NDC inks deal to boost green economy

The National Development Company (NDC) on Wednesday entered into an agreement with the intergovernmental organization Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) to work toward upskilling local green industries that the government can then invest in.

The memorandum of understanding signed by the NDC, the investment arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the GGGI hopes to establish the Green Growth Cooperation (GGC) where GGI will provide technical vocational education training, technical assistance and expert advisory to companies engaged in waste management, sustainable forestry and green circular economy.The NDC said that once startup companies in these industries mature to commercial viability, they will get endorsements to receive equity investments from the state-owned enterprise.

It added that it may look at traditional equity funding, debt financing, the startup venture fund, or a combination of these to improve the financial viability and de-risking these businesses to encourage private investment to come in.“So, we are looking at the (GGGI) to explore synergies with us for our pipeline of companies that are in the green sector to be funded in the earlier stages with the Philippine government’s endorsement and support,” said NDC General Manager Antonilo DC Mauricio during the signing ceremony.For his part, GGGI country representative in the Philippines Marcel Silvius highlighted the importance for local businesses to make this transition given the rising demand for sustainable goods. INQ