The Center for International Private Enterprise says its first-ever edition of the Africa Business Integrity Network & Recognition slated to hold tomorrow, June 28, 2022, will draw conversations toward promoting business integrity in Africa.
According to a statement by the Enterprise, the event themed “Advancing Business Integrity in Africa through the Africa Business Integrity Network” will be open to virtual and physical attendance at the Wheat Baker, Ikoyi Lagos, Nigeria on a registration-only basis.
The statement read in part, “Over the last two decades, legal and regulatory interventions to curb corruption increased globally in response to the pervasive spread of corruption. Anti-bribery and corruption requirements began to cascade through global value chains, along with a global convergence on recognised standards of business integrity and collective action to reduce corruption.
This created new challenges for emerging market economies in attracting foreign direct investment.
“To reverse this trend, ABIN was created in 2017 to empower businesses in the region to implement sound corruption mitigation systems that meet internationally recognised standards and are both appropriate for their experiences and adequate for their needs.”
The expanding network, which is made up of private organizations, chambers of commerce, or professional associations that offer compliance services through certified professionals who have successfully completed the compliance training of trainers and certification, now operates in more than a dozen Sub-Saharan African countries. The training has been given to 645 persons and 98 organizations thus far.
According to the CIPE, the ABIN’s role is primarily to make the business case for anti-corruption and make compliance solutions, services, and support affordable, appropriate, and accessible to the majority of businesses in Africa. This is part of a larger strategy to galvanize the private sector to lock efforts with governments, civil society, and other institutional stakeholders to combat corruption.
By maintaining a thorough curriculum, a diverse faculty of training the trainer facilitators, a robust compliance inventory for experts, and grants programs to support and subsidize compliance training, services, and solutions offered by ABIN members in the regions, the CIPE supports the ABIN with funding from the National Endowment for Democracy.
The event, according to the statement, will bring together experts from various organizations, including Amy Jadesimi, CEO of the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base, Nerus Ekezie, Shuaibu Idris, Chairman of the Institute of Directors Centre for Corporate Governance, and John Chinyelu, National President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture.
The event would signify the onboarding of new ABIN members and the launch of the Corporate Champion Partners Initiative for companies committed to championing business integrity in Africa. Speaker would cover topics such as ‘the Imperative for an Africa Business Integrity Network in Africa,’ ‘Insights on Impact by IoDCCG featuring the Lagos Business School,’ and ‘Changing the Investment Narrative in Africa.’
“ABIN will continue to be a major source of empowerment to businesses by raising awareness, providing access to compliance resources and tools, building capacity, and creating networks of like-minded businesses and professionals,” the statement added.
