Democracy That Delivers: Recent Episodes
Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)
The Democracy That Delivers podcast is about democratic and economic development and the intersection between the two. Through their personal stories, guests share how their work is helping build stronger democratic institutions in countries all over the world and how they are tackling some of the major governance challenges that many countries face today. The weekly discussion covers a wide range of topics including entrepreneurship, governance, rule of law, and the role of the private sector in democratic processes.
A key driver of the modern increase in global entrepreneurship is the increasing participation of women in sectors that were once inaccessible to them. This Global Entrepreneurship Week, CIPE’s Elena Ratoi sits down with Arijeta Pajaziti Qerimi, a trailblazer for women in Kosovo’s energy sector. Together, they discuss how Arijeta’s recent partnership with CIPE’s Center for Women’s Economic Empowerment is strengthening women’s participation in Kosovo’s traditionally male-dominated energy sector. Listeners will learn how new technology is decreasing labor-intensive roles, how young women are meeting older role models, and how more women-centered events are decreasing knowledge gaps.
Guest Bio
Arijeta Pajaziti Qerimi’s professional career as an electrical engineer is complemented by her academic profile with a Master of Science degree from the Electrotechnical Faculty, University of Prishtina. In 2021 she has been graduated from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business in Gender Equity Executive Leadership Program. She has been part of the sector for almost 25 years. She currently works as an engineer specialist for SCADA / EMS in the Kosovo Transmission System and Market Operator (KOSTT) and as an executive director of AWESK (Association of Women in the Energy Sector of Kosovo) and contributes and advocate for many years to the advancement of the national agenda for the inclusion of women in energy.
This episode features John Morrell, Regional Director for Asia Pacific at CIPE, in conversation with Sarrah Sammoon, CIPE's Country Representative in Sri Lanka. They discuss the September 21st election and peaceful transfer of power, the new government's anti-corruption stance, and its efforts to engage with international partners like the IMF. Sarrah shares insights from her dual perspective as a business owner and advocate for women’s empowerment and democracy, highlighting the economic challenges and opportunities facing Sri Lanka and the potential for positive change.
CIPE’s own Sousena Tefera, Senior Program Manager with the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, hosts a discussion from Blantyre, Malawi, with key industry professionals McWilliams Mhone, Griffin Kamanga, and Mavuto Zabula. They explore the transformative impact of a new training program for clearing agents, which aims to professionalize the industry and enhance compliance with trade regulations. The guests share their personal journeys into the logistics and freight forwarding sector, the challenges they faced, and the significant benefits they've gained from the training. This episode highlights the importance of education and professional development in improving trade facilitation and economic growth in Malawi.
In this episode of the Democracy that Delivers podcast, Frank Brown, Director for the Anti-Corruption and Governance Center (ACGC), is joined by Cristina Ritter, Head of Governance and Anti-Corruption at the UN Global Compact (UNGC), in a discussion on the UNGC resolution and how it has served as a vital tool to bring together governments and the private sector in 190 countries to combat global corruption. With over 25,000 participants worldwide, UNGC uses national commitments to its business integrity policies to empower SMEs at the national level to leverage the power of collective action to advance anti-corruption compliance initiatives. Listen in to learn more about how UNGC has collaborated with CIPE over the years and what comes next for the organization.
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Cristina Ritter is an attorney-at-law specialized in business administration with a professional career of 20 years in both the United Nations and the private sector. She is currently the Head of Governance and Anti-Corruption at the UN Global Compact. Prior to this position, Ms. Ritter worked for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) since 2014, where she provided technical assistance in various continents on the international standards and tools to address corruption and money laundering, while engaging in international cooperation and asset recovery. Over the years, she was designated Global Coordinator of the Integrity Component of CRIMJUST, a UNODC flagship programme against drug-trafficking, she became responsible for the Americas at the Corruption and Economic Crime Branch (CEB) and served as Regional Anti-Corruption Advisor twice. In this context, she engaged with chambers of commerce, compliance associations, private sector entities and companies in over twenty countries to promote business integrity. She also fostered private-public dialogue, achieving the adoption of multiple policies, legal frameworks and national anti-corruption strategies.
Contemporary anti-corruption work has moved on from the old model defined by the public-sector directives and towards a new system of public-private collaboration. Our guest Viviane Schiavi sits at this critical intersection in her work with CIPE’s valuable partner, the International Chamber of Commerce. Listen along as she shares first-hand knowledge of the present and future state of anti-corruption work with CIPE’s own Frank Brown and Anna Kompanek on this week’s Democracy that Delivers.
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Viviane Schiavi is the Global Policy Lead, Anti-Corruption and Corporate Responsibility at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). She oversees ICC’s program in this area, which is based on the development of capacity building tools for companies and policy advocacy vis-a-vis the UN, the OECD, the G20 and other fora. The ICC Commission on Anti-Corruption and Corporate Responsibility that Viviane manages brings together over 400 companies worldwide engaged on integrity, anti-corruption, and supply chain responsibility. Viviane is an attorney and member of the New York Bar, American of French and Argentine origin, with over 20 years’ experience in international commercial law practice and global policy. She is a graduate of Bard College and the City University of New York Law School. Before joining ICC, Viviane practiced international commercial law in New York City and in Paris with Arthur Andersen International (now Accenture).
Last year, Poland held extraordinarily consequential parliamentary elections where the conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) lost its majority for the first time since 2015. Against this backdrop, CIPE supported a new project, “The Rule of Law – Our Future” through the Institute for Private Enterprise and Democracy (IPED) based in Warsaw between July 2023 to January 2024. As part of the Free Enterprise and Democracy Network Small Grants initiative, the project educated voters about the importance of the rule of law and encouraged youth participation in the election.
In this podcast, Program Officer Tamari Dzotsenidze from CIPE Policy and Program Learning is joined by FEDN Steering Committee member and president of IPED Mieczyslaw Bak and Director of Program Strategy Anna Szczesniak in a discussion on lessons learned over the course of the project and perspectives on engaging with youth.
In this new episode of the Democracy that Delivers podcast, Adam Sachs, Program Manager for the Center for Digital Economy and Governance (CDEG), discusses the results of a recent study characterizing Colombian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their levels of digital adoption with Luz Stella Gómez, Manager of Financing and Technological Capabilities at iNNpulsa Colombia, and Pablo Lemoine, President of the Centro Nacional de Consultoría. This survey was conducted with input from 4,000 companies throughout Colombia, including those in regions most affected by conflict, as well as women-led and LGBTQ+-led enterprises. The study was a partnership between CIPE, iNNpulsa Colombia—the innovation and entrepreneurship agency of the Colombian government—and the Centro Nacional de Consultoría, one of Colombia's most prestigious and recognized surveying think tanks, which has worked with numerous companies and the national government. In collaboration with iNNpulsa, they also conducted the first version of the Digital Adoption Study in 2017.
Click here to view the results of the survey: https://www.cipe.org/resources/characterization-of-smes-in-colombia-and-their-digital-adoption/
Beginning in November of 2013, then President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych withdrew from a long-desired and promised EU trade agreement in the interest of consolidating a kleptocratic regime with Russia. The events ignited a series of both violent and non-violent large-scale protests in Kyiv, spanning many months. The protests, named ‘Euromaidan’ shifted the tide in Ukrainian politics and represented one of Ukraine’s largest ever collective action movements against corruption and kleptocracy.
Vladimir Dubrovsky is this episode of Collectively Combating Kleptocracy’s guest, joining CIPE’s ACGC Program Manager Izabela Chmielewska, to discuss his personal insights into the Euromaidan protests. Vladimir has extensive experience working as a senior economist at Case Ukraine and as a chief expert at the Economic Expert Platform; and a rich experience working in macroeconomics, political institutional economics and governance and anti-corruption. Vladimir outlines the historical and political background leading up to the protests and uses his experience and insight to explore the events’ tipping points and mobilization mechanisms. He also discusses the outcome of the protest, noting the shift in collective action narrative in Ukraine, the existing needs for reform and the unification of civil society in response to recent conflicts.
Corruption has long troubled Thailand, halting economic growth and the development of democratic regimes. Attempts at fighting corruption from civil society and governmental procedure have done little to stymie corrupt exchange and have facilitated a culture of corruption across branches of Thai society. With aid from various local and international organisations, the Thai private sector appeared as the unique champion to fight corruption via the Thai Collective Action Against Corruption (Thai CAC) – a movement designed to unite Thai businesses and consolidate a foundation and framework for an actionable anti-corruption narrative.
In this episode of Collectively Combating Kleptocracy, the Thai Institute of Directors Executive Director and Thai CAC representative Pana Ratanabanangkoon joins CIPE’s ACGC Program Manager Izabela Chmielewska to discuss the mobilization, emergence, tipping points and subsequent success of the Thai CAC. Ratanabanangkoon outlines the nature of operation while exploring the specific objectives and unique characteristics of the Thai CAC. He also discusses if the Thai CAC reached its desired outcomes, as envisioned at the start of its journey, providing further discussion on what lessons have been learned and how the Thai CAC’s formulation process can be reflected in alternative contexts to promote further collective action against corruption in the private sector.
In 2018, widespread protests dislodged a decades-long kleptocratic regime in Armenia. Known as the Velvet Revolution, these protests represented a culmination of decades of civil society organization and activism and the first surge of revolutionary action against Serzh Sargsyan following his attempt to cling to power.
In this episode of Collectively Combating Kleptocracy, Gayane Abrahamyan, an award-winning journalist and social justice activist, who served as a member of the Armenian Parliament as part of the My Step alliance, joins the host, Max Levites (Senior Governance Specialist, Center for Global Impact, International Republican Institute), to discuss the key foundations and mechanisms that fostered a unity between civil society and citizens, leading to the Velvet Revolution. Abrahamyan shares her unique perspective on the trajectory of this unity and the involvement of marginalized groups while also outlining the importance of Armenia’s new-found democratic narrative as an outcome of the Velvet Revolution, among other short-term but key successes.
In April 2008, contested election results and alleged electoral fraud in Moldova triggered public protests and political turmoil between activists and state authorities. Eventually, the Communist Party of then-President Vladimir Voronin was replaced it with a coalition called the Alliance for European Integration, which pushed for the implementation of a pro-EU coalition government. The term “Twitter Revolution” has become widely used to describe the movement due to the nature and importance of the revolution’s digital mobilization. Notably, multiple types of social media platforms were used to mobilize people to come out to the streets in protest, demanding positive change in 2009 and again in 2019. In the past, anti-corruption reforms were seldom implemented effectively, and often used solely to mask the underlying roots of kleptocratic systems. With the election of Maia Sandu as the President of Moldova in 2020, the process of dismantling these systems has been underway, with more progress on the horizon.
In this episode of Collectively Combating Kleptocracy, Victoria Popa (Anti-Corruption Partnership Consultant, Centre for Analysis and Prevention of Corruption in Moldova) joins Izabela Chmielewska (Program Manager, Anti-Corruption & Governance Center, Center for International Private Enterprise) to provide insights about the cyclical revolution, with knowledge informed by an extensive background in Moldova’s anti-corruption efforts, including the development of monitoring and evaluation frameworks, public administration integrity policy, and advocacy for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Popa outlines the political and economic context that facilitated kleptocracy and ignited collective action efforts in Moldova while also discussing specific mobilization techniques, including the use of social media technology. Lastly, Popa discusses the critical role that activists, journalists, NGOs, and international organizations have played in the collective action movement and outlines the wider impact this has had in the pro-democratic fight against corruption in Moldova over time.
In April of 2015, a telephone wiretap exposed Guatemala’s then-President Otto Pérez Molina, his Vice President Roxana Baldetti, and and other high-ranking officials in the tax and customs administration as having been part of a kleptocratic network involving fraud in customs revenues. The La Línea case, a reference to the wiretap, is known as one of the most high-profile corruption cases in the country’s history, enraging the people of Guatemala, who joined mass protests to demand accountability and dislodge kleptocracy.
Hugo Novales Contreras, a political researcher and advisor to the Bernardo Arévalo presidency and the Movimiento Semilla legislative bloc, joins the host, Max Levites (Senior Governance Specialist, International Republican Institute), to discuss the history and context of the La Línea case, and the driving motivations and results of collective action. Contreras’ insight into the case outlines the nature of Guatemala’s generational shift in how citizens view the role of the government, and how this turned into a mass movement to hold the country’s leaders to account. He also discusses the importance of international cooperation as one of many key successes of and lessons to take from this collective action movement.
The 1Malaysia Development Berhard scandal (1MDB Scandal) is known as one of the world’s most prolific financial scandals. With billions lost as a consequence of fraudulent activity by a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB, the scandal saw a huge backlash from Malaysian citizens, the media, and civil society organisations alike. In this episode, P. Gunasegaram, an Independent Journalist and author of 1MDB: The Scandal That Brought Down A Government, joins the host, Max Levites (Senior Governance Specialist, International Republican Institute), to discuss the history and context of the scandal itself and the motivations for and nature of the collective action response.
Gunasegaram discusses the driving force behind the collective action movement, more notably the importance of the media and news outlets, derived from his own personal experience and involvement. He highlights the significance of cohesive and coordinated action by the media, civil society, and international actors working together to bring corrupt government officials to account and recover stolen assets. Gunasegaram finally outlines the key lessons and success factors to take away from this complex and multi-faceted case and its subsequent collective action response.
CIPE’s Asia Director speaks with two young professionals in Bangladesh to learn their perspectives and first-hand accounts of the political crisis currently unfolding in the country. Civic unrest sparked by university student protests in June led to the fall of a government barely a month later, and the man who is perhaps Bangladesh’s most famous citizen is now the head of an interim government. What is life like in Bangladesh today? How are people running their businesses? Is there reason for optimism? This episode of Democracy that Delivers discusses these questions and more.
Speaker Bios Shurat Rana Rushmi is currently working as a Research Associate at the Center of Governance Studies (CGS). She completed her BSS in Economics from Bangladesh University of Professionals and her master's degree in the same field. She loves to take on challenges and find ways to run things efficiently. She has multiple years of experience working as a program coordinator for CGS in numerous regions of Bangladesh.
Apon Zahir is a Senior Research Associate at the C Center of Governance Studies (CGS). He has multiple years of experience in journalism in Bangladesh, having contributed to several English daily newspapers and having in-depth knowledge of the print and media industry. His research interests include politics, media, human rights, and the effects of corruption in Bangladesh.
John Morrell is the Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific at the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). In this role, he leads a worldwide team of accomplished professionals and is responsible for a regional portfolio of dozens of programs on anti-corruption, democratizing opportunity, public and private sector governance reform, and creating political space in closed countries. John is a noted and widely published expert on issues related to corruption and governance. In countries across Asia-Pacific, John has personally designed numerous initiatives that build the political, civic and market institutions necessary for governance that is both participatory and accountable, and for economic development that is both inclusive and sustainable
Ahead of the annual FEDN conference, we invited two of our FEDN members to discuss opportunities and challenges to democratic institutions in the Asia-Pacfic region. CIPE’s Tamari Dzotsenidze hosts Reiner Heufers of the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies and Robin Sitoula of the Samriddhi Foundation in Nepal for a lively conversation on present and potential future of South Asian democracies. Listen to insights on how businesses and governments are working towards greater prosperity for all on this week’s Democracy that Delivers.
This episode of the Democracy That Delivers podcast focuses on the SAHA Project, a CIPE initiative aimed at improving healthcare governance in Tunisia. Dr. Fatma Habboubi, the project manager, explains how the project, funded by the U.S. Department of State, seeks to enhance the healthcare system through legal and regulatory reforms. These reforms include clarifying the organization of public health facilities, simplifying pharmaceutical pricing, establishing a framework for continuous professional development, and creating a professional order for allied health professionals. The discussion highlights the challenges of navigating complex consensus-building processes and the importance of inclusive and collaborative decision-making to ensure effective and sustainable reforms in Tunisia’s healthcare sector.
Learn more about the SAHA project
This Democracy that Delivers episode delves into the complexities of the investment landscape in Argentina. Lesly Rubio, Senior Program Manager of CIPE’s Latin American Programs, is joined by the Center for the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity and Growth (CIPPEC) Senior Program Manager, Demian Gonzalez, and the American Chamber (AmCham) in Argentina Public Affairs Director, Marina Senestro to discuss Argentina’s recent and ongoing economic transformations.
The podcast examines Argentina’s decades of political and economic fluctuations, and its current volatile financial crisis. As we speak, Argentina is now striving to attract foreign investment through a new set of reforms. There is no question that the arrival of a new national administration has represented a breaking point in Argentina since President Javier Milei has expressed his commitment to market-oriented solutions to tackle economic challenges.
Drawing upon CIPPEC’s experience in Argentina, Mr. Gonzalez shares that the Omnibus legislation (or “Ley de Bases”) highlights Argentina’s great potential for greater economic growth through foreign direct investment (FDI) and increased international trade. Based on AmCham’s expertise on investment in Argentina, Ms. Senestro explains the importance of transparency, partnerships, and regulations to maximize the investment in critical economic sectors, ultimately promoting national development and safeguarding investments.
Our episode today focuses on anti-corruption messaging: what messaging has looked like in the past, the challenges and risks it poses, and novel approaches that could yield better results. Holly Sandalow, Program Officer at CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center, sits down with Caryn Peiffer, Associate Professor in International Public Policy and Governance at the University of Bristol, and Nic Cheeseman, Professor of Democracy at the University of Birmingham, who have authored the new How-to Guide to Anti-Corruption Messaging in partnership with CIPE.
Anti-corruption campaigns have been a staple of both foreign aid programming and civil society over the last 30 years, and there is often an element of awareness-raising that involves producing messages about the harm that corruption can do. There is growing concern, however, that anti-corruption messages may be ineffective—or even do more harm than good—in part because they are not being tailored, targeted and tested to make sure they have the desired effect.
Drawing upon their own research and studies by fellow academics about the impacts & efficacy of anti-corruption messaging, Peiffer and Cheeseman discuss the risks of deploying messages that have not been rigorously tailored, targeted, and tested. Listen in to hear what ideas they have for crafting more effective messaging campaigns.
Episode Description This episode's Democracy that Delivers podcast focuses on how individual entrepreneurs and policy professionals are using business integrity and compliance programs to deepen trade ties in North America. CIPE’s Michele Crymes sits with former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Tony Wayne, and Gabriela Blanco, an anti-corruption expert and specialist in corporate integrity, to discuss business integrity in Mexico’s private sector. Our guests share their perspectives on progress being made and challenges to creating a robust culture of business integrity and complianc in Mexico.
In 2024, the institutions and mechanisms of trade in North America are facing the potential for significant change. This year’s elections in both the United States and Mexico could lead to changes in the prevailing Untied States-Mexico-Canda Agreement. Regardless of the respective electoral outcomes, business will keep flowing between the three countries, and thus business integrity will remain a focus.
Drawing upon his tenure as U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Mr. Wayne discusses the impunity rate for crime in Mexico, how a lack of business integrity hurts entrepreneurs, and what is presently being done to create a stronger business environment. Ms. Blanco likewise integrates her years of corporate governance work to examine how CIPE programs work with international firms and Mexican entrepreneurs to try to deliver better outcomes for stakeholders.
Episode Description On this week's episode, Alison Taylor, Clinical Associate Professor at NYU's Stern School of Business, joins CIPE’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, John Morrell, to discuss her new book, Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World. Professor Taylor, who also serves as the Executive Director of Ethical Systems, draws from her professional experience and academic research to explain why modern businesses care about anti-corruption practices, how she's seen ethical compliance change over time, and what the next era of corporate governance should look like.
Our contemporary business environment displays stark differences from those of the past decades. Ethical conduct is now increasingly seen as more than a legal risk around bribery and fraud, as a risk which can be resolved through compliance processes alone. Urgent ecological concerns, unpredictable politics, and heightened employee activism all present business leaders with fresh challenges. Professor Taylor explains that we must now move past entrenched legalistic approaches and into broader conversations about human behavior in organizations and how companies should best exist in their social contexts.
These new approaches follow the same collective action and sustainability models so often practiced by CIPE and our local partners. In her view, business interests have much to learn from anticorruption and development organizations on how to best operate in a world where transparency can be more important than profit. Listen as John and Alison exchange insights for our evolving world.
