Enlisting the private sector to strengthen corruption prevention worldwide (AFIN)

Project description

Title: Alliance for Integrity
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: worldwide
Overall term: 2021 to 2023

Context

Stricter, internationally applicable legal frameworks have entered into force in the fight against corruption and have led to a worldwide shift in international business activities in recent years. Developing countries and emerging economies, in particular, are facing new requirements to prevent corruption as a result of this.

Preventing corruption helps to reduce inequalities, strengthen the rule of law and create a trustworthy environment for investments and business. Accordingly, the United Nations member states have undertaken in their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms. German development policy sees the private sector as an important partner to achieve this.

Objective

The prerequisites for measures to successfully prevent corruption in companies have seen effective and long-term improvements in selected partner countries and regions.

Approach

The project operates in three areas to promote integrity in business. 

First, it provides companies with practical knowledge and tools for introducing internal measures to prevent corruption. Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular can draw on global, regional and local networks through pooling information in this field. In addition, the project gives companies resources by publishing positive examples with practical solutions, also raising their awareness about the gender-specific challenges of corruption prevention. The project thus addresses managers in SMEs and those with responsible roles in the areas of anti-corruption, auditing, business ethics, gender and social responsibility.  

Secondly, the project operates multi-stakeholder partnerships to support key stakeholders in developing achievable solutions such as dialogue forums and implementation strategies with the aim of promoting integrity in the economic system. These reflect the needs and potential of partner countries and regions.  

Thirdly, the project also works to create lasting networks between stakeholders from politics, academia, business and civil society both in and between partner countries. To achieve this, the project is developing a strategy to secure the network’s financial and organisational independence.

Last update: July 2021