also involve non-APBN and non-APBD funding sources.
This scheme, he added, can take the form of blended finance or collaboration between parties with different budgets and resources. According to him, every development actor possesses individual strengths that can be integrated to support the implementation of SDG projects.
Rachman cited examples such as academics who provide knowledge, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) providing advocacy capabilities, communities providing social focus, philanthropy providing aid resources, and businesses through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes.
“That is precisely where innovative financing will meet at a local scale,” he said.
In the implementation of the SDG Certified Leadership Programme, Rachman cited a project run by one of the participants, namely organic farming by the founder and owner of Abang Sayur Organik, Dyah Rahmawati, in Malang.
He noted that projects deemed to support the achievement of SDGs are believed to more easily obtain support from various parties, including companies with CSR programmes aligned with the activities.
“Our function is not to provide direct funding, but to act as a matchmaker to bring them together, or to provide endorsement—giving confidence that this programme will support the SDGs. This will certainly make it easier to obtain funding support from various parties, both from local governments and non-governmental entities on the ground,” said Rachman.
The SDG Certified Leadership Programme aims to produce leaders capable of driving SDG implementation at the local level across various regions in Indonesia.
The leadership programme includes a series of workshops, discussions, assignments, mentoring, and the development of Capstone Projects. This year, the programme received 947 applicants from 631 institutions or organisations across 32 provinces, from which 50 participants were selected.
Once participants complete their Capstone Projects, Bappenas will publish and disseminate the results as best practices in a colloquium before awarding graduation certificates to the participants.
Bappenas is also encouraging participants not to stop at the final stage of the programme but to continue developing sustainably.
To facilitate this potential for sustainability, Rachman stated that the ministry is preparing a networking platform for alumni. Through this network, alumni are expected to be motivated to replicate and upscale programmes through collective effort.
“We will nurture this network. Hopefully, these 50 participants will become leadership alumni, and we also have around 250 alumni from previous batches. We will connect them in a network to run various programmes,” said Rachman.