Professor Taylor
Description
Corruption in the shipping industry is a persistent challenge for fair trade across the world, estimated by our guests to cost the international economy billions of dollars each year. The Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) is a global business network of over 200 companies that, since 2011, has become a pre-eminent example of collective action to battle corruption.
On this week’s Democracy that Delivers podcast, CIPE Program Director for Anti-Corruption and Compliance Ekaterina Lysova sits with MACN Associate Director for Collective Action and Partnerships Martin Benderson and owner of QBIS Consulting Thomas Westergaard-Kabelmann. The guests discuss their new, groundbreaking study of the cost of maritime corruption to the shipping industry and society using the example of Nigeria. Martin and Thomas utilize unique data and an innovative methodology to assess both the direct and indirect or hidden costs of corruption in Nigeria’s ports and maritime sector over the period of 2019-2023. Their resulting assessment serves as a powerful case study for the wide-reaching implications of maritime corruption on low- and middle-income countries. Listen to these experts discuss how they performed their research, what trends the study reveals, and how their approach can be utilized by other researchers and anti-corruption practitioners seeking to understand the true costs of corruption in various industries and economic sectors.
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orruption in the shipping industry is a persistent challenge to fair trade across the world, estimated to cost the international economy billions each year. The Martitime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) is a global business network of over 200 companies who, since 2011, has become a pre-eminent example of collective action to battle corruption.
On this week’s Democracy that Delivers, CIPE’s Ekaterina Lysova sits with MACN members Martin Benderson & Thomas Westergaard-Kabel to discuss their new, groundbreaking report on maritime corruption in Nigeria. Martin and Thomas utilize unique data and an innovative methodology to create a survey of corruption in Nigerian with a level of detail never before possible, demonstrating costs of over $162 million per year. Their resulting assessment serves as a powerful case study for the wide-reaching implications of maritime corruption on low- and middle-income countries. Listen first-hand to these experts discuss how they performed their research, what trends the report reveals, and how their approach can be utilized by other researchers seeking to understand the true costs of maritime corruption.
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Challenged by a legacy of oligarchic state capture and a war raging in neighboring Ukraine, Moldova has made significant strides in recent years in putting in place anti-corruption structures that strengthen the rule of law and democratic institutions. In the forefront of that effort is Moldova's Chief Anti-Corruption Prosecutor, Veronica Dragalin, a former Assistant United States Attorney who emigrated from Moldova as a child. In this episode of Democracy that Delivers, Dragalin discusses her innovations that she's introduced such as plea agreements, as well as the importance of building trust in the judiciary among a skeptical public. She joins Frank Brown, Director of CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center, and Natalia Otel Belan, Director of CIPE’s Europe and Eurasia Division, to highlight her unique personal story, explain Moldova’s prosecutorial process, share the challenges and innovative tactics her office has used to crack down on corrupt behavior, and preview future plans for addressing corruption.
This podcast is brought to you by CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center.
In 2022, FEDN Member Grace Nzou began the project “Using Democratic Spaces to Promote Ethical Practices in Business.” As one of the inaugural FEDN small grants projects, the first phase of the project focused on training youth in Elgeyo Marakwet on ethical entrepreneurship. The second phase focused on implementation, working with youth to submit memoranda, track budgets, and build lasting partnerships.
In the final installment of this year’s FEDN small grants series, tune into a conversation hosted by Program Officer Tamari Dzotsenidze with Grace Nzou and Edwin Ronoh from RESTHUB on empowering youth in agribusiness and ensuring the sustainability of learning programs.
Between July 2024 to January 2024, CIPE supported a new project, “Democracy: A Digital Story for Young Generations” through the Kurdistan Economic Development Organization (KEDO). As part of the Free Enterprise and Democracy Network (FEDN) Small Grants initiative, they created a new website to educate youth on the importance of democratic values and institutions.
In the second episode of the FEDN small grants series, join Program Officer Tamari Dzotsenidze in a conversation with FEDN Member and General Director of KEDO Hussam Barzinji and Public Relations Officer Mustafa AbdulKareem on extending beyond the digital realm and finding hope under difficult circumstances.
Episode Description
Last year, Poland held extraordinarily consequential parliamentary elections where the conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) lost its majority for the first time since 2015. Against this backdrop, CIPE supported a new project, “The Rule of Law – Our Future” through the Institute for Private Enterprise and Democracy (IPED) based in Warsaw between July 2023 to January 2024. As part of the Free Enterprise and Democracy Network Small Grants initiative, the project educated voters about the importance of the rule of law and encouraged youth participation in the election.
In this podcast, Program Officer Tamari Dzotsenidze from CIPE Policy and Program Learning is joined by FEDN Steering Committee member and president of IPED Mieczyslaw Bak and Director of Program Strategy Anna Szczesniak in a discussion on lessons learned over the course of the project and perspectives on engaging with youth.
Episode Description
The Ruggie Framework is a three-pronged approach that includes the obligations of corporations to uphold human rights, the responsibility of the state to protect those rights, and the provision of effective remedies for any infringements.
In this CIPE Anti-Corruption and Governance Center (ACGC) podcast, Luis Fernando de Angulo, Senior Advisor to the Center for Responsible Business and a member of the Institute for Human Rights and Business, joins Michele Crymes and Angela Maria Velez of CIPE as they analyze the experience of Colombia’s private sector in upholding the Ruggie Framework. They discuss the private sector’s successes, challenges, and potential areas to improve the support of human rights going forward. Crymes is ACGC Deputy Director and Velez is the Program Director for CIPE Colombia.
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In 2008, the United Nations Special Representative, John Ruggie, introduced a framework to the United Nations Human Rights Council to address the relationship between human rights and business activities. This framework, known as the Ruggie Principles, was a three-pronged approach that included the obligations of corporations to uphold human rights, the responsibility of states to protect these rights, and the provision of effective remedies for any infringements. In 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council unanimously approved and endorsed the Ruggie Framework, otherwise known as the United Nations’ Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Our special guest, Luis Fernando de Angulo, joins this podcast to analyze the Colombian private sector’s experiences of upholding the Ruggie Framework. Specifically, we will discuss the private sector’s successes, challenges, and areas to improve the supporting of human rights in the future.
Anticorruption Taskforce Sudan, ACT-Sudan, is a newly established coalition of local Sudanese civil society organizations dedicated to identifying and combating corruption in Sudan to achieve the ultimate goal of ending the war and bringing justice to the people of Sudan. The task force aims to address corruption through advocacy campaigns, investigative research, and public mobilization. Omayma Gutabi, Executive Director of the Sudan Democracy First Group and founding member of ACT-Sudan, joins Staci Samuels, Program Officer for CIPE's Anti-Corruption and Governance Center, in discussion on why tackling corruption issues is key to ending the war and restoring peace to Sudan. This podcast is brought to you by CIPE's Anti-Corruption and Governance Center.
One year after devasting earthquakes in Türkiye, Erhan Arslan of TÜRKONFED joins Babak Yektafar, CIPE Program Director, and Stephen Rosenlund, Deputy Director of CIPE's Middle East and North Africa Team. TÜRKONFED, a CIPE partner, is an independent business confederation representing 30 federations and 300 associations with more than 60,000 company members across Türkiye. Arslan, TÜRKONFED’s Deputy Secretary General – Project Development and Coordination, discusses his organization’s mobilization of business associations to assist with recovery, the collective action of the private sector in rebuilding communities, and their new report that highlights supply chain resilience for economic recovery.
Fostering Growth & Collaboration in Central Asia with B5+1
The B5+1 is a business dialogue platform for the five central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, along with the United States. The Center for International Private Enterprise had a leading role in bringing these voices of the private sector together, including convening a two-day conference in Kazakhstan in March 2024. CIPE's Executive Director, Andrew Wilson, is joined by Eric Hontz, Director of CIPE's Center for Accountable Investment (CAI) and Sobir Kurbanov, Senior Program Manager for CIPE's Europe and Eurasia team to discuss the background of the B5+1, how this conference will address of the issues of different investment models in Central Asia, and what outcomes the conference hopes to achieve long term.
Eric Hontz - Center for International Private Enterprise
Eric Hontz leads CIPE’s Center for Accountable Investment which uses the lens of Corrosive and Constructive Capital to examine the impact of investment on democratic and market institutions. The CAI's work sits at the confluence of corporate governance, the rule of law, and the business and investment climate, with...
www.cipe.org
Andrew Wilson - Center for International Private Enterprise
Andrew Wilson is the Executive Director of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) in Washington, D.C. Wilson has extensive experience working with the private sector on development issues in conflict and post-conflict settings, crafting successful business strategies to reduce corruption, encouraging en...
www.cipe.org
Two authors of the groundbreaking U.S. Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) join the podcast to discuss one of the most sweeping and consequential anti-corruption laws of the last four decades. Tom Firestone, a partner at Squire Patton Boggs, and Scott Greytak, Director of Advocacy at the U.S. chapter of Transparency International (TI), discuss the importance of FEPA. The law makes it a crime for a foreign official to demand or accept a bribe from a company with a U.S. nexus, including those listed on a U.S. stock exchange. The guests join Frank Brown, Director of CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center, to discuss who the law covers, the steps needed to enforce it, and what it means for other countries seeking to adopt similar legislation. This podcast is brought to you by CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center.
Elizabeth David-Barrett, Director of the Centre for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex, is one of the co-editors of the “Dictionary of Corruption.” She joins Katya Lysova, who leads CIPE’s Business Integrity and Anti-Corruption and Governance Programs in Europe and Eurasia, and Sofiia Sapihura, Senior Humanitarian Aid and Anti-Corruption Expert for CIPE’s Europe and Eurasia team, to discuss the purpose of the dictionary, the methodology employed to create it, the ever-evolving forms of corruption and related terminologies, and how this first-ever dictionary of corruption can be applied. This podcast is brought to you by CIPE's Anti-Corruption and Governance Center.
Hernando De Soto is the Founder and President of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD) in Peru – CIPE’s first developing-country partner. ILD and De Soto shaped Peru’s economic modernization by influencing some 400 state initiatives, regulations and laws; CIPE replicated this success by forming thousands of partnerships with business associations, think tanks and civil society groups worldwide. For this podcast, De Soto joins CIPE Executive Director Andrew Wilson to discuss the importance of the informal economy, the central role of property rights, and the early successes of the ILD-CIPE partnership.
Sabrina Segal, a risk and compliance professional with almost 20 years in the international development humanitarian sector, says there’s a link between democracy and third-sector anti-corruption efforts, also commonly referred to as charities and nonprofit organizations. In this podcast, she joins Michele Crymes, Deputy Director for CIPE's Anti-Corruption and Governance Center, to discuss the importance of risk considerations in operations and knowledge sharing between third-sector organizations and small- and medium-sized enterprises. Segal and Crymes also debate how the private sector can serve as a better partner to the third sector. This podcast is brought to you by CIPE's Anti-Corruption and Governance Center.
Dr. Patrick Mardini, CEO of the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies (LIMS), is a leading advocate for market-based solutions to Lebanon’s economic challenges. One year since their first conversation on the podcast, Dr. Mardini updates Marie A. Principe, Program Director for CIPE's Middle East and North Africa team, on the ongoing financial crisis, prospects for reform in key sectors, and how LIMS is engaging local leaders for change.
Amy Miller-Taylor, Executive Director, and Elsa Peraldi, Associate Director, are executives at Global Integrity, a Washington-based anti-corruption NGO that is closing at the end of 2023. In its 18 years of existence, Global Integrity helped nurture what is today a global anti-corruption movement of unprecedented scope and impact. The organization was established on the belief that transformative change requires deep local expertise, something it helped build into CIPE's operations. Miller-Taylor and Peraldi speak with Frank Brown, director of CIPE's Anti-Corruption & Governance Center, to discuss why Global Integrity is closing, what might have been done to prevent it, and how Global Integrity's legacy will be preserved for the scores of anti-corruption organizations that had depended on the organization. This podcast is brought to you by CIPE's Anti-Corruption & Governance Center.
Selima Ahmad, Founder of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI), joins John Morrell, Regional Director for CIPE's Asia and Pacific team to discuss empowering women entrepreneurs. They highlight CIPE and BWCCI's partnership and how their work breaks down barriers, Ahmad's story of perseverance in founding the BWCCI, and Bangladesh's current political and economic outlook.
It’s a pivotal moment in Cambodia’s history, and Charles Dunst joins the Democracy That Delivers podcast to discuss the leadership transition as Prime Minister Hun Sen hands power to his son Hun Manet. Does this create a once-in-a-lifetime historic change for the country? Dunst is a regional expert and the author of Defeating the Dictators: How Democracy can Prevail in the Age of the Strongman, and joins Jennifer Anderson, Program Director for CIPE's Asia & Pacific team, to discuss implications of this historic transition and what it means for Cambodia’s future.
The Ukrainian Business Women Platform, founded by President Nadiia Lysetska, specializes in assisting business women and women entrepreneurs, especially during wartime in Ukraine.Lysetska and Kateryna Khudyk, platform mentor, join Deputy Director of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Programs Stephen Rosenlund, CAE, IOM, to explain the essential mission of the association and its impact.
Both Lysetska and Khudyk draw from their personal business experience and explain how the war has changed the role of women in the economy and how the platform empowers those women.
Nadiya Bedrychuk, Ukrainian Direct Selling Association Executive Director and Ukrainian Business Council board member discusses her vision for Ukraine’s future and policy changes necessary to strengthen Ukraine’s business climate and drive growth.
Sankhitha Gunaratne, Deputy Executive Director at Transparency International Sri Lanka, joins Barada Regmi, Asia Program Officer, and Emma Yingst, Asia Program Associate, to discuss the latest anti-corruption efforts in the country, including a law that was recently certified and the launch of a government diagnostic report. Sri Lanka faced its most severe economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948 due to widespread corruption, leading to the Aragalaya protest movement in 2022. Gunaratne explains the economic causes of corruption and the roles and influence of her organization and others, including the International Monetary Fund. This podcast is brought to you by CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center.
Acclaimed Russia expert Jill Dougherty examines the history of Ukraine and Russia and offers her thoughts on the future. Based on her experience as a former CNN Moscow Bureau Chief and Georgetown University professor, Dougherty discusses the global implications of Russia's brutal aggression and how Ukraine continues to inspire.
Marcin Nowacki, President European Enterprise Alliance shares his bold ideas to help strengthen Ukraine’s economy. As a leading figure in Poland's business community, Nowacki is spearheading initiatives to address supply chain challenges and open opportunities for Ukrainian companies. Tune in to learn how Ukraine’s economic entrepreneurial spirit is helping to fuel the economy.
Justin Snyder and Meissy Sabardiah of Indonesia’s Kemitraan, join Gabrielle Cervone, ACGC Program Associate, to discuss their research into sextortion in Indonesia, and explain why it’s a unique problem in the country. They share lessons learned from recently completed case studies funded by USAID’s Integritas initiative. Findings from the case studies should be applied by everyone working on sextortion Snyder and Sabradiah argue.
Natan Epstein, Deputy Division Chief and Deputy Mission Chief for Ukraine at the International Monetary Fund offers his perspective on how global investors are thinking about their support and loans, and what Ukraine can do to build lasting growth and stability.
Feeding Ukraine’s Future features a discussion with Andrii Dykun, Chairman of the Ukrainian Agrarian Council. The agriculture sector has been a main engine of Ukraine’s economy since before the war. This podcast provides a stark look at everyday life for the country’s network of farmers, considered some of the country’s most important small business owners. Some have been imprisoned by the invaders and others are being forced to sell their crops below cost.
Dr. Maximilian Burger-Scheidlin, Executive Director of the International Chamber of Commerce in Austria, specializes in finding new ways to encourage individuals and businesses to adhere to global anti-corruption standards and legal frameworks through business incentives and practical ways to resist bribery and other forms of corruption, especially in difficult environments. Burger-Scheidlin joins Anna Kompanek, Director for Global Programs, to provide an overview of his innovative anti-corruption training program, its target audience, the role branding plays in the success of the program, and its overall approach. Burger-Scheidlin also discusses the sustainability of the program in years to come and plans to further scale up and spread its global reach.
What will it take to revitalize Ukraine’s economy amidst conflict? Dimitar Bogov, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Lead Economist for Eastern Europe and Caucasus discusses economic recovery strategies, investment climate reforms, and long-term growth prospects.
Kateryna Glazkova, head of Ukraine’s largest business union, shares how entrepreneurs are driving resilience and renewal. Learn how strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and improving the business climate can accelerate growth during rebuilding.
Gary Kalman, Executive Director of Transparency International U.S., explains why Beneficial Ownership Transparency is one of the most effective tools for exposing corruption. Beneficial ownership laws reveal the real owners behind companies, even shell companies, so criminals can't anonymously enable financial crimes. Kalman, who oversees efforts to combat illicit finance, discusses the utility of building coalitions amongst business allies and other diverse stakeholders to make progress. This episode is hosted by Johannes Tonn, a Senior Anti-Corruption Advisor to CIPE for Beneficial Ownership Transparency, and Richard Christel, a former program officer at CIPE.
Maria Jaraquemada, Executive Director of Chile Transparente (CT), joins this podcast to explain the impact of the Chile’s recent joining of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, what the move means for the country, and the role to be played by her organization. She will also explain some of the potential private sector concerns and how EITI membership could impact U.S.-China competition. This episode is co-hosted by Frank Brown, Director of CIPE's Anti-Corruption and Governance Center, and Catherine Gibson, Program Officer on CIPE'S Latin American and Caribbean team.
How can Public Banks in the Global South strengthen democracy and governance? Thomas Marois, a global expert on public banks and a political economy specialist, draws from his background working with numerous public financial institutions around the globe. Marois, a recent Reader in Development Studies at SOAS University of London and a Professor in Political Science at McMaster University, where he is working towards creating a new global center for public banking, explains how public banks can and are already helping countries around the world, notably in Vietnam, achieve their sustainability goals. Jennifer Anderson, Program Director of CIPE's Asia and Pacific Team, hosts the podcast.
Invisible Trillions is the title of a new book by Raymond Baker, Founding President of Global Financial Integrity. Baker asserts that democracy and capitalism have progressively decoupled over the last few decades, making it easier for illicit money to flow around the globe. Baker shares specific examples and also his recommendations on how to address key issues, such increasing corruption and as “golden visa” programs that give high-net-worth individuals residence permits in foreign countries. Eric Hontz, Director of CIPE’s Center for Accountable Investment, hosts the conversation and shares his insights.
In recent years, Armenia’s government has put in place a robust anti-corruption infrastructure to counter what had been the country’s historically high levels of corruption. Hasmik Tigranyan, the Head of the Anti-Corruption Policy Development and Monitoring Department at Armenia’s Ministry of Justice, joins CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast to discuss the progress that has been made to date. Listen now to hear Tigranyan elaborate on the government’s planned initiatives, as well as what this all means for the country’s business community. This episode is co-hosted by ACGC Director Frank Brown and CIPE’s Head of Office in Armenia, Luiza Ayvazyan.
How can associations and business membership groups stay ahead of the curve in these challenging times? Bill Pawlucy joins the Democracy that Delivers podcast to discuss his new book: The Essential Handbook for Nonprofit Leaders. Listen now to hear Pawlucy draw on decades of experience working with business associations worldwide, covering everything from sustainable revenue and governance strategies to advice on how to harness technology and navigate emerging trends. This episode is hosted by Stephen Rosenlund, CIPE's Middle and North Africa Deputy Regional Director and leader of the organization's Associations Working Group.
The episode is part of the CIPE Policy & Program Learning Department's Association Frontiers series, which focuses on sharing the newest challenges and opportunities in chamber and association leadership around the world.
By many measures, Armenia has made significant strides in the fight against corruption since the Velvet Revolution of 2018. Eric Hacopian, a political analyst and the host of the online show Insights with Eric Hacopian, joins CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast to discuss the noticeable reduction of petty corruption in Armenia and how that transition came to be. Listen now to hear Hacopian elaborate on how certain Armenian industries, most notably the information technology sector, led the business community’s push for increased anti-corruption efforts, and describe the impact on the private sector as a whole. This episode is co-hosted by ACGC Director Frank Brown and CIPE’s Head of Office in Armenia, Luiza Ayvazyan.
