Nepal Bankers’ Association (NBA), in collaboration with Invest for Impact Nepal (IIN), successfully organized the first in-person meeting of the Community of Practice (CoP) on Sustainable Finance. This platform aims to promote dialogue, share experience, identify the implementation challenges, and collectively develop solutions to accelerate the adoption of sustainable practices in Nepalese banking sector.
To strengthen industry capacity and support member banks in their sustainable finance journey, NBA has undertaken a series of targeted initiatives. Recognizing the need for a dedicated platform to facilitate knowledge sharing, promote collaboration, and keep members aligned with evolving global standards, NBA established the Community of Practice (CoP) in March 2025. The CoP serves as a dynamic forum for exchanging best practices and collectively addressing the challenges associated with implementing sustainable finance frameworks across the banking sector.
During the in-person session, Dr. Prasad Modak and Ms. Krupa Desai from Environment Management Company (EMC) led in-depth technical sessions. The first deep dive session explored various sustainable finance instruments and products, including a discussion on whether sustainable finance should be incentivized, supported by global case studies. The second session focused on the role of ESRM systems, presenting a draft outline of a common ESRMS manual being developed as a knowledge product under the CoP.
The program also featured experience sharing by a CoP member on ESRMS implementation challenges and opportunities, followed by a peer exchange session, where banks shared their current status, innovations, and hurdles in integrating sustainable finance and ESRM practices.
The event brought together the senior officials from the sustainable finance departments of all commercial banks.
