Private sector leaders, development partners, and senior policymakers recently convened at a high-level CEO Roundtable co-hosted by the United Nations Global Compact Network Nigeria, Sterling One Foundation, and the United Nations in Nigeria.
The gathering, held in Lagos, rallied the private sector around accelerating progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through six critical “transition pathways” identified by the UN.
This approach zeroes in on key areas where targeted action can drive outsized gains across multiple SDGs, moving from commitments to concrete solutions.
The roundtable’s discussions focused on catalyzing impact in six priority areas that offer high potential for accelerating development outcomes: food systems, energy access, digital connectivity, education, jobs and social protection, and climate resilience.
With less than five years remaining to achieve the 2030 Agenda, leaders agreed that progress must accelerate dramatically. Global SDG efforts are off-track, with only 17% of targets on course amid overlapping crises. Nigeria faces its own urgent development gaps – an estimated 63% of Nigerians (133 million people) live in multidimensional poverty, lacking basic needs in areas like health, education, and living standards. This sobering backdrop underscored the event’s urgent call for the private sector to deliver measurable, scalable solutions.
“The urgency is clear. Our efforts on the SDGs are definitely not yet where they need to be,” noted Olapeju Ibekwe, CEO, Sterling One Foundation, in her welcome address. “We are at a critical inflection point, less than five years from the 2030 deadline, with millions still trapped in multidimensional poverty and vulnerable to the cascading effects of climate change, inequality, and economic uncertainty. This is why convenings like this are timely and necessary, to build alignment, scale ideas, and drive action where it matters most. The private sector must scale investments and take bold steps that create impact in communities.”
Naomi Nwokolo, Executive Director, United Nations Global Compact Network Nigeria (UNGCNN), opened the forum by emphasizing that aligning business strategies with the SDGs is both a moral and economic imperative. “Accelerating SDG implementation is a clear business imperative for long-term success,” Nwokolo said, highlighting that the six transition pathways provide a “strategic lens for impactful investment.” She urged companies to deepen engagement in these areas to “drive innovation, unlock new markets, and build resilience – directly contributing to a more prosperous future for all.”
Private sector leaders at the roundtable echoed this resolve. Bola Adesola, Chairman, Ecobank Nigeria and a former UN Global Compact Board member, challenged her peers to pursue bold actions in sustainable energy, food systems, and climate. “The shift to cleaner, affordable energy is an unparalleled opportunity to unlock new economic frontiers, drive industrial growth, and ensure a sustainable future for all,” Adesola observed. She painted a vision of Africa leading in climate-smart solutions, stressing that such leadership is “not beyond our reach” if businesses and policymakers work in tandem. Adesola framed the moment as one of legacy: “What legacy will we leave? We must rescue the SDGs by embedding them in our organizations with a sense of urgency,” she said, underscoring that it is “not just the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do” for long-term competitiveness.
From the policy side, the Nigerian government signaled alignment with these ambitions. Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy & Tax Reform Committee, addressed the gathering via video, outlining how fiscal reforms are being leveraged to enable SDG progress. He revealed that Nigeria’s forthcoming national fiscal policy will feature a dedicated section on the SDGs, aiming to hardwire development targets into governance. Oyedele urged a re-think of how success is measured, arguing that governments should “start focusing more on SDGs than GDP” in their metrics.
“We report GDP every quarter, but it doesn’t tell the story of sustainability or whether we’re lifting people out of poverty,” he noted. Oyedele even advocated for a global ranking of countries by SDG performance to spur competition in sustainable development, because “whatever is not measured is not done.” “Our goal is to embed the SDGs into the framework of policy and national planning,” he said, explaining that his committee is identifying and removing fiscal impediments to progress in each of the six priority areas.
The United Nations applauded the private sector’s proactive role and reinforced the call for partnership. Mohamed Malick Fall, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, delivered remarks noting that “our ability to meet the SDGs now depends on one thing – collective, decisive action at the local level.”
He emphasized that the private sector’s financial resources, technology, and operational expertise make it uniquely positioned to drive transformation. “By embedding the SDGs into our corporate strategy, supply chains and investments, we are not just advancing global development; we are creating long-term value for our businesses, our people, and our planet,” Mr. Fall said.
He urged leaders to “break down silos, forge stronger partnerships, and commit to concrete action” that will deliver impact on the ground, echoing UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ charge to “rescue the SDGs” and keep the promise of a better world.
This CEO Roundtable is part of a broader effort to unite business, development, and public sector actors around the SDGs in Nigeria and across Africa. Organizers stressed that the insights and commitments from this forum will carry into the upcoming Africa Social Impact Summit 2025, a pan-African gathering co-convened by Sterling One Foundation and the United Nations Nigeria. The Summit, slated for July 10–11, 2025 at the Eko Convention Centre in Lagos, will expand these conversations and solutions to a continental scale, with over 5,000 delegates expected. Interested parties can visit the summit site at theimpactsummit.org for more information.
About Sterling One Foundation
Sterling One Foundation (SOF) is a registered non-profit focused on tackling the root causes of poverty in Nigeria, and Africa through interventions and social impact programmes across five critical sectors namely: climate action, health, education and youth development, gender equality and empowerment, and food security. The Foundation’s programmes adopt a central theme of prioritizing partnerships for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For more information visit onefoundation.ng.