What really happens when a country is “grey listed” by the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF)? CIPE examines this with Muazu Umaru, Director of Policy and Research at the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering (GIABA) in West Africa. The discussion follows announcements that Nigeria is among the new adds to the FATF’s “grey list” of countries with deficiencies in their structural abilities to counter money laundering and terrorism financing.
CIPE’s Nigeria Country Director and anti-corruption expert Lola Adekanye hosts a discussion with Umaru to analyze the ruling’s impact on financial sectors and the economy, one of Africa’s largest. The two also talk about recommended measures the country must take to address key issues flagged by the FATF.
A CIPE partner is among those leading crisis efforts on the ground in southern Turkey, where massive February earthquakes leveled entire communities and displaced millions. TÜRKONFED (Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation) was one of the first organizations to respond after the quakes, mobilizing its vast network of associations and federations to assist with immediate relief efforts. The groups are now supporting longer-term business rebuilding efforts amid the grief and despair.
It is considered one of the worst natural disasters in recent history for a region already under great strain, due to war and a growing refugee population. TÜRKONFED’s work is one example of how business organizations around the globe are stepping in to assist governments and fill critical gaps in times of urgent need.
CIPE is spotlighting this growing trend in a new Democracy that Delivers podcast series on “Association Frontiers” hosted by Stephen Rosenlund, who leads CIPE’s internal Associations Working Group and serves as Deputy Director of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Programs. In the inaugural podcast, he talks with TÜRKONFED Secretary General Ardu Batu and MENA Senior Program Officer Babak Yektafar about current efforts by the business community to assist earthquake victims and help restore lives and livelihoods.
Much anti-corruption work focuses on identifying corruption that already exists. A different approach proves more preventive: helping enhance efficiency, transparency, and accountability in organizations. That is the method used by Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, who joins CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast to discuss the award-winning work being done by the Private Sector Collective Action Coalition Against Corruption (KAKI), launched in September 2020 in partnership with CIPE.
A former commissioner with Indonesia's world-renowned Commission for the Eradication of Corruption (KPK), Pak Erry shares his vision for KAKI. KAKI’s aim is to function as a unique platform that helps the private sector and government prevent corruption. Listen now to hear Pak Erry explain how KAKI provides companies with anti-bribery and anti-fraud expertise and raises integrity standards to avoid facing corruption investigations by the KPK down the road. This episode is co-hosted by ACGC Director Frank Brown and Cynthia Gabriel, CIPE’s Senior Anti-Corruption Advisor based in Kuala Lumpur.
Charles Dunst, Deputy Director of Research & Analytics at The Asia Group, a Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Contributing Editor of American Purpose, joins Jennifer Anderson, Senior Program Officer for CIPE's Asia & Pacific team to discuss his new book, "Defeating the Dictators: How Democracy Can Prevail in the Age of the Strongman," which can be found here: http://linktr.ee/defeatingthedictators
@defeatingthedictators | Linktree Defeating the Dictators by Charles Dunst. Out now. linktr.ee In his new book, Dunst writes about how the world is experiencing the lowest levels of democracy in over thirty years. Autocracy is on the rise and may appear to be an attractive option to many. Dictators disrupt democratic foundations from both within and abroad and make those who are disillusioned with current institutions think that authoritarianism could deliver them a better life than democracy could. In this episode, Dunst and Anderson discuss how to combat institutional rot, the relationship between democracy and autocracy, why citizens should be more engaged and interested, and more.
Corina Rebegea, an Anti-Corruption Advisor at the National Democratic Institute, joins CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center (ACGC) podcast to discuss how to craft effective messaging that supports anti-corruption campaigns during windows of opportunity. Her report, The Role of Anti-Corruption Communications in Sustaining Integrity Reforms, highlights specific ways to design effective anti-corruption communication campaigns to earn popular support for government integrity reforms. Drawing on her years of experience developing strategies to promote good governance and counter disinformation, Rebegea reviews past research and points to ways to cultivate hope in place of cynicism.
Listen now to hear Rebegea share emerging lessons from anti-corruption campaigns and potential avenues for future research. One major finding in the review is that sometimes anti-corruption campaigns can actually backfire and potentially even create apathy among citizens about the fight against corruption. These takeaways can help guide reformers during windows of opportunity in tailoring their anti-corruption messaging to avoid common pitfalls. This episode is hosted by Richard Christel, a Program Officer with ACGC who leads the Anti-Corruption Rapid Response Program.
Anna Podlesna, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager for Profesia, joins Anna Kompanek, CIPE's Director of Global Programs, to discuss the impact of Profesia's work in the disabilities sphere. Profesia was founded in 1997 in Slovakia and currently hosts the biggest job portal in the country. Profesia has since expanded beyond Slovakia and has received many awards for its achievements in providing employment resources that are uniquely tailored towards people with disabilities. In 2022, Podlesna received recognition when she was featured in the Map of Social Innovators (a creation of the Pontis Foundation and international organization Ashoka) because of her work empowering underrepresented groups. In this episode, Podlesna and Kompanek discuss Profesia's approach to assisting jobseekers with disabilities. They also discuss trends in inclusive hiring in recent years.
Dr. Andrea Bonime-Blanc, author and CEO of GEC Risk Advisory, joins CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast to discuss her new joint publication with CIPE, the Risk to Value Guide: How Emerging Market Businesses Can Transform New Risks into Value. Bonime-Blanc has made a name for herself, including in her acclaimed 2020 book, Gloom to Boom, for articulating how firms can flip the script and convert risks into opportunities. Listen now to hear Dr. Bonime-Blanc discuss the guide and this year’s top sustainability “mega trends” that civil society, business, and government leaders need to be aware of. This episode is co-hosted by Michele Crymes, Program Director with ACGC, and Louisa Tomar, Program Director on the Global Programs team with a focus on the intersection of technology and democracy.
Serhiy Derkach, an anti-corruption lawyer who led the Department of Corruption Prevention and Detection at Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) from 2020 to early 2023, joins CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast this week to share about the agency's work both before and since Russia's invasion. Derkach, who was named Ukraine's Deputy Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development in February, describes how the NACP has pursued its mandate since being created during Ukraine's 2014 Revolution of Dignity. Today, the NACP continues to support anti-corruption compliance efforts in both the public and private sectors. The agency also maintains various IT platforms to address corruption, from a sanctions portal to assets declaration registries and a reporting corruption hotline. Listen now to hear Derkach share how the war has affected the NACP's work, the agency's place in the country's anti-corruption system, and the crucial role Ukraine's civil society organizations are playing in establishing a culture of integrity in Ukraine. This episode is hosted by Katya Lysova, Program Director for Europe & Eurasia who oversees CIPE’s business integrity programming in the region.
The Women and Girls Empowered Consortium (WAGE), in partnership with the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) published CIPE’s newest Democracy that Delivers podcast, “Reducing Barriers to Women’s Economic Empowerment in Moldova.” Elena Ratoi, CIPE Program Officer, and Carolina Bugaian, Board Member of the Association of Female Entrepreneurs of Moldova (AFAM) discussed the development of the Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Republic of Moldova, whose mission is to reduce barriers to women's economic empowerment. Bugaian and Ratoi discussed key successes the Alliance has accomplished in the past year and the importance of women’s business advocacy initiatives. They also discussed one of the prevailing barriers to women’s economic empowerment, gender-based violence, and how the Alliance works to combat gender-based violence and its damaging effects in Moldova.
Tim Robinson, Chief Compliance Officer at BHP, joined CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center (ACGC) podcast on the margins of December’s International Anti-Corruption Conference to discuss why BHP - one of the world’s largest mining companies - has chosen to actively prioritize integrity and business ownership transparency with its partners and global supply chain. As he shares, "effective anti-corruption measures and an effective anti-corruption environment...helps promote a level playing field...[and] prevents corrupt companies from gaining an unfair and illegal advantage when competing.” Listen now to hear Robinson discuss the specific initiatives that BHP is a part of, including beneficial ownership initiatives and commitments to a sustainable transition to a clean energy future. This episode is co-hosted by Michele Crymes, ACGC Program Director, and Ben Schmidt, Program Officer with ACGC.
Oleksii Sobolev, the recently named Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, joins CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast this week to discuss Ukraine's lauded innovations in procurement transparency and accountability. Recorded a few weeks ago while he was still the Chief Executive Officer of Prozorro.Sale, Sobolev provides an insider story of Ukraine’s efforts to strengthen integrity, market competition, and public trust in the government as it developed and launched a uniquely transparent system for government purchases and the sale of government assets, which has already helped process $2.5 billion in transactions involving over 55,000 participants and continues to do so amid the ongoing war. Listen now to hear Sobolev share how the platform connects to over 40 different e-commerce websites - and stores all its information in a centralized and public database - and how interested governments can adopt the same system in their home countries. This episode is hosted by Katya Lysova, Senior Program Officer for Eurasia who is responsible for overseeing CIPE's business integrity programming in the region.
Cheikhou Oumar, President of the Observatory for Monitoring Economic Development Indicators in Africa (OSIDEA), joins CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast to discuss Senegal's historic push for ownership transparency in the extractives sector and beyond. Oumar shares his experience at the center of trilateral negotiations with government, business, and civil society as the country has launched and mandated compliance to its first-ever beneficial ownership registry, which currently includes 130 companies and counting. Listen now to hear how the West African country of 16 million has taken on some of the biggest private interests in its $24 billion economy by requiring them to share their ultimate owners, how the private sector has reacted, and what OSIDEA has been doing to raise awareness about how beneficial ownership transparency helps combat corruption and level the playing field in the economy. This episode is hosted by Richard Christel, Program Officer with ACGC and lead for the Anti-Corruption Rapid Response Program.
Rainer Heufers, Executive Director of the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS) joins Adam Sachs, Program Officer for CIPE's Global Programs team to discuss digital governance and how to inform better policies through the T20 process.
Against the backdrop of Indonesia’s presidency of the G20, CIPE supported CIPS as it served as a co-chair for the T20's Taskforce 4: Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture. CIPS also developed two policy papers papers - G20 Framework for Repurposing Agricultural Policy Support to meet Global Climate and Food Security Goals and Regulating Cross-Border Data Flows in the Development Context - which were included in the official G20 repository.
In this episode, Heufers and Sachs discuss how CIPS provided policy analysis and fostered stakeholder engagement in the months leading up to the T20 summit and beyond.
James Wasserstrom and Tamara Razin, co-chairs of Moldova’s Independent Anti-Corruption Advisory Committee (CCIA), join CIPE's Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast to discuss the CCIA’s high-stakes role in combating strategic corruption. Founded in June 2021— after Moldova elected president Maia Sandu on a promise to end the “rule of thieves”—the politically independent body aims to stop state capture, analyze systemic corruption issues across institutions in Moldova, and improve the implementation of anti-corruption measures. Listen now to hear how Wasserstrom and Razin’s experience fighting corruption in Afghanistan and Ukraine has guided the new organization, how they're leveraging research to make an impact despite lacking investigative powers, and a summary of what the CCIA has uncovered thus far in its fact-finding work. This episode is hosted by Katya Lysova, Senior Program Officer for Eurasia specializing in business integrity and anti-corruption compliance.
Larry Chan and Daniel Hong from Free World Investment join Eric Hontz, Director of CIPE's Center for Accountable Investment and Catherine Tai, Deputy Regional Director of CIPE's Asia and Pacific team to discuss the considerations of geopolitical risks when investing.
Free World Investment is the first ethical investment strategy dedicated to safeguarding global capital in developed markets from investing into countries with heightened political and country investment risks.
Dr. Patrick Mardini, CEO of the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies (LIMS) joins Marie Principe, Program Officer for CIPE's Middle East and North Africa team to discuss the current status of Lebanon amid the economic crisis and private sector led solutions.
LIMS is a platform for research, collaboration and innovation in economic policy and helps governments and public-sector organizations design and implement market solutions in Lebanon.
Mardini and Principe discuss the causes of the economic situation, the effects on the Lebanon population, how LIMS has been addressing the issue, and more.
Jackline Lidubwi, Project Lead at Internews Kenya, joins Anna Kompanek, Director for CIPE's Global Programs, to talk about inclusion of persons with disabilities, specifically those in developing countries.
Jackline Lidubwi is a multi-award winning disability media activist, media trainer, and journalist with 20 years of experience in disability reporting. She leads the Inclusive Media Project across Sub-Saharan Africa at Internews.
Lidubwi discusses her current project at Internews with Kompanek and its focuses on barriers that persons with disabilities face, advances in technologies and their potential for inclusion, and more.
Anti-corruption lawyer Bill Steinman joins the Anti-Corruption & Governance Center (ACGC) podcast to discuss cases of companies cutting deals with terrorist organizations in dangerous foreign markets. The lively discussion starts with the now infamous Lafarge enforcement action, announced by the U.S. Department of Justice in October 2022. It involves a French multi-national cement firm that pled guilty for "conspiring to provide material support and resources" to both ISIS and Al-Nusra Front in Syria in 2013 and 2014. Listen now to hear the similarities and shocking differences between Lafarge's decision-making and parallel cases in Colombia and the Niger Delta, the rationale behind a zero-tolerance U.S. legal standard for payments made to known terrorists, and how Lafarge executives ended up providing U.S. authorities copies of agreements signed on ISIS letterhead. The podcast is co-hosted by Lola Adekanye, CIPE Program Director for Africa, and Ben Schmidt, Program Officer with ACGC.
Accountability Lab's HackCorruption team joins the Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast to discuss how a series of Tech-For-Good events are building diverse communities of anti-corruption activists in emerging markets. Accountability Lab Global Director of Learning Cheri-Leigh Erasmus, Mexico Country Director Eva Sander, and Global Programs and Partnerships Manager Sara Hoenes describe how their hackathon model has set a new bar for training in anti-corruption, design, marketing, and stakeholder engagement. Listen now to hear how one southern Africa group of five winning teams is seeding the work for an upcoming series of anti-corruption hackathons in Asia and Latin America. The program is being implemented with support from CIPE. The podcast is hosted by Anti-Corruption & Governance Center Director Frank Brown and CIPE Program Officer Ben Schmidt.
Sergiy Tsivkach, CEO of UkraineInvest, joins Eric Hontz, Director of CIPE's Center for Accountable Investment, to learn more about UkraineInvest, specifically during a critical moment in Ukraine's history. UkraineInvest is a government institution providing investors with support such as current information and advice on doing business in Ukraine; identifying optimal investment opportunities, and guiding investors through government agencies at all levels.
Tsivkach and Hontz discuss the recent challenges UkraineInvest has faced, how the international private sector can help Ukraine's private sector, innovations and competition in other sectors, and more.
From Armenia, Shushan Doydoyan, president of the Freedom of Information Center, and Lilya Afrikyan, coordinator for the Prime Minister's Office of Open Government Partnership, join the Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast this week to discuss the challenges and successes Armenia is experiencing as it fights to enact beneficial ownership transparency (BOT) reforms. Just after its 2018 revolution, the country’s new government collaborated with civil society to implement a plan to transform existing beneficial ownership records into a comprehensive, digital, and open resource. Listen now to find out how and why the country was among the first to launch this kind of sweeping BOT initiative. This episode is hosted by CIPE’s Luiza Ayvazyan, Program Officer for Armenia on the South Caucasus team.
From Armenia, Shushan Doydoyan, president of the Freedom of Information Center, and Lilya Afrikyan, coordinator for the Prime Minister's Office of Open Government Partnership, join the Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast this week to discuss the challenges and successes Armenia is experiencing as it fights to enact beneficial ownership transparency (BOT) reforms. Just after its 2018 revolution, the country’s new government collaborated with civil society to implement a plan to transform existing beneficial ownership records into a comprehensive, digital, and open resource. Listen now to find out how and why the country was among the first to launch this kind of sweeping BOT initiative. This episode is hosted by CIPE’s Luiza Ayvazyan, Program Officer for Armenia on the South Caucasus team.
Wisborn Malaya, Secretary-General of the Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Associations (ZCIEA) joins Ryan Musser, Program Officer for CIPE's Africa team and Kim Bettcher, Director of CIPE's Policy and Program Learning team to discuss Malaya's experiences and insight into the informal economy in Zimbabwe and around the world.
Our hosts and guest discuss the similarities between the informal economy in Zimbabwe compared to other informal economies in other countries, Malaya's work with ZCIEA, lessons learned from advocating for the informal economy, and more.
Wisborn Malaya, Secretary-General of the Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Associations (ZCIEA) joins Ryan Musser, Program Officer for CIPE's Africa team and Kim Bettcher, Director of CIPE's Policy and Program Learning team to discuss Malaya's experiences and insight into the informal economy in Zimbabwe and around the world.
Our hosts and guest discuss the similarities between the informal economy in Zimbabwe compared to other informal economies in other countries, Malaya's work with ZCIEA, lessons learned from advocating for the informal economy, and more.
Kristen Robinson, Head of Advocacy at the Open Contracting Partnership, joins the CIPE Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast to discuss what open contracting is, why the world needs it, and how the private sector can benefit and from open contracting reform. A third of the world's taxpayer money is spent on procurement -- a mind-boggling $13 Trillion -- making every citizen a stakeholder. As Robinson shares in the podcast and on a recent blog, there’s a lot of infrastructure required to ensure procurement is done quickly, effectively, and in a transparent and accountable manner. Listen now to hear why digitizing inefficient, paper-based procurement processes isn't enough; how open contracting principles can be a boon to governments and the business community alike; and how small- and medium-sized businesses can advocate for needed open contracting reforms. This episode is hosted by Richard Christel, Anti-Corruption Program Officer at CIPE.
Kristen Robinson, Head of Advocacy at the Open Contracting Partnership, joins the CIPE Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast to discuss what open contracting is, why the world needs it, and how the private sector can benefit and from open contracting reform. A third of the world's taxpayer money is spent on procurement -- a mind-boggling $13 Trillion -- making every citizen a stakeholder. As Robinson shares in the podcast and on a recent blog, there’s a lot of infrastructure required to ensure procurement is done quickly, effectively, and in a transparent and accountable manner. Listen now to hear why digitizing inefficient, paper-based procurement processes isn't enough; how open contracting principles can be a boon to governments and the business community alike; and how small- and medium-sized businesses can advocate for needed open contracting reforms. This episode is hosted by Richard Christel, Anti-Corruption Program Officer at CIPE.
Tricia Yeoh, CEO of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), and Virak Ou, Founder of Future Forum, join Catherine Tai, Deputy Regional Director and Kendra Brock, Associate Program Officer, from CIPE's Asia and Pacific team to discuss the role of youth in improving infrastructure transparency and governance. IDEAS and Future Forum run programs with young people that enhance their capacity to evaluate policy and improve transparency, both at the subnational and national level and emphasize the importance of involving youth in policy discussions. This is the second and final part to the Democracy that Deliver's BRI Monitor mini-series.
In this episode, our guests and hosts discuss how their findings related to BRI monitoring, how the youth play a role in information gathering and research, and more.
Tricia Yeoh, CEO of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), and Virak Ou, Founder of Future Forum, join Catherine Tai, Deputy Regional Director and Kendra Brock, Associate Program Officer, from CIPE's Asia and Pacific team to discuss the role of youth in improving infrastructure transparency and governance. IDEAS and Future Forum run programs with young people that enhance their capacity to evaluate policy and improve transparency, both at the subnational and national level and emphasize the importance of involving youth in policy discussions. This is the second and final part to the Democracy that Deliver's BRI Monitor mini-series.
In this episode, our guests and hosts discuss how their findings related to BRI monitoring, how the youth play a role in information gathering and research, and more.
Interns Camila Cepeda and Tina Dolbaia join their supervisors Morgan King, Associate Program Officer on the Latin America and Caribbean team, and Elizabeth Lenz Jedwab, Program Officer on the Europe and Eurasia team to talk the projects they have been working on and what it is like interning at CIPE. This is the final episode of Democracy that Delivers' "Emerging Leaders" mini-series featuring up-and-coming change-makers.
Our hosts and interns discuss what its like interning for CIPE, how their career goals ties into what they've learned, their capstone projects and what they learned throughout the process, and more.
