THE CHALLENGE OF A DECADE
This year marks FMO's 50th anniversary. At the beginning of this year we dedicated our anniversary year to accelerating our own efforts, and those of our partners, to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals within this decade.
"The challenge of a decade, the achievement of the century" was our ambitious, optimistic anniversary theme. Then the corona crisis hit us. A pandemic on a scale that we have not experienced in over a century. Amid immediate concerns for our health and safety and the economic impact of the crisis, it's only natural to feel uncertain about the future.
What we should not feel is unable to act. Now more than ever, doing will make the difference. Let us put this time to good use: let's not simply face the corona crisis, but prepare ourselves for what comes next. We can bounce back stronger and use the lessons of this crisis to create a world with more decent work and sustainable economic growth, reduced inequality and decisive climate action.
To achieve this, we need to keep investing. We need to stay committed. We need to stand together with our partners. We have yet to see how the crisis develops across countries and how it will affect our markets for the longer term.
Let’s build on a renewed sense of community and collaboration across the globe. Even though our immediate outlook may seem bleak, let’s keep moving towards a brighter future.
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Future images | a future we can foresee is a future that we can create together
We have created a number of images of what the future might look like when we are successful, together, in achieving the SDGs. They are meant to inspire us and strengthen our resolve. They are also meant to stir debate. To discuss what that future looks like, to imagine it together, to agree on what needs to be done. For instance, for women in Afghanistan, the future we imagine is a future of female empowerment. The future we want to create is one in which an Afghan woman can lead a start-up company worth more than US$ 1 billion.
As FMO, we mobilize financing, share our networks and knowledge to provide opportunities for female entrepreneurs together with our clients and partners. But with only 10 years left to reach the SDGs, we need to accelerate entrepreneurial solutions to these problems. We cannot tackle these challenges ourselves. We need everyone on board: our partners, our clients, governments and civil society.
"If you can make the challenge tangible, it becomes doable."
About Future-minded magazine
Future-minded is a magazine that brings you stories, podcasts and interviews about the people who are driving action on the Sustainable Development Goals. People who have built sustainable businesses in developing economies that are a force for good and make a profit while doing it. They are showing us how we can unleash the best of entrepreneurialism for the greater good and the future we want.
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Future-minded is a special publication of FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, to mark its 50th anniversary. Editors | FMO N.V. Creation & design | Studio duel Photography | Opmeer Contact | For questions please contact communications@fmo.nl This email address is not for acquisition purposes.
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