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 growing network now operates in over a dozen Sub-Saharan African countries and consists of private organisations, chambers of commerce, or professional associations that provide compliance services through certified professionals who have successfully completed the compliance training of trainers and certification. To date, 645 people and 98 companies have received the training.
According to the CIPE, part of a broader strategy to galvanise the private sector to lock efforts with governments, civil society, and other institutional stakeholders to combat corruption, 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 most businesses in Africa.
Through funding from the National Endowment for Democracy, the CIPE supports the ABIN by maintaining a comprehensive curriculum, a well-rounded faculty of training the trainer facilitators, a robust compliance inventory for experts, and grants program to support and subsidise compliance training, services, and solutions provided by ABIN members in the regions.
The statement also said the event would bring together experts across several organisations such as the Chief Executive Officer of Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base, Amy Jadesimi; CEO, Institute of Directors Centre for Corporate Governance, Nerus Ekezie; Chairman, the IoDCCG, Shuaibu Idris; the National President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce Industries, Mines, and Agriculture, Ide John Chinyelu, and the Business Integrity and Ethics 1st Lead, CIPE Africa, Lola Adekanye.
The event would kick-off 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.