Interns Camila Cepeda and Tina Dolbaia join their supervisors Morgan King, Associate Program Officer on the Latin America and Caribbean team, and Elizabeth Lenz Jedwab, Program Officer on the Europe and Eurasia team to talk the projects they have been working on and what it is like interning at CIPE. This is the final episode of Democracy that Delivers' "Emerging Leaders" mini-series featuring up-and-coming change-makers.
Our hosts and interns discuss what its like interning for CIPE, how their career goals ties into what they've learned, their capstone projects and what they learned throughout the process, and more.
Free Enterprise and Democracy Network (FEDN) Small Grant awardees Milos Nikolic of Libek in Serbia, Grace Nzou of Niusline Media in Kenya, and Yemi Adamolekun of Enough is Enough in Nigeria speak with Tamari Dzotsenidze, Associate Program Officer for CIPE's Policy and Program Learning team about their projects focused around increasing youth engagement in democracy and civic space.
In this episode, our host and guests discuss the impact of their small grants on democracy in their local community, special considerations when working with youth, and what gives them hope for the future.
Editor’s note: The Free Enterprise and Democracy Network (FEDN) will be hosting the second annual FEDN Conference with the theme “Rallying for Freedom: From Ideals to Engagement.” Register today for more insights from FEDN members!
Free Enterprise and Democracy Network (FEDN) Small Grant awardees Milos Nikolic of Libek in Serbia, Grace Nzou of Niusline Media in Kenya, and Yemi Adamolekun of Enough is Enough in Nigeria speak with Tamari Dzotsenidze, Associate Program Officer for CIPE's Policy and Program Learning team about their projects focused around increasing youth engagement in democracy and civic space.
In this episode, our host and guests discuss the impact of their small grants on democracy in their local community, special considerations when working with youth, and what gives them hope for the future.
Editor’s note: The Free Enterprise and Democracy Network (FEDN) will be hosting the second annual FEDN Conference with the theme “Rallying for Freedom: From Ideals to Engagement.” Register today for more insights from FEDN members!
Thom Townsend, Executive Director of Open Ownership, joins the CIPE Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast to talk about the past, present, and future of beneficial ownership transparency. Townsend draws from his organization's experience in over 30 countries unmasking the people who ultimately benefit from often opaque and complex ownership structures. Starting with a historical perspective on the invention of corporations, Townsend shares how modern (and still quite new) beneficial ownership practice requires multi-dimensional strategies. Among them: passing new legislation, setting up collection systems, and establishing new public sources of information. Listen now to hear Townsend's perspectives on the origins of tax havens and the tension between privacy and transparency, as well as learn how persistent barriers to information are complicating current efforts to raise transparency despite renewed global interest in financial and corporate secrecy. The episode is hosted by Richard Christel, Anti-Corruption Program Officer at CIPE.
Thom Townsend, Executive Director of Open Ownership, joins the CIPE Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast to talk about the past, present, and future of beneficial ownership transparency. Townsend draws from his organization's experience in over 30 countries unmasking the people who ultimately benefit from often opaque and complex ownership structures. Starting with a historical perspective on the invention of corporations, Townsend shares how modern (and still quite new) beneficial ownership practice requires multi-dimensional strategies. Among them: passing new legislation, setting up collection systems, and establishing new public sources of information. Listen now to hear Townsend's perspectives on the origins of tax havens and the tension between privacy and transparency, as well as learn how persistent barriers to information are complicating current efforts to raise transparency despite renewed global interest in financial and corporate secrecy. The episode is hosted by Richard Christel, Anti-Corruption Program Officer at CIPE.
As a key implementing partner of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, CIPE is leading major reforms in Asia, Africa and Latin America to democratize trade and make it more accessible to everyone. Among the many recent Alliance-supported projects that we are implementing, a landmark arrangement between eleven Latin American countries has been recently signed and is expected to significantly reduce the cost of international trade for companies with Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) certification. CIPE Executive Director Andrew Wilson, and CIPE’s Head of Trade Programs Aurelio Garcia talk with BASF Customs and Foreign Trade Manager Fernando Wins about the impact of this groundbreaking agreement in this new Democracy that Delivers podcast.
The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation is a public private partnership led jointly by CIPE, the International Chamber of Commerce, and the World Economic Forum, in cooperation with Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The Alliance is among the finalists for this year’s P3 Impact Award issued jointly by the U.S. State Department’s Office of Global Partnerships, Concordia, and the University of Virginia Darden School Institute for Business in Society. The winner will be announced at Concordia’s 12th Annual Summit in mid-September.
Paul Barker, Executive Director of the Insititute for National Affairs and Victor Andres "Dindo" Manhit, Founder and President of Stratbase ADRi, join Catherine Tai and Kendra Brock on CIPE's Asia and Pacific team to discuss BRI investments in Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.
In this episode, our guests and hosts discuss the role that infrastructure investments play in elections and why transparency is critical to ensuring a democratic process, using the recent Papa New Guinea and the Philippines elections as examples.
Relevant Links:
BRI Monitor Website
Insititute for National Affairs
Stratbase ADR Institute
Madgi M. Amin, former Senior Advisor to the Transitional Government of Sudan, joins the CIPE Anti-Corruption & Governance Center (ACGC) podcast this week to share insights and lessons learned in Sudan, including several unintended effects of anti-corruption measures implemented during Sudan’s democratic transitional period. Empowered by a successful citizen-led revolution in 2019, Sudan embarked on a three-year democratic transition overseen by a joint military-civilian Sovereign Council to reform the country's government into a fairer and more transparent system. As tackling corruption became a top priority, reform measures implemented and that looked like progress to external observers sparked disagreements that threatened the overall stability of Sudan’s transition period. Listen now to hear Amin map out his views on where the implementation missteps were made and what actions should be taken to prevent this from happening in other democratic transitions. Amin is joined by hosts Frank Brown, Director of CIPE's ACGC, and Staci Samuels, CIPE ACGC Program Officer.
Grzegorz Makowski, former Public Integrity Forum Director and current Ideas Forum expert at the Batory Foundation, joins to talk about procurement processes, international dialogue, and integrity in the latest episode of the Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast. Makowski draws from his experience examining the logging and rail industries, to discuss how small, positive changesin transparency can have a cascading effect in countering corruption. He also offers insight into the roles that civil societies and non-profits can play in forming “integrity pacts.” Anna Kompanek, Director of Global Programs at CIPE, hosts the episode.
Relevant Links:
The Integrity Pact. A Civil Society Monitoring of Public Projects, An Overview of the Investment and the Pilot Project
The Integrity Pact - or Citizens in Tenders
The Integrity Pact. A Civil Society Monitoring of Public Projects, Designing an Integrity Pact and the Contractor Selection
Extreme Participation: Citizens' Involvement in Public Procurement Decisions. The Example of Piloting Integrity Pacts in the European Union
Gregory Poling, Senior Fellow and Director at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and Charles Dunst, associate at The Asia Group and fellow at CSIS, join Jennifer Anderson, Senior Program Officer for CIPE's Asia and Pacific Team to discuss the implications of Cambodia's foreign policy as Cambodia hosts the 55th ASEAN Foreign Minister's meeting.
In this episode, our guests and host discuss the various events that lead to where Cambodia is today, as well as how Cambodia's open media and civil society environment is slowly beginning to close off. They also highlight China's involvement in Cambodia, Cambodian's want for positive relations with the United States, and how the United States can engage with Cambodia given it's involvement in ASEAN.
Relevant Links:
Pariah or Partner? Clarifying the U.S. Approach to Cambodia
On Dangerous Ground: America's Century in the South China Sea
Dr. Francisco Magno, Professor of Political science at De La Salle University in Manila, joins Jennifer Anderson and Anna Baldonado from CIPE's Asia and Pacific Team on this final episode in our Philippines elections series. They discuss the new administration's agenda, rule of law, corruption and more.
Relevant Links:
Beyond the Crisis: A Strategic Agenda for the Next President
Ryan Evangelista, Jennifer Anderson, and Anna Baldonado from CIPE's Asia and Pacific Team join this episode of the Philippines election series. They discuss the outlook for the Philippines under the new administration, the economy, and more.
Dr. Jean Encinas-Franco, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of the Philippines Diliman, once again joins Jennifer Anderson, Senior Program Officer for CIPE's Asia and Pacific team. In this continuation of our series on the Philippines election, Dr. Franco and Anderson talk about the recent outcome of the election and how social media, gender, and disinformation played into it.
Charles Dunst, current associate at The Asia Group, fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former foreign correspondent, joins Jennifer Anderson, Senior Program Officer for CIPE's Asia and Pacific Team to discuss Cambodia's election results. Charles has reported from Cambodia, as well as other countries, for The New York Times and The Atlantic. In this episode, Charles and Jennifer talk about how Cambodia got to where it is today, democracy promotion in Cambodia, and more.
Nora Wheelehan and Kendra Brock from CIPE's Asia & the Pacific team join their Deputy Regional Director, Catherine Tai, as well as co-host Zoe Watkins from the Communications department. This is the final episode of Democracy that Delivers' "Emerging Leaders" mini-series featuring up-and-coming change-makers. Nora and Kendra talk about their beginnings at CIPE, their projects and partners, the challenges that they have encountered and more.
Featured Resources:
- BRI Monitor
- American Chamber of Commerce Coral Sea
- CIPE Asia & the Pacific and South Asia
- More articles by Nora Wheelehan: ESG Advocacy through MSMEs in South Asia Can Deliver Labor-Business Symbiosis; The Election of President Maia Sandu: A New Era for Women’s Empowerment in Moldova; More Resilient Markets and Democracies Through Better Gender Inclusivity
Magdalena Krzysztofik and Wouter Scheepens from Steward Redqueen join Michelle Crymes, Program Officer with CIPE's Anti-Corruption & Governance Center, to discuss the increasing role that Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards and principles play in the future of businesses around world, specifically those in emerging markets. Steward Redqueen is a specialized consultancy that works across the globe, advising organizations on impact and sustainability. In this episode, Magdalena and Wouter talk about their experiences working with businesses on regulatory standards.
Jorge Ramirez of the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITC ILO) joins Morgan Frost, Program Officer on CIPE's Global Programs team in this final episode of the mini-series “Strengthening Resilience," discussing the importance of fostering organizational resilience, especially in times of crisis. They examine key elements of resilience which can support organizations to weather disruptions, navigate changes in the business environment, and support their local communities. They also discuss CIPE and ITC ILO’s partnership on a training curriculum titled “Fostering Resilience and Embracing Digitalization,” designed specifically for managers and board members of Employer and Business Membership Organizations (EBMOs). The curriculum takes a close look at best practices and strategies to help local private sector organizations better prepare, adapt, and respond in times of crisis.
Featured Resources:
- "Driving Up Resilience"
- "Taking Stock of the Digital Dividend"
Žiga Žarnić from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s Centre on Well-being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity (WISE) joins CIPE's Director of Global Programs, Anna Kompanek, in this episode of the "Strengthening Resilience" mini series. This episode examines key indicators that help measure a country's ability to recover in times of crisis. The episode highlights the OECD COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard, a tool that outlines "indicators to monitor the quality of the recovery - whether it is strong, inclusive, green and resilient, with gender inequalities highlighted throughout." Finally, the podcast examines how the just green transition can help keep long-term goals of sustainability in mind, while tackling the immediate pressures from COVID-19.
Ben Kiragu, Chief Executive Officer of Development Management Services and Kenya Country Representative for CIPE joins our Africa team's Senior Program Officer, Lola Adekanye, to talk about corruption within Kenya's private sector. They discuss the highlights, opportunities, and challenges to private sector collaboration when it comes to tackling corruption.
Featured Resources:
- Corruption Risk Mapping in Kenya's Private Sector
- Ethics 1st
Imaobong Akpan-Ita and Adia Armstrong from CIPE's Africa team join their Regional Director, Lars Benson, as well as co-hosts Zoe Watkins and Autumn Moore from the Communications Department. This is the latest episode of Democracy that Deliver's "Emerging Leaders" mini-series featuring up-and-coming change-makers. Imaobong and Adia talk about their role models, give advice for fellow young professionals, and discuss their projects with CIPE and more.
Featured Resources:
- The Informal Sector: Facing Crisis on the Outside of the System
- Investigating Intersections: Spatial Inequality, Incentives, and Informality
- Steps to Help the Underground Economy Survive a Pandemic
- Public Perception of Economic and Social Reforms in Bolivia
- Corporate Governance for Emerging Markets
Dr. Jean Encinas-Franco, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of the Philippines, joins our host Jennifer Anderson from CIPE's Asia and Pacific team. This is the second episode of our series on the Philippines elections, a critical crossroads to elect a set of leaders to navigate the country's road to economic recovery and democratic renewal. In this episode, our host and guests discuss the various challenges and opportunities surrounding the election, from how established institutions can be impacted, to how the support of the youth's vote can effect the outcome of the election.
Relevant Resources:
- UP sa Halalan 2022 Homepage
- UP sa Halalan Twitter
Coco Alcuaz, Executive Director of the Makati Business Club (MBC), one of the largest business associations in the Philippines, joins our hosts Jennifer Anderson and Ryan Evangelista from CIPE's Asia and Pacific team. This is the first episode of our series on the Philippines elections, a critical crossroads to elect a set of leaders to navigate the country’s road to economic recovery and democratic renewal. In this episode, our hosts and guests discuss how election discourse can be influenced by social media and fighting the disinformation that comes with it.
Adam Sachs and Leila Zarifi from CIPE’s own Global Programs department join co-hosts Autumn Moore and Zoe Watkins on Democracy that Delivers’ “Emerging Leaders” mini-series featuring up-and-coming change-makers. We explore their team’s unique mission to incubate solutions for universal challenges, such as digital transformation and youth engagement. As young professionals themselves, Adam and Leila also open up about their career paths, from the obstacles of cross-cultural collaboration to the motivations behind their impactful work.
Featured resources:
- The Informal Sector: Facing Crisis On The Outside Of The System
- Investigating Intersections: Spatial-Inequality, Incentives, and Informality
- Steps To Help the Underground Economy Survive a Pandemic
- Public Perception of Economic and Social Reforms in Bolivia
- Corporate Governance for Emerging Markets
- Technology for Democracy Online Course
- CIPE Launches Youth Leadership Program
- Youth Leadership
- Digital Economy Guide
- Digital Literacy Training
In the inaugural episode of a new Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast series on Private Sector Collective Action hosted by Katya Lysova, two experts on compliance and international trade talk about one of the largest and most sophisticated international anti-corruption coalitions in the world: the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN). Cecilia Müller Torbrand, who is MACN’s CEO, joins Ann Shazell, a Global Lead Lawyer at Cargill International and MACN’s Vice Chair discuss how public-private collaboration is crucial to combatting corruption in sea-based trade. With CIPE Senior Program Officer Lysova, the guests tackle the need for global NGOs to recognize collective action organizations as an effective anti-corruption strategy. They share how MACN is using data to analyze the types and scale of corruption in the global maritime sector.
Mila Atmos, host of the podcast Future Hindsight, joins CIPE’s Democracy that Delivers podcast to discuss the importance of civic engagement. Guest hosts Hanna Wetters, a CIPE Program Officer for Africa, and Richard Tucker, CIPE's editor, also took part in the discussion and focused on CIPE’s work on that continent.
In the third episode of the "Strengthening Resilience: Global Perspectives" mini-series, CIPE speaks with two organizations: the Quito Chamber of Commerce based in Ecuador, and Fundacion Libertad, based in Argentina. During this podcast, our host Tomas Mandl, Program Officer for Latin America & the Caribbean at CIPE, speaks with Marcos Falcone, project manager at Fundación Libertad, and Carlos Loaiza, President of the Quito Chamber of Commerce. They share their respective views of resilience and highlight how each organization has supported its members or the broader community in times of uncertainty.
On this episode of Democracy that Delivers, our host, John Morrell, and co-host, Aarya Nijat, are joined by Dr. Nishan De Mel, Executive Director of Verité Research. Dr. De Mel discusses Sri Lanka’s debt crisis, Sri Lankan government's response to the crisis, nation-wide and global protests calling for a change of leadership and immediate relief through suspension of debt repayment, and immediate, medium term and long term steps that will help Sri Lanka emerge out of this situation.
In the second episode of the podcast mini-series on resilience, CIPE speaks with the Philippine LGBT Chamber of Commerce (PLCC), an organization dedicated to advocating for policies that support the needs of LGBT-owned businesses. Chairperson of PLCC, Ronn Astillas, will outline the impact of the pandemic on LGBT-led businesses and highlight its work supporting members to become more resilient. PLCC will also share its recent advocacy efforts that support economic recovery in the lead up to the national elections, while also exploring how inclusion should be prioritized across efforts focused on economic resilience and recovery.
Relevant Resource Links:
https://lgbtchamberph.org/
https://www.facebook.com/lgbtchamber/
https://mailchi.mp/cipe/philippines-key-notes-year-in-review-2021
In times of crisis, the ability of local private sector organizations to weather disruptions so that they can effectively support their members and contribute to economic renewal is essential. During this podcast, CIPE will speak with William Pawlucy from Association Options and Ines Pearce from Pearce Global Partners Inc. The podcast will explore key factors that help foster the resilience and sustainability of local private sector organizations, such as business associations and chambers of commerce, and how they can help strengthen the resilience of their member businesses. This podcast is the first episode of a series titled, “Strengthening Resilience: Global Perspectives.”
Relevant Resource Links:
https://www.diplomaticourier.com/posts/associations-chambers-shaping-post-covid-future
https://associationoptions.com/
https://pearceglobalpartners.com/about
https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/resilience-box
In this Women's History Month episode of Democracy that Delivers, we welcome Nya Mona Muchemi, Head of Operations at SNDBX and a consultant for CIPE. She also hosts the AfriWetu podcast which takes a deep dive into pre-colonial African history. Muchemi talks with CIPE editor Richard Tucker and Africa Program Officer Ryan Musser about the past, present, and future of free trade in Africa and democratic government in Kenya and beyond. Relevant Ressources: * Paukwa, by Mwihaki Muraguri
- Peperuka, by Wangari Nyanjui
- African Digital Heritage, by Chao Tayiana Maina
- Africa PodFest, by Josephine Karianjahi and Melissa Mbugua
On this episode of Democracy that Delivers, we are joined by guests Holly Sandalow and Staci Samuels of CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center. This is the latest episode in the “Emerging Leaders” mini-series, co-hosted by Autumn Moore and Zoe Watkins from the Communications Department. Holly and Staci explain their backgrounds, why they are energized to work at CIPE, and what they hope to accomplish. Relevant Resources: * Rapid Response website
- "Expert Opinions, Making a Killing Awarded in First Anti-Corruption Podcast Contest"
- "Don’t Miss these 10 Anti-Corruption Podcasts"
In this episode of Democracy that Delivers, host Peter Glover, Program Officer for the Anti Corruption and Governance Center at CIPE, welcomes two leaders in the global fight against corruption. Shannon Green serves as the Senior Advisor to the Administrator and Executive Director of the Anti-Corruption Task Force at USAID, and Brooke Stearns Lawson serves as the Task Force's Lead on Innovation, Research, and Learning. In this discussion, Green and Lawson explain why the world has entered an unprecedented moment for democracy and anti-corruption work around the world. USAID has seized the opportunity for anti-corruption programming by announcing a new USAID Grand Challenge focused on combatting transnational corruption. This episode is the latest in a mini-series on the topic of anti-corruption rapid response.
On this episode of Democracy that Delivers, we are joined by guests Morgan King and Abby Guen and host John Zemko, all members of the CIPE Latin America and Caribbean team. This episode continues the Emerging Leaders mini-series, co-hosted by Autumn Moore and Zoe Watkins from the Communications team. Morgan and Abby discuss their backgrounds, their personal goals, and their visions for the future of their team.
Erika Díaz Ulloa, a lawyer and a specialist in compliance matters, joins CIPE’s Democracy that Delivers podcast for International Women's Day 2022 to talk about the challenges women face in the marketplace. She tells CIPE co-hosts Barbara Langley and Staci Samuels why women-owned businesses are more likely to face discrimination, how women can deal with double standards, and what women can do to move into leadership positions.
Relevant resources:
- Female Business Leaders Working Together to Fight Corruption, October 2020
- Alliance for Integrity Launches its "Integrity Coffee" for Female Entrepreneurs in Mexico City, October 2019
In continuation of Women's History Month on the Emerging Leaders mini-series, up-and-coming women change-makers Erika Lewis and Sarah Rupert from CIPE's Middle East and North Africa team join Regional Director Greg Simpson and cohosts Autumn Moore and Zoe Watkins from the Communications team.
To kick off Women's History Month, two guests from the Center for Women’s Economic Empowerment (CWEE) join Democracy that Delivers to discuss their work. Elizabeth Lievens and Hannah Byrd are associate program officers at CWEE. They talk about some of the projects they are working on, explain why it is crucial to empower women everywhere, and discuss whether they are optimistic or pessimistic about the future.
Two guests from the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF) join Democracy that Delivers to discuss their work. GATF is led jointly by CIPE, the International Chamber of Commerce, and the World Economic Forum in cooperation with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit. The guests are Ciara Kilroy and Ana Larin, program associates at GATF. This is the latest episode in a series focusing on emerging leaders at CIPE. Ciara and Ana discuss how to make trade easier and more effective, explain why free trade is important, and discuss the programs they are working on.
Stephen Renna, Senior Managing Director, Global Strategies & Solutions at Ankura, joins CIPE’s Democracy that Delivers podcast to discuss the challenges of doing business in emerging markets. He tells co-hosts Marc Schleifer and Laura Farhang that American companies that want to operate overseas must measure the risks of such trading against the opportunity to increase revenue.
In the latest episode in the anti-corruption rapid response mini-series, Mauricio Alarcón-Salvador, the Executive Director of the Ecaudorian anti-corruption organization Fundación Ciudadania y Desarrollo (FCD), spoke about FCD and CIPE’s rapid response program in Ecuador. Host Peter Glover and Mauricio discuss the window of opportunity in Ecuador and how open contracting practices are bringing more transparency to public procurement.
In 2021, CIPE launched a new applied research initiative to engage business leaders in emerging democracies with actionable knowledge on policy solutions for democratic free-market systems. Today, Policy and Program Learning’s Kim Bettcher and Mikra Krasniqi are joined by researcher Tiffany Qiu to discuss her work on Free Trade Zones and introduce the upcoming Research Unbound webinar series.
Click here to register for the upcoming webinar: "Do Free Trade Zones Stimulate Entrepreneurship?"
Vivek Menon, Associate Director of Global Operations & Industry Engagement for the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) joins CIPE’s Democracy That Delivers podcast to discuss his organization’s work. Menon works closely with CIPE’s Lola Adekanye, who co-hosted the episode. Menon discussed the almost decade-long project MACN has been actively involved with that is battling corruption in Nigeria.
Two guests from CIPE’s Europe and Eurasia department join host Ken Jaques to discuss their work. They are Calvin Chang, a program associate who focuses on the western Balkans, and Anna Goltermann, a program associate who focuses on advancing women’s economic empowerment. This is the second episode in a series focusing on emerging leaders at CIPE. Anna and Calvin discuss how they came to be at CIPE, the programs they are involved in, and why they are optimistic about the future.
Recommended resource: CIPE's Work in the South Caucasus
A quartet of guests join host Ken Jaques to discuss their work at CIPE. They include Autumn Moore and Zoe Watkins from the Communications department, and Adam Goldstein and Mikra Krasniqi from the Policy and Program Learning department. This is the first episode in a series that will focus on emerging leaders at CIPE. They talk about their backgrounds, how they came to join CIPE, and their current work promoting democracy and economic opportunity around the world.
Recommended resources:
- The Informal Sector: Facing Crisis on the Outside of the System
- Investigating Intersections: Spatial-Inequality, Incentives, and Informality
- Steps To Help the Underground Economy Survive a Pandemic
- Public Perception of Economic and Social Reforms in Bolivia
- Corporate Governance for Emerging Markets
Anti-Corruption author and Transparency International Co-Founder Frank Vogl joins the CIPE Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast this week to discuss his new book, The Enablers: How the West Supports Kleptocrats and Corruption. Vogl reviews the recommendations of his book, which shines a light on the Western financial institutions, lawyers, consultants, and other professionals who enable looting kleptocrats and other corrupt actors around the world. Vogl’s timely book release accompanies a host of major global anti-corruption announcements by the US government in December 2021, including the publication of the U.S. Strategy on Countering Corruption. Listen now to hear Vogl's analysis of these new announcements, what has inspired him to spend his career asking bold and difficult questions about corruption to global decision-makers, why citizens and citizen-led organizations are the most important global bulwark against corruption, and how to discern the wheat from the chaff after the lofty rhetoric of the Summit for Democracy.
Professor Sophal Ear joins guest hosts John Morrell and Jenny Anderson, CIPE’s Regional Director and Senior Program Officer for Asia and the Pacific. This is part of a mini-series around President Biden’s Summit for Democracy. They talk about the risks of authoritarian regimes. For example, dictators, the professor notes, often present themselves as benevolent leaders, but are almost always corrupt and ineffective.
Relevant resource: "Aid Dependence in Cambodia: How Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy" by Sophal Ear
Professors Michael Johnston (Colgate) and Jodi Vittori (Georgetown) join guest host Frank Brown, Director of CIPE's Anti-Corruption & Governance Center. This is part of a mini-series around President Biden's Summit for Democracy. Specifically, they talk about ways to improve anti-corruption efforts around the world.
Paola Galvez, 2020-2021 Open Internet leader and advisor to the Presidency of Council Ministers of Peru in charge of digital regulation, joins Democracy that Delivers host Ken Jaques and Anna Kompanek, Director, Global Programs, CIPE. This episode is part of a mini-series around President Biden’s December 2021 Summit for Democracy. Specifically, they talk about the Open Internet Leadership program that CIPE helps run, and ways governments can encourage internet freedom and availability.
Relevant ressources:
- Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Session on "Forging Trust in the Digital Economy: A Consumer Perspective"
- "Developing and Deploying New Technologies with Privacy in Mind: A Case Study on Contract Tracing Applications in Latin America" by Paola Galvez
Scott Carpenter, Director of Policy and International Engagement at Google's Jigsaw, joins host Ken Jaques, CIPE Executive Director Andrew Wilson and Senior Program Officer Louisa Tomar. This is the first episode of a mini-series around President Biden's December 2021 Summit for Democracy. Specifically, they talk about how creating open and resilient digital spaces is a goal that touches all three of the Summit's themes: defending against authoritarianism; addressing and fighting corruption; and promoting respect for human rights.
The Democracy that Delivers “Women and Girls Empowered” (WAGE) mini-series spotlights the WAGE core partners’ women empowerment projects. In the last of four episodes, our host Ken Jaques gets to know Search for Common Ground (SfCG) Research, Evaluation & Learning Specialist Aisalkyn Botoeva and Gender Advisor Nalini Rathnarajah. From conflict-sensitive initiatives in Sri Lanka and Myanmar, Aisalkyn and Nalini share the unique challenges of advancing the Women, Peace, and Security agenda while addressing women's conflict-related needs and encouraging their participation in reconciliation processes.
Dr. Khin Mg Kyi, Dean of the School of Business at Pacific Adventist University, joins hosts Ken Jaques and Kim Bettcher for the Democracy that Delivers podcast Global Entrepreneurship Week mini-series final episode.
They discuss ways to encourage young people to start their own businesses in Papua New Guinea, a country where CIPE is investing in a program to boost entrepreneurship. They also talk about ways to reduce unemployment in the country.
Steve Kimbu, Senior Lecturer at IBSUniversity in Papua New Guinea, joins the Democracy that Delivers podcast host Ken Jaques and CIPE Policy and Program Learning Director Kim Bettcher for the first of a two-part mini-series in celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week.
Kimbu teaches ways to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship at the university. “We need to go beyond teaching,” Kimbu says. He cites the success of a CIPE supported program that helps teachers and students apply classroom principles of accounting and management in the real world.
Hui Chen, an internationally renowned leader in ethics and compliance, discusses the "uncomfortable" position that emerging market small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) occupy with respect to global integrity and anti-corruption standards. Drawing on Chen's decades of experience driving compliance and ethics changes in the private and public sector, including her service as the first-ever Compliance Counsel Expert at the United States Department of Justice, Chen discusses the impossible situation many SMEs are in when they are told to follow complex compliance guidelines designed for large multi-nationals, while at the same time facing systematically corrupt environments in their home countries that most have little power to change. Listen now on the latest episode of the CIPE Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast to hear more about what current anti-corruption implementation tends to look like among emerging market SMEs, how current practices may be making things worse, and what hard questions must be asked in order to start making things better. Chen is joined by hosts Lola Adekanye, CIPE’s anti-corruption lead in Africa, and Ekaterina Lysova, CIPE Senior Program Officer for Europe and Eurasia.
The Democracy that Delivers "Women and Girls Empowered" (WAGE) mini-series spotlights the WAGE core partners' women empowerment projects. In the third of the four episodes, our host Ken Jaques meets Susan Marx, Project Director of WAGE Eswatini for the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI). Launched just last year amid turbulent times in the last absolute monarchy of the region, WAGE’s initiative in Eswatini aims to integrate responses to gender-based violence, HIV, and the economic marginalization of Swati women. Susan highlights ABA ROLI's work to improve these women's access to justice, education, and economic participation in cooperation with men and boys, local lawyers, and civil society organizations.
This two-part mini-series of Democracy that Delivers celebrates the winners of CIPE Africa's Women Economic Empowerment Contest. Our host Ken Jaques and Africa Program Associate Laura Maclay hand the second episode over to the Gambia Women’s Chamber of Commerce (GWCC) CEO Beatrice Mboge to present the key hurdles met by women in business in the Gambia and the wide array of partnerships with nonprofit, private, and public sector organizations mobilized by CWCC to provide critical services and relief, especially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tom Fox, the extraordinarily prolific and knowledgeable host of the popular FCPA Compliance Report, talks about the link between two hot topics in the corporate compliance world - anti-corruption and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), in the latest episode of the CIPE Anti-Corruption & Governance Center (ACGC) podcast. Drawing on almost 20 years as an anti-corruption lawyer, Fox discusses the rise of anti-bribery enforcement around the world and explains why an increasing number of regulators, investors, and consumers are pressuring companies to make greater disclosures of anti-bribery standards, labor practices, and environmental impact. Fox also shares why the adoption of higher standards has accelerated dramatically during COVID-19 and how businesses can take meaningful steps towards ESG compliance by using the practices they already have in place. Fox is joined by hosts Ken Jaques, CIPE’s Communications Director, and ACGC Program Officer Michele Crymes.
Democracy that Delivers picks up the "Women and Girls Empowered" (WAGE) mini-series where the opening episode left off, spotlighting the women's empowerment projects of the core partners of WAGE. In the second of these four episodes, our host Ken Jaques is joined by Grameen Foundation representatives Bobbi Gray, Research Director, and Amelia Kuklewicz, Regional Director for Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. They bring us updates on Grameen's projects like the Reducing Barriers Initiative (RBI) and the Resilient Life Resilient Business (RLRB) Curriculum, which address women's needs as entrepreneurs but also as holistic individuals facing broad systems of legal barriers, social norms, corruption, and gender based violence.
This two-part mini-series of Democracy that Delivers celebrates the winners of CIPE Africa's Women Economic Empowerment Contest. The first episode features the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (KNCCI) West Pokot Chapter, a shining example of the impact associations can have in support of women in business. KNCCI-West Pokot CEO I. M. Seth joins program host Ken Jaques and co-hosting Program Officer Ryan Musser to shed light on the unique barriers that women in this rural county face at every turn of entrepreneurship, from ownership rights, financial assistance, and market access, to safety, education, technology, and networks. Listen to how KNCCI-West Pokot and CIPE partner in advocating for businesswomen with local government and the business community, empower them with trainings, loans, infrastructure, and policy, as well as highlight their achievements.
Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) expert and ELEVATE Limited CEO Ian Spaulding joins the CIPE Anti-Corruption & Governance Center (ACGC) podcast this week to discuss the interplay between anti-corruption and new ESG approaches to managing global supply chains. Spaulding explains that ESG is ultimately about raising standards - for workers, for the environment, and for how companies are managed. When standards are low and companies underperform corruption and fraud can become pervasive as business leaders try to create shortcuts or hide poor results. Listen now to how ELEVATE helps supply chains establish and enforce high standards that support ESG and reduce corruption, and how governments, civil society, and international organizations are essential to supporting better outcomes in the private sector. Spaulding is joined by hosts Ken Jaques, CIPE’s Communications Director, and Michele Crymes, Program Officer with CIPE’s ACGC.
To report on Poland's democracy, host Ken Jaques is joined by native Poles Anna Kompanek, Director of CIPE's Global Programs, and Marek Tatala. Marek is the the newest member of CIPE’s Free Enterprise and Democracy Network (FEDN), Vice President and Economist at the Civil Development Forum (FOR), and co-founder of both the Rule of Law and the new Economic Freedom Foundation in Warsaw, Poland. Despite their home country's previously exemplary economic and democratic transition, our guests tell of Poland's recently renewed struggles with rule of law, independence of the media, and political corruption. Listen to find out how civil society, businesses, intergovernmental institutions, and non-governmental coalitions such as Marek's Economic Freedom Foundation are working to protect this democracy in jeopardy.
Democracy that Delivers "COVID and Corruption In Latin America" mini-series cohosts Ken Jaques and Elena Padbury wrap up this recap of our recently released report. Last but not least of its country case studies is Brasil, presented by Laís Piasentini Oliva, Advocacy Analyst at the Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance (IBGC). Laís offers recommendations to reduce pre-existing corruption risks and, importantly, the perception thereof, as both intensify from pandemic-related legislative changes.
The latest episode in the Anti-Corruption and Governance Center’s Rapid Response podcast mini-series features Haykuhi Harutyunyan, the chair of Armenia’s Corruption Prevention Commission (CPC), and Matthew Murray, an anti-corruption expert with decades of field experience. The CPC was founded following Armenia’s 2018 Velvet Revolution, in which peaceful protests ushered in a new reformist government. Murray and CIPE were part of a team that supported the CPC in its first year. The podcast is hosted by CIPE Program Officer Peter Glover, who leads the discussion through the excitement and challenges of the early days of the CPC. With USAID’s recent announcement of a multi-year anti-corruption program in Armenia, this episode is a timely reflection on what it took to get to this new phase of anti-corruption reform in Armenia.
In the latest episode of our Anti-Corruption Rapid Response podcast mini-series, Suliman Baldo, a Senior Advisor at The Sentry and a long-time peace and democracy advocate, shares his experiences and perspectives working to advance democracy in Sudan. At the moment, Sudan is undergoing a once-in-a-generation political transition following a massive--and peaceful--grassroots movement in 2019. Baldo analyzes the current window of opportunity in Sudan, the challenges facing the transitional government, the newly announced anti-corruption commission, and speaks to the big social changes affecting the country. Baldo is joined by CIPE Communications Director Ken Jaques and Anti-Corruption & Governance Center Program Officer Peter Glover.
In this continuation of the Democracy that Delivers mini-series on "COVID and Corruption In Latin America", we take a closer look at our recently released report's second of three country case studies: Argentina. Cohosts Ken Jaques and Elena Padbury are joined by Demian González Chmielewski, Public Management Program Coordinator at CIPPEC, a CIPE partner organization that promotes democratic public policies in Argentina. Their research reveals that behind Argentina's strong legal framework lies a gap between institutions and practice which, in the current economic and health emergency context, can be an opportunity for either transparency or corruption. Listen to Demian's recommendations for bridging the gap to transparency.
Tariq Fancy, Founder and CEO of The Rumie Initiative, joins the latest podcast from CIPE's Anti-Corruption & Governance Center (ACGC) to take a hard look at the perverse incentives poisoning the growth of ESG (or Environment, Social, and Governance) investing. Fancy, who is the former Chief Investment Officer for Sustainable Investing at Blackrock, gives an insider's look at the rapidly growing world of sustainable corporate finance and the unhealthy placebo effect that unregulated "ESG" labels are having on global markets. Listen now to hear Tariq lay out what government regulators and civil society organizations can do about it and why better rules and referees are needed for ESG to encourage businesses to do the right thing. Fancy is joined by Europe & Eurasia Deputy Regional Director Eric Hontz and ACGC Program Officer Michele Crymes.
Democracy That Delivers host Ken Jaques partners with CIPE's Latin America and the Caribbean Program Officer Elena Padbury in a new mini-series behind the scenes of the recently released report on the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and corruption risks in Latin America. Cracking open the first of its three country case studies, Viviana Patiño from the Regulation and Economic Competition Program of Mexico Evalúa shares her findings on corruption in the Mexican electricity sector during the pandemic.
Democracy that Delivers kicks off a new mini-series spotlighting women's empowerment projects of the core partners of Women and Girls Empowered (WAGE), a global programming consortium to advance the status of women and girls. In this first of four episodes, our host Ken Jaques is joined by Center for International Private Enterprise colleagues Barbara Langley, Director of the Center for Women's Economic Empowerment, and Elena Ratoi, Program Officer in Moldova. They bring updates on the goals, accomplishments, pandemic challenges, and lessons learned from "Reducing Barriers to Women’s Economic Empowerment", a multi-disciplinary program aimed at building an alliance of Moldovan women’s business and civil society organizations.
The 6th episode of CIPE’s anti-corruption rapid response podcast mini-series features governance consultant Florencia Guerzovich and Open CoLab founder Dave Algoso. Listen now to hear Guerzovich and Algoso break down their recent groundbreaking report on political windows of opportunity for anti-corruption reform. According to Guerzovich and Algoso, these windows of opportunity often follow the overthrow of a dictator or corrupt leader, or the election of a reformist government. However, they can arise and dissipate so quickly that slow-moving observers can miss them entirely; instead, reformers both in and outside these countries must begin preparing before they occur. The guests are joined by Anti-Corruption & Governance Center Program Officer Peter Glover. For more of their analysis and recommendations, check out the full episode here.
On this episode of Democracy that Delivers, our host Ken Jaques is joined by co-host Adam Sachs from CIPE’s Global Team and Thomas Dewaranu, a researcher at the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS). CIPE partnered with CIPS to engage in a digital economy advocacy pilot that examines the country’s digital economy environment via interviews, public-private dialogues, and other awareness-raising activities. Thomas Dewaranu shares research recommendations that are captured in a policy paper titled, “Co-regulating the Indonesian Digital Economy”. One key takeaway from the report is to follow a co-regulation approach that relies on collaboration between government and private sector actors to foster a cooperative approach to regulatory design, implementation, and enforcement of digital laws.
The 5th episode of CIPE's anti-corruption rapid response podcast mini-series features the National Democratic Institute's Program Director Frieda Arenos and Southern and East Africa Deputy Regional Director Gemima Barlow. Arenos and Barlow share their experiences working with new governments during political transitions and emphasize the human capacity challenges that can face new reformist governments. Arenos and Barlow describe how the transition of civil society leaders to roles within a new government can result in weakened civil society groups, making it difficult for CSOs to play larger roles in transitions. The guests are joined by CIPE Communications Director Ken Jaques and Anti-Corruption & Governance Center Program Officer Peter Glover. Please read more about NDI’s Executive Transitions initiative here, here, and here.
On this episode of Democracy that Delivers, our host Ken Jaques is joined by co-host Adam Sachs from CIPE's Global Team and Sheilah Birgen, The Cord CEO and 2020 Open Internet for Democracy Leader. The Open Internet for Democracy Leaders Program is a non-resident leadership program that empowers emerging leaders from across the globe to build their advocacy and organizing skills to protect internet freedom. Sheilah talks to Adam and Ken about opportunities for advancing data privacy and protection in Kenya, and together they explore how the lessons Sheilah learns there could be applied to initiatives in other local contexts.
The latest edition of CIPE's anti-corruption rapid response podcast mini-series features Abigail Bellows, Non-Resident Scholar with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Bellows speaks about the political character of corruption fighting, including how corruption has undermined support for democracy around the globe. Joined by CIPE Communications Director Ken Jaques and Program Officer Peter Glover, Bellows describes how fast-moving anti-corruption programs can seize windows of opportunity and make big strides against corrupt systems.
Bellows, a thought leader on Twitter and in print, writes about topics like bridging the elite-grassroots divide in anti-corruption programs, an anti-corruption agenda for the middle class, and building momentum in the U.S. fight against corruption.
On this episode of Democracy that Delivers, our host Ken Jaques brings fan favorites CIPE Africa Senior Program Officer Lola Adekanye and Kroll Compliance Risk and Diligence Managing Director John Arvanitis back together again from across the globe to continue the fascinating discussion from Episode #269. This time, they discuss President Biden's Memorandum on Establishing the Fight Against Corruption as a Core United States National Security Interest, particularly its commitment to greater cooperation and accountability between governments, businesses, and civil society in the global implementation of rule of law.
This episode of CIPE's Democracy That Delivers podcast features special guest Eguiar Lizundia, Deputy Director for the Center for Global Impact at the International Republican Institute (IRI). The latest in a rapid response anti-corruption mini-series hosted by Peter Glover of CIPE's Anti-Corruption & Governance Center (ACGC), the podcast features Lizundia sharing his perspective on rapidly deploying anti-corruption resources during political windows of opportunity guided by IRI's impressive new publication, the “Anti-Corruption Toolkit for Civic Activists.”
In his role at IRI, Lizundia builds thought leadership on key issues, facilitates cross-program knowledge sharing, and leads efforts to improve programming. He’s recently written articles outlining how to improve US efforts to combat corruption in Central America, why the US should bring local governments into the Summit for Democracy, and why it is important to look beyond the West to combat kleptocracy. Lizundia is found here on Twitter.
Paul Massaro serves as a senior policy advisor for the US Helsinki Commission, but for those with a window into the US government’s efforts to combat global corruption, Paul’s is a household name. He is a behind-the-scenes driver of a new wave of thinking about the connection between global corruption and US national security. He spoke with Peter Glover of CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center, as part of a new mini-series focused on anti-corruption rapid response, to discuss the new surge of US government actions combatting global corruption and the increased attention on rapid response anti-corruption approaches. The conversation touches on how global corruption can affect everyday Americans — the topic of a couple of recent articles co-authored by Paul — windows of opportunity for anti-corruption reform, the importance of thinking and working politically, the concept of the role of critical junctures in institutional change, and the proposed CROOK Act. Paul is lively both as a podcast guest and on Twitter, so this episode is definitely worth a listen.
Ana Linda Solano is a professor, criminal lawyer, and former Director of Colombia’s Special Investigative Police on Economic and Financial Crimes, and this week she joins CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center to discuss the topic of sextortion and the growing call to address the issue. Sextortion is a type of corruption which occurs when those in authority extort sexual favors in exchange for exercising their authority or providing a public service. According to pioneering work by Transparency International, it has been experienced by up to 1 in 5 women in some countries. Listen now to hear Solano break down the latest research on what drives sextortion and how anti-corruption champions can overcome barriers to addressing the issue. Solano is joined by CIPE Communications Director Ken Jaques and ACGC Associate Program Officer Staci Samuels.
For the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic on Democracy That Delivers, our host Ken Jaques gets the latest updates from CIPE's partner the Accountability Lab in Nepal. Our organizations work together in Nepal to strengthen a subnational environment of effective public-private sector partnerships. This episode's guests Bikin Ghimire, Communication and Product Manager, and Suvechchha Chapagain, Project Associate, speak on citizen-centric development, the Nepalese government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on business, as well as the challenges and opportunities presented by current digitalization trends in Nepal.
On this episode of Democracy that Delivers, our host Ken Jaques and co-host Lola Adekanye, CIPE Africa Team Senior Program Officer, are joined by John Arvanitis, a managing director in the Compliance Risk and Diligence practice of Kroll with almost three decades of experience in federal law enforcement. They discuss Kroll's 2021 Anti-Bribery and Corruption Benchmarking Report and the compliance risk and diligence business, from bribery and corruption to ESG and Artificial Intelligence. Listen to learn why and how organizations can identify, assess, and mitigate unique risks effectively with transparency, accountability, and compliance programs to protect their market reputation and integrity.
Maldives Anti-Corruption Commission President and Former Transparency Maldives Executive Director Mariyam Shiuna joins the CIPE Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast this week to share her perspective and lessons learned on the transition from being a transparency and integrity civil society leader to heading the government's newly empowered anti-corruption agency. Shiuna talks about her agency's reform agenda, including addressing weaknesses that led to 2018's high-profile MMPRC scandal that saw $200 million in government funds go missing and over 50 islands and lagoons sold via corrupt deals. Listen now to hear her insider's perspective on running a 100-employee anti-corruption agency, managing sometimes treacherous relationships with other government leaders, and how the business community can play a role in changing assumptions about corruption in the small Indian Ocean country.
In honor of Pride Month 2021, our host Ken Jaques and CIPE's Asia-Pacific Program Officer Gibson Haynes invite Angel Romero, the Director for Partnership & External Affairs of the Philippines LGBT Chamber of Commerce, to join the podcast. Our organizations' partnership is CIPE's first program devoted to LGBTQI+ economic empowerment. Following up on our recent joint Manila Virtual Forum on Inclusion, Diversity, and Equality: "Recover with Pride", they discuss the challenges facing LGBTQI+ business owners and employees, both societal and economic, which effect us all, from the Philippines to the United States. Listen to learn how to help, not only this Pride Month but every month.
On this episode of Democracy that Delivers, the "Women in Business during the Pandemic" series brings our host Ken Jaques to Moldova once again. He is joined by co-host Natalia Otel Belan, CIPE Regional Director for Europe and Eurasia, as well as our guest Olga Melniciuc, National Consultant on Women’s Economic Empowerment for UN Women Moldova and past President of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs from Moldova (AFAM). Listen to find out how Ms. Melniciuc and fellow women in business in Moldova are making the most of digitalization in order to adapt to the challenges of female entrepreneurship during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On this episode of Democracy That Delivers, our host Ken Jaques is joined by Sarwagya Raj Pandey, the Research and Advocacy Officer at Bikalpa - an Alternative, a public policy think tank based in Nepal in partnership with CIPE's Asia Pacific Team. They talk about his firsthand experience of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the people of Nepal both socially and economically, notably for small businesses and the tourism sector. Beyond a story of loss, Mr. Pandey tells a story of human triumph through community, innovation, activism, and collaboration in the face of catastrophe.
In this continuation of the “Future of Work” series, we seek to make sense of the changes, reforms, and challenges brought about by COVID-19 in Latin America. Our host Ken Jaques is joined by CIPE Latin America & Caribbean Regional Director and cohost John Zemko in a discussion with the newly-appointed Executive Director of the Center for the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity and Growth (CIPPEC) Gala Diaz Langou. Live from Buenos Aires, Langou shares the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on socio-economic inequalities in Argentina, her vision for bridging the gaps, and more about CIPPECC's own "Future of Work" initiative.
Political scientist, China scholar, and University of Michigan professor Yuen Yuen Ang, PhD, joins the CIPE Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast this week to provide an expert’s guide to how corruption has supercharged and complicated China’s blistering rate of economic growth. Sharing insights from her new book, China's Gilded Age: The Paradox of Economic Boom and Vast Corruption, Ang distinguishes between four kinds of corruption: petty theft, rent theft, speed money, and access money, the last of which she dubs “the steroids of capitalism”. Listen now to hear her share how different forms of corruption have harmed or in some cases accelerated China’s growth, and why she believes the pervasiveness of access money threatens a long-run economic blowout. Ang is joined by ACGC Director Frank Brown and CIPE’s Asia Senior Program Officer Catherine Thai.
On this episode of Democracy That Delivers, our host Ken Jaques takes the mini-series to Moldova with local CIPE Program Officer Elena Ratoi. They are joined by our guest, Angela Gladei, the President of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs from Moldova (AFAM). AFAM partners with the Women and Girls Empowered (WAGE) program to build the capacity of women and girls in Moldova. Hear about Ms. Gladei's professional and personal experiences with regional challenges to female entrepreneurship during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On this episode of Democracy that Delivers, our host Ken Jaques and our co-host and Executive Director, Andrew Wilson, are joined by International Republican Institute's President, Dr. Daniel Twining. This discussion concludes our podcast series titled, The Future of Democracy. Dr. Daniel Twining explains the importance of both building and protecting democracies and how the four core institutes of The National Endowment for Democracy, CIPE, IRI, NDI, and Solidarity Center, each have a unique approach to democracy work.
On this episode of Democracy that Delivers our host Ken Jaques and co-host Luiza Ayvazyan, a CIPE Program Officer located in Armenia, are joined by Elen Manukyan, Co-Founder & Program Manager at Fashion and Design Chamber of Armenia. The Chamber is a non-profit association founded in November 2017 by a group of Armenian designers with the mission to support Armenian fashion, design, and textile sector development. Listen to learn more about how the fashion and textile industries have been impacted by COVID-19 and how businesses are learning and adapting.
México Evalúa’s Laurence Pantin discusses her work on the Mexican judicial sector’s experience with digital technologies. Pantin is the author of “Guide to Good Practices on the Use of New Technologies for the Administration of Justice;” the report explores how Mexico adapted to COVID-19’s restrictions and delivered justice to its citizens. The report is part of México Evalúa’s Digital Justice Program, which has been at the forefront of research exploring how the new digital technologies are affecting and can improve Mexico’s justice administration. She joins our host Ken Jaques and co-host John Zemko, the Regional Director for CIPE's Latin American and the Caribbean team.
Jon Vrushi, Transparency International's Research Coordinator, joins ACGC's podcast to discuss the statistical basis and methodology behind the world's most popular corruption measure: The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Vrushi explains the 13 data sources behind the index and explains why expert opinions and evaluations of public sector corruption - including some based on quantitative evidence - are used instead of public perception surveys. Listen to Vrushi discuss how the CPI is “used and abused,” the impact it has (or doesn't have) on anti-corruption programming, and how tracking the world's corruption is influencing Transparency International's global strategy. He is joined by Anti-Corruption & Governance Center Director Frank Brown and CIPE Communications Director Ken Jaques.
In this episode of Democracy that Delivers our host Ken Jaques is joined by co-host Hannah Byrd, CIPE Program Associate for the Center for Women's Economic Empowerment, and former CIPE LIFE Project Coordinator, Nour Akkad. Nour describes how the LIFE Project recruited and incubated refugee women and shares success stories from the program. CIPE and a Consortium of international partners developed the Livelihoods Innovation through Food Entrepreneurship (LIFE) Project. The LIFE Project launched the first food incubators in Turkey, where members from the refugee and host communities start and scale food businesses, contributing directly to their livelihoods and economic development in their communities. While incubators often struggle to attract women to their cohorts, almost 70% of LIFE entrepreneurs are women. Listen to learn more about how entrepreneurship creates economic and leadership opportunities for refugee women and how future programs can learn from the lessons of the LIFE Project.
On this episode of Democracy that Delivers our host Ken Jaques and co-host Luiza Ayvazyan, a CIPE Program Officer located in Armenia, are joined by Lilit Asatryan, founder and President of Armenian Young Women’s Association (AYWA) and the founder of Women Entrepreneurship Network in Armenia. Listen to learn more about these two organizations that help women entrepreneurs access global business networks and develop entrepreneurial skills.
On this episode of Democracy that Delivers, our host Ken Jaques and our co-host Anna Kompanek, Director of CIPE's Global Programs, are joined by Mercedes Bidart, CEO & Co-Founder of Quipu. Quipu is a new digital platform and app that builds community marketplaces to allow micro-businesses in the informal economy to trade without money while building creditworthiness. The goal is to facilitate commerce in neighborhoods and increase disposable income, solving the problem of visibility, cash flow, and injustice in access to capital. Listen to learn more!
On this episode of Democracy that Delivers our host Ken Jaques is joined by Anti-Corruption & Governance Center Director Frank Brown and our guest Gary Kalman, Director of the U.S. Office of Transparency International. Gary Kalman is a leading voice in the U.S. for the concerns and priorities of the global anti-corruption movement. Prior to his current position, Kalman had been the executive director of The FACT Coalition. Listen to this podcast to learn more about Gary Kalman's experience and Transparency International's efforts in supporting and promoting the U.S. role in global anti-corruption efforts.
On this episode of Democracy that Delivers, our host Ken Jaques is joined by our Executive Director Andrew Wilson and the Director of the Center for Women’s Economic Empowerment (CWEE) Barb Langley. CWEE is celebrating its third anniversary and Women’s History Month. Listen to this episode to learn more about CWEE’s history and future projects and initiatives.
On this episode of Democracy that Delivers, our host Ken Jaques and our co-host and Executive Director, Andrew Wilson, are joined by Solidarity Center’s Executive Director, Shawna Bader-Blau. This discussion is the second podcast in our series titled, The Future of Democracy. Shawna Bader-Blau shares her insight on the events of January 6th, COVID-19, and how they both have shaped and changed the future of democracy and democracy work.
Delia Ferreira, Chair of Transparency International (TI), joins the podcast to give a decade-spanning tour of the global fight against corruption from her start as a non-profit leader in Argentina, to the global corruption agenda milestones of the 1990s and 2000s, and finally during the current era of high-profile and sophisticated corruption. Ferreira, who consults for governments, businesses, and international organizations in her leadership capacity with the world’s best-known anti-corruption NGO, is joined by Anti-Corruption & Governance Center Director Frank Brown and CIPE Communications Director Ken Jaques. Listen to Ferreira share TI’s priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, her suggestions for global businesses that she sees increasingly willing to adopt social and community-minded approaches, and what she would do if TI was awarded an extra $50 million in funding this year.
On this episode of Democracy that Delivers, our host Ken Jaques is joined by co-host, Maya Eristavi, the Center for International Private Enterprise’s representative in Georgia for the USAID-funded Economic Governance Program. Our guest, Natia Ninikelashvili, is an entrepreneur who founded Soplidan.ge. Soplidan.ge is an innovative online business that connects farmers and customers with an online shop and home delivery system. Listen to learn more about Natia Ninikelashvili’s insight on creating a digital platform and the lessons she’s learned as a businesswoman.
The events of January 6th changed the way we look at our democracy. Democracy work is more important than ever and our new series titled, The Future of Democracy, takes a deep dive into the ways we approach our work. Our host Ken Jaques and co-host Andrew Wilson, CIPE’s Executive Director, kick off the series with Derek Mitchell, National Democratic Institute’s (NDI) president. Listen to this episode to gain insight on the future of democracy and democracy support.
Michael Johnston, co-author of the new book, The Conundrum of Corruption: Reform for Social Justice, joins the podcast to speak about “the one goal that makes corruption control a compelling concern in the first place: justice.” Johnston, a retired Colgate University professor and anti-corruption scholar with a career spanning 30 years, joins Anti-Corruption & Governance Center Director Frank Brown and CIPE Communications Director Ken Jaques to discuss what he describes as the “anti-corruption industry.” Johnston traces the development of the anti-corruption movement from its early days of innovation to a status quo he sees as defined by inertia and insularity. Listen to Johnston’s thoughts on how the pandemic is changing perceptions of corruption and inequality, and why political contention may be the only way to achieve lasting change.
On this episode of Democracy that Delivers, Dr. Otto Scharmer, Senior Lecturer in the MIT Management Sloan School and co-founder of the Presencing Institute joins our host Ken Jaques and Co-host Anna Kompanek, Director of CIPE’s Global Programs. Dr. Scharmer explains his new way of thinking about leadership for social transformation. For more information on this topic visit his site and read his book “Leading from the Emerging Future: From Ego-System to Eco-System Economies”.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, is under the control of its army after a military coup overturned a free and fair election on February 1, 2021. On this episode of Democracy that Delivers we’re joined by Khin Lay, a civil society leader living and working in the country; she shares an inside look at what is happening in the country and how the rest of the world can help. John Morrell, CIPE’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, appears as a guest host in this episode.
What is Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) and how is it changing investing? Why has investor adoption of ESG accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic? What does the broadening of compliance standards driven by ESG mean for global anticorruption efforts? Please join a discussion of these questions and more in the Anti-Corruption & Governance Center's latest podcast featuring ESG expert Gabriel Thoumi, CFA, who is a Director at Planet Tracker and Climate Advisers and a Lecturer at Johns Hopkins University. The podcast is hosted by Communications Director Ken Jaques and Anti-Corruption Program Officer Michele Crymes.
COVID-19 is disrupting supply chains and slowing economic integration around the globe. Nigeria is no exception. Still, the virus hasn't prevented free trade advocates in Africa from moving ahead. In this edition of Democracy that Delivers, Dr. Jonathan Aremu, a university professor and former official with the Central Bank of Nigeria, discusses the progress of the proposed African Continental Free Trade Area. He joins our host Ken Jaques and CIPE's Africa Regional Director Lars Benson.
Democracy is a journey, not a destination. Around the world, uprisings and challenges are familiar to many democratic political leaders. But there are always paths to progress. For example, political leaders in Moldova are working hard to build democratic norms and strengthen the country’s institutions. They are putting an emphasis on good governance and pushing back against corrupt politicians and practices. Dumitru Alaiba, a member of parliament, joins Communications Director Ken Jaques and CIPE's Europe & Eurasia Regional Director Natalia Otel Belan for a discussion about the future of representative government in Moldova.
In this latest episode, CIPE's Anti-Corruption & Governance Center features Hasna Munas, an analyst for Verité Research, Sri Lanka’s leading independent think tank. She tells an insider's story of the development of Sri Lanka’s first-ever Right To Information (RTI) law five years ago. Since then, the law has become known as one of the best RTI laws in Asia and the basis for Verité Research's groundbreaking new website, BudgetPromises.org, a one-stop shop for citizens, visitors, and businesses to hold Sri Lanka’s government accountable for how it spends money through an easily understandable visual format. The podcast is hosted by CIPE Asia Regional Director John Morrell and Communications Director Ken Jaques.
The unprecedented disruptions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic have hit compliance with environmental laws and regulations hard. In this episode, Shahrzad Majdameli, an attorney with the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE), joins Communications Director Ken Jaques and Anti-Corruption Program Officer Michele Crymes for a discussion about how the global health emergency has had a domino effect on environmental monitoring, dangerous material disposal, permits and licensing, due diligence, and commercial fraud.
What's the secret to making anti-corruption efforts effective in the long term? What lessons can be learned from the mistakes made in public funding and emergency supply chains during COVID-19? In this episode, special guest Kenneth Barden shares answers to these and other questions by drawing on his decades-long career tackling fraud, corruption, and governance challenges, including as a Compliance Specialist role with the Green Climate Fund and an advisor for USAID. This episode is hosted by ACGC Program Officer Michele Crymes and Communications Director Ken Jaques.
Fedesarrollo’s executive director Luis Fernando Mejia discusses his views on Colombia’s “Future of Work” perspectives. Fedesarrollo’s 50th anniversary gives us the chance to look back at where Colombia was in 1970, assess the country’s modern economy, and explore its post-Covid-19 future.
Financial Times investigative journalist Tom Burgis, author of the recently released book, Kleptopia, and one of the brightest minds in global corruption, is the guest on the latest edition of the Democracy That Delivers podcast from the Anti-Corruption and Governance Center with CIPE hosts Ken Jaques and Frank Brown. Listen now to hear more about how Burgis' "nonfiction thriller" breaks down the technical complexity of foreign corruption and money laundering into the human stories of four individuals at the nexus of foreign kleptocracy, as well as a discussion about the damage corrupt foreign money inflicts on democratic institutions.
Frank Vogl is the Chair of the Board of Directors for The Partnership for Transparency Fund. In this podcast, he discusses how now more than ever, transparency and accountability are needed on infrastructure investments, which longer-term will be essential to rebuilding economies.
Read his recent blog on the CIPE website here: https://www.cipe.org/blog/2020/12/08/challenge-one-confronting-the-worlds-unprecedented-humanitarian-crisis/
Deglobalization, nationalism, and the global COVID-19 pandemic are challenging efforts to fight corruption. Joined this week by anti-corruption veteran, thought leader, and chair of the OECD Working Group on Bribery, Dragos Kos, CIPE host and anti-corruption director Frank Brown leads a discussion about how new measures—including economic sanctions, diplomacy, and a possible international anti-corruption criminal court—may help countries and activists combat rising global integrity challenges.
Gender mainstreaming and safeguarding is a growing area of focus in international development, governance, and the private sector. In this podcast, CIPE's Ken Jaques is joined by two experts to discuss gender mainstreaming with the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, and private-sector partner DHL, to discuss how it leads innovation and often finds solutions that can be cross-cutting among societal sectors and business. Candice White, joins us from the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation at theWorld Economic Forum, and Sarah Meinert joins us from DHL.
Read the Alliance gender paper and gender review of the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement discussed in the podcast.
We are joined by Kim Bettcher, Director of CIPE's Policy and Program Learning Department, to discuss some of CIPE's approaches to promote policy changes for entrepreneurs, and the work our partners do to promote entrepreneurship on a global scale.
We are joined by Katya Lysova, Program Officer for Europe and Eurasia, and Michele Crymes, Program Officer for the Anti-Corruption and Governance Center.
CIPE is launching a new guide aimed at fostering business integrity and ethics in emerging markets. The Guidebook "Strengthening Ethical Conduct & Business Integrity: A Guide for Companies in Emerging Markets" highlights a decade of lessons learned and observations of the private sector supporting ethical business practices among companies in emerging markets.
The guide aims to help companies in emerging markets in three main ways:
1) Make company leaders confident that behaving ethically will not put their company at a disadvantage compared to competitors that continue unethical, “business as usual” practices.
2) Equip individuals who champion business integrity within their company with better guidance on how to implement a business integrity program.
3) Offer practical suggestions to interested business leaders who are still at an early or exploratory phase in their approach to business integrity.
Check out the CIPE website to view the Guidebook.
In this podcast, we are joined by Wisborn Malaya, Secretary-General of the Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Associations (ZCIEA), and Ryan Musser, Program Officer for Africa at CIPE. They highlight some recent initiatives CIPE partner ZCIEA has worked on to unite the informal sector in Zimbabwe and push for legal and policy reforms that enable informal economy associations to formalize and gain greater autonomy, financial inclusion, and social protections.
In this Democracy That Delivers podcast sponsored by the Anti-Corruption and Governance Center, we are joined by Transparency International (TI) co-founder Michael Hershman to discuss his decades-long trajectory in the field of anti-corruption.
Michael Hershman is a CIPE Board Member, whose career started with investigations into public corruption in New York City in the 1970s. Since then, aside from helping to shepherd TI through its early years, he worked with governments, corporations, and professional sports organizations on matters relating to transparency, accountability, governance, litigation, and security.
In this episode of CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast series, we are joined by Alfredo Rodriguez, the Asia-Pacific Regional Coordinator for the Timber Regulation Enforcement Exchange (TREE) program within the Forest Policy, Trade, and Finance Initiative. Based in South Korea, he facilitates the coordination between the program and the Asia Pacific network and liaises with governments and key actors, while reporting policy development and implementation processes of relevant regional initiatives focused on tackling the trade in illegally harvested timber and forest products.
We are joined by Laura Maclay, Program Associate for Africa at CIPE, and Moses Akidadi Injenga of the Vihiga chapter of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI-Vihiga), a winner of CIPE’s Africa Associations Innovations Contest, which aimed to celebrate and highlight business membership organizations in Africa who creatively and effectively responding to the COVID-19 crisis.
KNCCI-Vihiga is a chamber of commerce whose mission is to advocate for a business environment in which SMEs can thrive in Kenya’s Vihiga County. The national chamber (KNCCI) represents fifty thousand SMEs, with 47 branch chapters - one for each county in Kenya. The Vihiga chapter represents businesses in Vihiga county, which is located in rural western Kenya.
To support its community and member businesses during this difficult time, KNCCI-Vihiga came up with a contribution formula of food donations to support vulnerable and less fortunate community members from tough economic times. Throughout the pandemic, the chapter has advocated for policies to address the health crisis and support economic recovery.
In this debut edition of CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast series, we are joined by Badri El Meouchi. El Meouchi is president of the board of directors of the Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA) and has been working to battle corruption in the country for more than 15 years. El Meouchi describes an aggressive reform agenda to bring Lebanon back from the brink and announces LTA’s role in a coalition to monitor humanitarian relief and recovery assistance, and to ensure government accountability.
This podcast is hosted by Frank Brown, Director of the Anti-Corruption & Governance Center, and co-hosted by Stephen Rosenlund, CIPE’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
In this podcast, we are joined by Mark Antony Otwane, the CEO of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) in Uasin Gishu. KNCCI-Uasin Gishu is a CIPE Africa Associations Innovations Contest Winner. He, co-host CIPE Program Officer for Africa Ryan Musser, and host Ken Jaques discuss the chamber and its history, as well as the challenges that it has faced as a result of the pandemic.
Dr. Efraim Chalamish is a senior advisor at Duff & Phelps and leads the firm’s Israel practice. He is also a Fellow in the Duff & Phelps Institute, providing thought leadership on a variety of economic and regulatory matters. With more than two decades of professional experience, Efraim has practiced international law in Israel, Paris and New York, and has served as a media contributor and columnist. Additionally, he has acted as an independent expert and advisor to multinational companies and governments on corporate strategy and international disputes in various sectors, including energy, technology and financial services.
This week we are joined once again by Yun Sun of the Stimson Center in a discussion about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Chinese domestic and foreign policy.
Yun Sun is a Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the East Asia Program and Director of the China Program at the Stimson Center. Her expertise is in Chinese foreign policy, U.S.-China relations and China’s relations with neighboring countries and authoritarian regimes. Catherine Tai is a Senior Program Officer for Asia and the Pacific at CIPE.
David Larsen is a managing director in the Alternative Asset Advisory practice, based in Seattle, Washington and a Duff & Phelps Institute Fellow. He has more than 35 years of transaction and accounting experience. He specializes in fair value accounting, specifically for valuation, accounting and regulatory issues faced by alternative asset managers and investors.
In this podcast, he discusses how large institutional investors have increasingly invested in so-called "alternative investment funds." Some have characterized these funds as being high cost and high risk, so why are they receiving increased investment capital? He discusses this, as well as how “value” is determined in times of market dislocation, and what some of the similarities and differences are between the current economic crisis in 2020 and the economic crisis experienced in 2008.
This week we are joined by Yun Sun of the Stimson center in a discussion about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Chinese domestic and foreign policy.
Yun Sun is a Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the East Asia Program and Director of the China Program at the Stimson Center. Her expertise is in Chinese foreign policy, U.S.-China relations and China’s relations with neighboring countries and authoritarian regimes.
Akash Shrestha is the Research Manager at Samriddhi Foundation. He also engages with the politicians, policy-makers, bureaucrats, and sectorial experts of Samriddhi’s research areas as part of Samriddhi’s advocacy efforts. In this podcast, he discusses how the pandemic has hit Nepal and Nepal’s response to how the decentralized system of federalism facilitated the response.
We are joined this week by Richard Dailly, who is a managing director in the Business Intelligence and Investigations practice of Kroll, a division of Duff & Phelps, based in the Singapore office, and a fellow at the Duff & Phelps Institute. In this podcast, he discusses how COVID will result in the future re-orientation of supply chains, and how this could have significant geopolitical and security impact which will reinforce factionalism and challenge globalization.
We are joined this week by two guests from Sri Lankan partner Verite Research to discuss unethical media reporting practices and solutions. Stephanie Nicolle is an Assistant Analyst in the Media Team at Verité Research, and Rochel Canagasabey is an Assistant Manager in the Media Team at Verité Research. Verite has been highlighting this content via their platforms Ethics Eye and Factcheck.lk and has been raising questions on unethical reporting to hold the media accountable and improve the quality of information dissemination. They also discuss their powerful Media Ownership Monitor tool.
Dr. Vaqar Ahmed is Joint Executive Director, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). He is a former civil servant and has served as an Advisor to UNDP. He has also undertaken assignments with Asian Development Bank, World Bank Group, and Ministries of Finance, Planning and Commerce in Pakistan. He is joined by John Morell, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific at CIPE, to discuss the disruptive effects of COVID-19 on supply chains in Pakistan, the Belt and Road Initiative's projects in Pakistan, and much more.
Osman Cakiroglu, Project Director of the LIFE Project, joins host Ken Jaques to discuss the new ways the program is helping local entrepreneurs in Turkey impacted by the global pandemic. They also discuss the upcoming CIPE event with the consortium partners (register here) and the exciting launch of the LIFE Project Cookbook that is now available for purchase. All proceeds of the cookbook will go towards the LIFE Project.
This week on Democracy That Delivers, we are joined by Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, Professor of Democracy Studies at the Hertie School in Berlin, and Frank Brown, the Director of CIPE's Anti-Corruption and Governance Center. They discuss what led to the creation of the newly published Public Integrity Forecast and how the current COVID-19 pandemic and other events have had an effect on the forecast, as well as the connection between the Forecast and the Anti-Corruption Rapid Response program pioneered by CIPE.
This podcast was hosted in conjunction with the Anti-Corruption and Governance Center (ACGC).
Host Ken Jaques is joined by two CIPE partners from the Western Balkans: Adis Muhovic from The Center for Policy and Governance in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Petar Čekerevac from LIBEK in Serbia. They discuss the current political situation in their respective countries, some roots and consequences of economic challenges, and proposed solutions.
This episode was originally recorded in November 2019.
Nicole Y. Lamb-Hale is a managing director at Kroll, a division of Duff & Phelps, based in the Washington, D.C. office. Nicole has more than 25 years of executive-level experience and a unique viewpoint on global commercial and compliance matters from her extensive service in both the public and private sectors. She joins our host Ken Jaques to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on supply chains and national security.
Thilo Hanemman, a partner at Rhodium Group and leads the firm’s work on global trade and investment, joins host Ken Jaques to discuss the report “Mitigating Governance Risks From Investment in Southeast Asia” (read it here). He presents an overview of how Chinese Investments have changed, or not changed, over the years.
Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein is a Nonresident Fellow with the Stimson Center, where he works primarily with the 38 North project, and serves as editor for its affiliate website North Korean Economy Watch. He is also an Associate Scholar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and a Doctoral Candidate at the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is writing his dissertation about the history of social control in North Korea. He joins co-host Jane Kim, CIPE Program Officer for Asia and the Pacific and our host Ken Jaques to discuss North Korea and COVID-19.
Selima Ahmad is a member of the Bangladesh Parliament, as well as founder and president of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI). She joins us for a podcast with CIPE's Center for Women and Economic Empowerment Director Barbara Langley to discuss how Bangladesh is managing the COVID19 crisis and some things she is doing in her capacity as a politician and businesswoman.
Brian Joseph is Vice President, Programs at the National Endowment for Democracy. He has over 20 years of experience working to advance democracy and human rights. He joins our host Ken Jaques to discuss COVID-19 and government's responses around the world.
Dr. Ali Riaz is a well-known author, a Senior Non-Resident Fellow with the Atlantic Council, and a Distinguished Professor at the Department of Politics and Government of Illinois State University. He joins Regional Director John Morrell, and host Ken Jaques to discuss the economic impact of COVID-19 on Bangladesh’s economy as well as some insight on other parts of South Asia.
Mary Silaban, Senior Fellow at Paramadina Public Policy Institute in Jakarta, Indonesia, discusses her research on property rights, investments, and the mining sector. Silaban joined us as a panelist for a CIPE event titled: "Mitigating Governance Risks from Investment in Southeast Asia – A Study of Chinese Capital Flows to Eight Countries." More information and a recording of the event can be found on the CIPE website.
This podcast was originally recorded in December 2019.
Sujeev Shakya is the Founder CEO of beed (www.beed.com.np), a Nepal based international management consulting and financial advisory firm that works in Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Rwanda, and the US. He joins Regional Director John Morrell, and host Ken Jaques to discuss the economic impact of COVID-19 on Nepal’s economy.
We celebrate Democracy That Deliver's 200th podcast with a special episode just in time for Giving Tuesday 2020.
We are joined by CIPE's Marie Principe and the Stimson Center's Johanna Mendelson-Forman for a behind the scenes look at CIPE's very first cookbook "The Cuisine of LIFE" - now available for purchase online.
To learn more about the cookbook and the project, please visit: https://lifeforentrepreneurs.com/cookbook
This podcast was originally recorded in December 2019.
Dr. Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir is a Professor of Economics at the Department of Development Studies of the University of Dhaka. He joins Regional Director John Morrell, and host Ken Jaques to discuss the economic impact of COVID-19 on Bangladesh’s economy.
Professor Dr. S Akbar Zaidi is a Political Economist who has had nearly four decades of teaching and research experience in Pakistan and abroad. He joins Regional Director John Morrell, and host Ken Jaques to discuss the economic impact of COVID-19 on Pakistan's economy.
How can we advocate forcefully to maintain a business enabling environment amid COVID-19, lockdowns, and changing rules? Associations and chambers of commerce affiliated with CIPE are providing new forms of leadership on this front, as well as services and information, to people around the world. CIPE Executive Director Andrew Wilson and Senior Program Officer Stephen Rosenlund explain how they and partners in numerous countries are leveraging “maximum telework situations” to help micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises stay connected and in business.
Laurence Todd, Director of Research at IDEAS (Institute of Democracy and Economic Affairs) in Malaysia, joins host Ken Jaques. Todd visited CIPE's headquarters for an event on Chinese capital flows to Southeast Asian countries in December 2019 to pre-launch a report on the topic co-authored by Todd.
Check out the newly published report.
We close out Women's History Month with a podcast with the Women’s Entrepreneurship Product Lead for the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) Gender Secretariat, Heather Mae Kipnis, and CIPE's Director for the Center for Women's Economic Empowerment, Barbara Langley. They discuss IFC's role in supporting stakeholders and clients to close gender gaps in the economy, and doing so in a sustainable way. Heather Mae Kipnis highlights the business case for closing the gender gap and help create more opportunities for women entrepreneurs, and the top 6 challenges women face in business and investment.
This podcast was originally recorded in November 2019.
Dr. Liz David-Barrett, Professor of Governance and Integrity and Director of the Centre for the Study of Corruption, University of Sussex, joins Associate Program Officer for CIPE's Anti-Corruption and Governance Center in this podcast. They discuss major trends in the global anti-corruption space and its study, and what corporations can in terms of global leadership. Dr. David-Barrett also talks about her work with "integrity clubs" and their conditions for success.
This week, Carolina Acosta, Regional Representative for the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF), joins host Ken Jaques and co-host Florent Bakija, Program Officer for GATF. They discuss how trade facilitation can help developing countries like Colombia save millions every year (approx $14.3 million) if the Trade Facilitation Agreement is implemented. They also highlight how the work in Colombia has been a huge success, and how the project can be replicated in countries around the world. The harmonization of customs procedures is a huge opportunity for business and authorities, says Carolina Acosta.
Read the full case study of GATF (and CIPE's) work in Colombia on this project with partner INVIMA: https://www.cipe.org/resources/colombia-making-trade-of-essential-goods-simpler-faster-and-more-cost-effective/
Aisalkyn Botoeva’s work as a sociologist addresses many of CIPE’s focus areas, from women’s entrepreneurship to associations, specifically in Central Asia, she has a lot of experience to share. In this podcast, she will discuss the evolution of women’s entrepreneurship from the 1990s to today in two countries, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. She will analyze the impact of international organizations, governments, as well as women’s own organizations in supporting entrepreneurship, and identify areas for further work.
Deependra Chaulagain is the Director of Operations & Outreach at Samriddhi Foundation where he designs operational systems and oversees outreach programs. He joined Samriddhi Foundation in 2007 and is also a former President of Liberal Youth of South Asia (LYSA). He holds experience of designing and executing several national and international programs in youth politics and entrepreneurship.
Syeed Ahamed is a public policy analyst and CEO of the public policy think-tank— Institute of Informatics and Development (IID) that aims to make policy public.
Last year, CIPE began the first of a multi-phase program with IID. In the first phase, CIPE and IID selected 101 young people through an intensely competitive process to participate in this program. IID ensured participants represented diverse communities as well as local leadership from existing youth clubs, thereby maximizing the reach and impact of the program.
This year’s program focuses on invigorating the post-election reform agenda by giving a voice to young people from across the country and ensuring that national-level reformers are responsive to the concerns of youth.
Tajikistan, a country of approximately 9 million, is the poorest of the post-Soviet states. Remittances from labor migrants – over 1 million of whom travel to Russia each year for work – make up roughly 30% of GDP. In this context, Western narratives often neglect the business environment in Tajikistan for foreign companies as well as local entrepreneurs. As the former Executive Director of the AmCham and a specialist in digital and startup development, Ilhom Aliev is uniquely positioned to discuss the role of American and other Western companies in the country, explain the challenges local businesses face, and spotlight encouraging developments in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem such as a locally-funded startup accelerator.
Jaroslav Romanchuk is a leading free-market economist, advocate for the private sector, and voice for democracy throughout Eastern Europe and Eurasia, particularly in Belarus. As a longtime CIPE partner, he has built the capacity of business organizations to advocate reforms in challenging environments and helped CIPE to identify lessons applicable around the world.
This podcast focuses on Jaroslav’s work in Belarus, involvement with CIPE in Uzbekistan, and global trends to identify lessons applicable to those working in challenging environments.
This week on Democracy That Delivers, Zia Banday, the Joint Executive Director of PRIME Institute, a public policy research organization and think tank, discusses the subject of democratic governance reform in Pakistan. He highlights PRIME's work in assessing the role of municipalities in facilitating ease of doing business for SMEs and MEs in Pakistan.
This week on Democracy That Delivers, we are joined once again by Jaime Arteaga, CIPE's Country Representative in Colombia. Since July 2018, CIPE has been working with Jaime and local partners in Colombia, Asocentro and Consejo Gremial Nacional, on a project to increase private investment in zones transitioning from conflict. Jaime speaks about how CIPE adapted the project strategy to changing local conditions and share success stories and lessons learned as the project is ending.
Priscilla Clapp joins us on CIPE's Democracy That Delivers podcast this week. She is currently a senior advisor to the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Asia Society, and is a retired Minister-Counselor in the U.S. Foreign Service.
Host Ken Jaques asks her to share some stories on her insightful career spanning some of America's most turbulent times for arms control during the Cold War, and her experience working in the Asia region.
This week we are joined by John Zemko, Regional Director for LAC at CIPE, and Julia Pomares , who has been the executive director of the Center for the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity and Growth (CIPPEC) since December 2015.
CIPE and CIPPEC worked together during the 2011 presidential elections in Argentina to hold the first presidential debates in the country. During this most recent election, we saw the candidates debate each other twice. Results aside, and at a time when we are seeing protests break out all across the region, she discussed what we can take away from this election, especially regarding the state of democracy in Argentina.
This week on Democracy That Delivers we are joined by Narayan Adhikari from Nepal's Accountability Lab. They discuss his work in developing a number of innovative tools for accountability and open government, including a pioneering television show and movement called Integrity Icon; and the Mobile Citizen Helpdesks which have ensured citizen voices have been been fed into plans for $4.4 billion of international spending after Nepal's devastating earthquake. The Integrity Icon is a global program that now runs in 10 different countries.
The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, announced a briefing analyzing corruption in the Balkans on December 3rd, 2019, titled:
IT’S ALL ABOUT MONEY
Corruption as a Brake on Balkan Recovery
We are joined by Igor Novakovic, Research Director, International and Security Affairs Centre in Serbia, and Misha Popovikj, Project Coordinator and Researcher at the Institute for Democracy Societas Civilis Skopje in North Macedonia. They discuss CIPE's work on corrosive capital and the what they have done with CIPE since the launch of the report: "Channeling the Tides - Protecting Democracies Amid a Flood of Corrosive Capital."
Learn more about the event here, and watch it on Facebook Live.
The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, announced a briefing analyzing corruption in the Balkans on December 3rd, 2019, titled:
IT’S ALL ABOUT MONEY
Corruption as a Brake on Balkan Recovery
We are joined by Igor Stojanovic, Researcher with the Center for Civic Initiatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Martin Vladimirov, Analyst with the Economics Program at the Center for the Study of Democracy in Bulgaria. They discuss CIPE's work on corrosive capital and the what they have done with CIPE since the launch of the report: "Channeling the Tides - Protecting Democracies Amid a Flood of Corrosive Capital."
Learn more about the event here, and watch it on Facebook Live.
We are joined this week by Randall Kempner, Executive Director of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, also known as ANDE. He and CIPE's Director of Knowledge Management, Kim Bettcher, discuss ANDE's strategy over the past decade since its founding in 2009, and what its new strategy will be in the next decade.
"What I and my team want to make sure, is that those people that are supporting entrepreneurs are benefiting from the best practice, the best knowledge and the connections so they are more effective at what they do, and then we want the world to embrace small and growing businesses as a tool to support the development and attainment of the sustainable development goals," says Randall Kempner about ANDE's goal.
Listen to the full interview today!
Due to technical difficulties at the CIPE studio, last week's Democracy That Delivers podcast is being published this week.
This week, Martina Hrvolova, Program Officer for Europe and Eurasia at CIPE, is our host. She is joined by Josh Rudolph, the Fellow for Malign Finance at the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund. They discuss the issue of party financing from foreign sources,focusing on some country examples and channels, including shell companies or subsidiaries of foreign companies in recipient countries. He also introduces ASD’s influence tracker -a depository meant to expose the Russian government’s foreign interference activities in more than 40 transatlantic countries from 2000 to the present across the five tools ASD tracks. These tools are: informationoperations, cyberattacks, political and social subversion, strategic economic coercion, and malign finance.
We are joined this week by consortium members of the Women And Girls Empowered program (WAGE) to introduce this global programming consortium. The mission of WAGE is to advance the status of women and girls around the world. The program is funded by the U.S Department of State's Office for Global Women's Issues. The consortium is led by the American Bar Association's Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) in very close partnership with CIPE, Grameen Foundation, and Search for Common Ground.The primary goal is to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations around the world to work holistically advancing the status of women. Guests include:
- Denise Baer – Director of Evaluation, CIPE
- Paula Rudnicka – Technical Advisor, American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative
- Marin O’Brien Belhoussein – Senior Program Officer, Institutional Learning Team, Search for Common Ground
- Bobbie Gray – Research Director – Grameen Foundation
To enhance the capacity of Macedonian youth to engage in entrepreneurship, CIPE, William Davidson Institute (WDI) of the University of Michigan, and Youth Educational Forum (YEF) have partnered to develop a comprehensive youth entrepreneurship training program for North Macedonia. Since its pilot in 2017, the program supports and encourages youth entrepreneurship and private sector employment across various sectors of the country’s economy.
We are joined by Stephen Brand, Entrepreneurship Consultant of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan, Martina Hrvolova, Program Officer for Europe and Eurasia at CIPE and Kim Bettcher, Director for Knowledge Management at CIPE.
What pathways can one take to get a job in international development? This week, we hear from three staff members who took very different routes to come to CIPE. From interests in governance, private sector and CSOs, or regional passions, CIPE provides all kinds of opportunities.
This week on Democracy That Delivers, we are joined by Martina Hrvolova and Ken Jaques. Martina shares a glimpse of her upcoming presentation at the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE) 2019 Western Balkans Regional Conference. They discuss CIPE's approach to identifying and combatting corrosive capital through different governance structures, as countries are at different stages in their development, and the steps they are taking to recognize the threat.
In this episode of Democracy That Delivers, we are joined by Peter Glover, Associate program Officer of CIPE's Anti-Corruption and Governance Center, and special guest Schuyler Miller. Miller recently returned from Trinity College in Dublin, where he completed his Master's Degree in International relations. He joins us to discuss the findings from his research dissertation on the relationship between international organizational input and financial disclosure reforms.
In this week's Democracy That Delivers, we are joined by José Raúl Perales, Deputy Director of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF) at CIPE. Perales and host Ken Jaques discuss the beginnings of GATF's work with CIPE, and how trade and the private sector can work better together. They also discuss the first project the team at CIPE has closed out, and the great successes that have come out of it in Colombia:
"It was a relatively small project, but the impact in monetary terms is 900% the investment that was made to implement the system."
Jose Raul Perales recently did a CIPE Insights video interview about some more projects GATF is currently working on. Check it out: https://www.cipe.org/newsroom/cipe-insights-with-jose-raul-perales/
"You need an infrastructure spine to build an economy," says guest Gyude Moore in this week's episode of Democracy That Delivers.
Gyude Moore is a Visiting Fellow at the Center for Global Development, and former Minister of Public Works for Liberia. He joins Ryan Musser, Program Officer for Africa at CIPE, and host Ken Jaques, in an insightful discussion on the vast field of infrastructure development. They discuss a number of issues, including the presence and practices of leading bilateral lender, China, as well as the current gaps in infrastructure in the African continent and how that impacts the economy.
Rick O'Sullivan joins host Ken Jaques and co-host Ryan Musser to continue their conversation about collective governance. During this session, they discuss the CAMP Matrix and its significance in explaining and understanding associations. Associations are not just about members. Members are only one of four core constituencies that associations need to engage to ensure their very survival. The other three, Customers, Allies, and Partners, are often overlooked but of equal importance to the success of an association.
This week on Democracy That Delivers, we are joined by Rick O'Sullivan, who joined us for episode #157 of DTD.
This podcast continues the conversation with co-host Ryan Musser, and host Ken Jaques. They examine the importance of civil society taking an active role in governing and not just advocating for government action through legislative or regulatory restraints. During their conversation, they link “third party governance” to self-sustaining CSO capacity, reducing corruption and countering the closing of civil society space.
Desmond Irabor is a Program Officer at Nigeria's field office. He has been involved in supporting and leading the implementation of numerous CIPE projects in Nigeria, that include:
- Building state-based coalitions in 7states in Nigeria and a national women’s coalition that included state business agendas and two election debates (2015 and 2019)
- A port-reform project with Lagos Chamber of Commerce and the Organized Private Sector
- Building the capacity of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and developing a chamber accreditation program for Nigerian chambers
We are joined by Ali Ayadi, CIPE’s Country Representative in Tunisia, to discuss the changing social, political and economic environment of the country. He and host Ken Jaques begin by discussing the recent passing of the late President of Tunisia, Beji Caid Essebsi. Ayadi then discusses some of the work CIPE does with partners such as the Jasmine Foundation and Institute Arabe des Chefs d’Entreprises (IACE) to help boost youth entrepreneurship in the country, and how the office has been working with government, business, civil society to help pass reforms. One of such initiatives focuses on corruption, and how to help the business community identify top priorities to introduce reforms, noting that corruption is part of what keeps young people from being included in their national economy.
Emily Crain joins us this week on Democracy That Delivers to discuss her recent trip in Geneva, Switzerland, where she attended the Centenary of the International Labour Organization (ILO). Part of the conversations at the conference included the discussion of the convention concerning the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work. She describes the nuances of the convention with the tripartite system (government, private sector, and workers), and the resulting Convention 190.
Emily Crain is the Director of Fontheim International, LLC, where she manages client relationships and corporate social responsibility initiatives. She also manages programs of GlobalWorks Foundation.
This week on Democracy That Delivers, our host is Lars Benson, Regional Director of Africa for CIPE. We are joined by co-host Ryan Musser, Program Officer for Africa at CIPE, and Eric Olander, the founder of the China Africa Project (CAP). CAP is an independent, non-partisan media initiative dedicated to exploring every facet of China’s engagement in Africa. The CAP is now followed by more than a million people around the world, especially among policymakers in Beijing and Washington. Eric is also the co-host of the weekly China in Africa podcast that is now among the top-10% most downloaded shows worldwide. Eric provides nuanced insights into China and its actions both in Africa and around the world, and the three discuss China’s “corrosive” investments across the continent.
Jehan Ara is a long-time CIPE partner, FEDN member, and President of the Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITES (P@SHA) based in Islamabad. Jehan is a motivator, an entrepreneur, a social activist and a strong propagator of extending the power and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) beyond pure traditional business, to empower and enable communities.
In this episode, Jehan and CIPE's Regional Director for Global, Anna Kompanek, discuss some successes and challenges seen in Pakistan when it comes to advancing digital transformation of business, and the economy more broadly. They note that innovation and jobs increasingly depend on countries creating enabling environments for a digital economy.
To learn more about Jehan's work with P@SHA, please visit their website and their tech incubator's website, called The Nest i/o.
This week on Democracy That Delivers, we are joined remotely by author Richard C. Lyons. Lyons has been involved in printing, publishing, stage and television production throughout his professional career. His most recent work, "The DNA of Democracy," takes a historical look at the evolution of democracy through short essays differentiating distinct time periods. With host Ken Jaques, he discusses some valuable points about the current state of democracy, as well as what part independent businesses and corporations play in a democracy.
"The DNA of Democracy" is volume 1 of a 2 volume work. Volume 2, "The Shadows of the Acropolis", is forthcoming in 2020.
To learn more about the book and other works by Richard C. Lyons, please visit Lylea.com. "The DNA of Democracy" can be found wherever books are sold.
This week on Democracy That Delivers, we highlight CIPE's work in helping refugee populations in the MENA region, especially women, ahead of International Refugee Day on June 20th. Women comprise 49% of the Syrian refugees living outside of camps in Turkey, and more strikingly, 95% of Syrian refugees in Turkey are outside of camps. The Livelihoods Innovation through Food Entrepreneurship (LIFE) Project is an innovative approach to the humanitarian challenge of the Syrian refugee crisis, and benefits women who are disproportionately impacted by conflict.
In this episode, Barbara Langley, Director of CIPE's Center for Women's Economic Empowerment, and Marie Principe, Program Officer for MENA, recount stories of impact from the LIFE Project. They discuss how through the LIFE Project, the members, particularly the women, build confidence in public speaking and advocating for their product and themselves, and how they also build a sense of community with other women from different backgrounds.
Dr. Bijan Khajehpour is the managing partner of Eurasian Nexus Partners (Eunepa) – a Vienna-based strategy consulting firm. He has advised international companies on West Asian markets for more than two decades. He has also been involved in mediation and negotiations of international business and investment partnerships.
In this Democracy That Delivers podcast, along with Babak Yektafar, CIPE Senior Program Officer for MENA, he discusses the issue of corrupt networks in Iran, and how that affects the country’s population and harm the private sector.
“In the name of sanctions, all types of corrupt businesses are happening. It’s undermining the Iranian economy, it’s undermining the private sector, and it’s consolidating forces that are not constructive for Iran or for the region. It creates channels of goods and money that are hurting the regional economy.”
Zahid Jamil has over 20 years of experience a general law practitioner, where he specializes in technology (i.e. e-commerce, e-payments, and privacy), cybercrime and counterterrorism. Jamil has served as a cybercrime and cybersecurity consultant for the Council of Europe, the ITU-American Bar Association, the government of Pakistan, and is a member of the Commonwealth’s Cybercrime Experts working Group. He is a qualified barrister with primary practices in Pakistan and the UAE as a member of the Bar at the Dubai International Financial Center Court and the Bar of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and serves as a Special Legal Consultant to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. In these capacities, he has drafted numerous pieces of legislation relating to cybercrime and cybersecurity.
During this podcast, Jamil, along with Louisa Tomar, Program Officer, Global Programs, and host Ken Jaques, discuss trends in cybersecurity and cybercrime legislation around the globe. Jamil suggested ways to improve cyber readiness in countries still coming online and what small and medium-sized businesses can do to protect themselves. Tomar referenced CIPE’s Digital Economy Enabling Environment Guide: Key Areas of Dialogue for Business and Policymakers, which includes guidance for business and regulators on cybersecurity legislation.
This week on Democracy That Delivers, host Ken Jaques is joined by two experts in the field of “corrosive capital” in the Balkans. Martina Hrvolova is a Program Officer for Europe at CIPE, and Ruslan Stefanov is the Director of the Economic Program at the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) based in Bulgaria, a longstanding partner of CIPE. Stefanov is also a member of the Free Enterprise and Democracy Network (FEDN) through CIPE.
Stefanov and Hrvolova discuss CIPE’s corrosive capital work in the Balkans. Stefanov last joined Democracy That Delivers in the summer of 2018, where he, along with other partners CIPE has in the Balkans, presented the results of their work on Russia’s economic presence in the region. In the first phase of this project (2017-2018), CSD and other CIPE partners from Balkan civil society and media came together to create analyses of Russian economic footprint in the Western Balkans. The results were launched at a U.S. Congressional Helsinki Commission Briefing. Stefanov discusses the work they have accomplished in the last year, and what some of the main challenges and successes have been thus far.
What are some steps to ensure that civil society partners become self-sustaining? This is one of the key questions guests Lars Benson, Regional Director for Africa at CIPE, and Rick O'Sullivan, Principal of Change Management Solutions, aim to answer in this week's episode of Democracy That Delivers.
Lars discusses how CIPE works to promote good governance practices, then O'Sullivan describes what civil society's role in governance is, and how it has evolved.
“Good sustainability performance means good financial performance,” says Alison Taylor.
Alison Taylor, Managing Director for Sustainability Management at of BSR, joins us on Democracy That Delivers to discuss what business for social responsibility is, with CIPE’s ACGC Director, Frank Brown. Taylor shares her insight on how businesses can be encouraged to foster organizational cultures that are ethical and sustainable, as well as what incentivizes SMEs to change their behavior.
They also discuss BSR’s most famous report: “Five-Step Approach to Stakeholder Engagement,” originally published in 2011 but re-written to match the changed 2019 landscape. It discusses the reasons digital communication, international agreements and investor expectations makes stakeholder engagement more important than ever before.
To read the report, please visit:
https://www.bsr.org/en/our-insights/report-view/stakeholder-engagement-five-step-approach-toolkit
In this Democracy That Delivers podcast, host Ken Jaques is joined by Ryan Musser, Program Officer for Africa at CIPE, and Matthew McLean, Founder and President of Endsight Consulting. In this podcast, they discuss what the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is, what it does, and what criteria MCC looks at when considering funding for countries.
McLean has worked with country governments such as Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Niger, which has resulted in significant new funding for these countries by helping them qualify for MCC funding. Endsight Consulting is now releasing its "Country Performance Index" that ranks all 54 African countries on their attractiveness for private business and investment. McLean served 20 years in US Government service, including as a White House advisor in the Clinton and Bush administrations. He was also Chief of Staff and Vice President of MCC during its growth years from 2005-2009.
On this week's Democracy That Delivers, Ken Jaques is joined by CIPE Program Assistant for Europe, Connor Leach, and special guest, Rastko Petakovic. Petakovic is a Senior Partner at Karanovic Partners specializing in M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions), competition law, and business regulation. Petakovic is also a member of CIPE’s Free Enterprise and Democracy Network (FEDN) in Serbia.
Since 2018, CIPE has been working with Libertarian Club Libek (LIBEK), an independent Serbian economic think tank, to enhance public awareness of common economic misconceptions in Serbia by creating a guidebook that examines the underlying economic challenges and puts forward a series of corresponding recommendations. Moving forward, CIPE and its partners will continue their efforts to promote responsible economic policies in Serbia through an enhanced outreach campaign, including on Talas.rs a newly created portal for economic news analysis.
In this Democracy That Delivers podcast, we are joined by partner Jaime Arteaga of Jaime Arteaga and Associates, and CIPE Regional Director for Latin America, John Zemko. Together they discuss their joint project with the Observatory, where an analysis has been developed on the private sector's role in post-conflict zones. Arteaga and Zemko highlight a few post-conflict regions where companies are investing and the feedback this work is receiving. Arteaga also discusses how companies are moving from agricultural work to commercial exchange and tourism in regions where safety has significantly improved.
For more information on the project, be sure to check out the "Guide for Responsible Investment in Post-Conflict Zones." It captures the expertise CIPE has in corporate governance and social investment. This guidebook, unlike others, is aimed at Board of Directors and what they should be thinking before investing in a post-conflict zone.
Putin’s Dark Ecosystem is a report that Brian Whitmore, a Senior Fellow & Director of the Russia Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), is currently developing. This report is aimed at answering the question: Why do Russian malign influence campaigns work better in some places than others?
On this Democracy that Delivers podcast, Brian Whitmore joins co-hosts Eric Hontz, CIPE’s Program Officer for Eurasia, and Martina Hrvolova, CIPE’s Program Officer for Europe, along with our host Ken Jaques. Together this group of experts discusses Russian malign influence campaigns and how they are developed to undermine democracies and lead people to not trust their institutions in order to achieve foreign policy goals. Russian influence campaigns work in nations that have vulnerabilities such as corruption or polarization, which make populations more susceptible to Russian propaganda and messaging. All thoughts and opinions of guests are their own, and do not represent CIPE's position.
This week on Democracy That Delivers, host Ken Jaques is joined by CIPE’s Gibson Haynes, and James Reston, a Washington, DC-based researcher, whose work focuses on human rights, corruption, internet freedom, and security. They define some of the risks that the LGBTI+ community face, as well as the intersection between discrimination and corruption. Some topics of discussion include: how inclusive workplaces have higher rates of employee engagement, how criminalization or low levels of protection lead to economic losses and less foreign direct investment, and some solutions for international corporations as well as local businesses moving forward.
Read James’ blog contribution “LGBTI+ Rights and Corruption: What’s the Connection?”
For International Women’s History Month, Democracy That Delivers will feature podcasts for CIPE’s Center for Women’s Economic Empowerment every week of March.
Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa, Esq. is an ICT4D expert focused on East African trade and development. Jacqueline most recently served as the Executive Director of Financial Sector Deepening Uganda committed to improving financial market access and competitiveness. Jacqueline also founded and served as Managing Partner of Hoja Law Group and worked in executive-level positions in various African financial institutions including the Central Bank of Zambia. Jacqueline holds a Bachelor of Arts from Davidson College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Melbourne. She frequently speaks at conferences and opines in the media outlets such as the Financial Times, NPR, CNBC Africa, and others on matters related to investment in Africa. Her most recent article on Project Syndicate Banking on Refugees discusses uses of new technology for financial inclusion of refugees.
During this podcast, Musiitwa, along with Louisa Tomar, Program Officer, Global Programs, and host Ken Jaques, discuss East and Southern Africa’s e-commerce readiness, financial inclusion, the digital gender divide, and opportunities and barriers to the 4th industrial revolution in Africa. Jacqueline previously shared her expertise with CIPE at the launch of the Digital Economy Enabling Environment Guide: Key Areas of Dialogue for Business and Policymakers in November 2018.
Women encounter similar struggles in both political organizations and business associations when attempting to enter these heavily male-dominated structures. Sandra Pepera Director for Gender, Women, and Democracy at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) is an advocate for gender mainstreaming women into positions of leadership, especially in politics and business.
On this episode of Democracy that Delivers, Sandra Pepera joins Barbara Langley, Director of CIPE’s Center for Women’s Economic Empowerment, and host Ken Jaques, to talk about broader inclusion dynamics in politics and business. Sandra emphasizes that women represent a multitude of identities because women are 50% of all marginalized populations. Unfortunately, women, especially young women and women of color, often become victims of cyberbullying when expressing their political views online. Women leaders are particularly vulnerable to the weaponization of social media, but as we continue to challenge gender roles and expectations we can change the attitude and response towards women leadership.
For International Women’s History Month, Democracy That Delivers will feature podcasts for CIPE’s Center for Women’s Economic Empowerment every week of March.
Robin Runge is the senior gender Specialist at Solidarity Center, another core institute of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). She is an expert on the development of policies and laws domestically and internationally to address the impact that gender-based violence and other equality issues have on women in the workplace. The Equality and Inclusion Department at Solidarity Center works to empower women to be able to confront and challenge global systems that subject them to discrimination in the workplace.
During this podcast, Runge, along with Barbara Langley, Director of CIPE’s Center for Women’s Economic Empowerment, and host Ken Jaques, discuss the effects of violence in the world of work. They discuss the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) new legally binding convention on violence in the workplace, which is expecting an upcoming vote in the summer. The convention would strengthen and advance the #MeToo movement in three important ways.
There is no doubt that anti-corruption practices are an important investment for companies of all sizes. Many transnational companies are investing both time and effort on anti-corruption and compliance for reasons such as fear of being fined, protecting their reputation, or simply believing it is the right thing to do. In 2018, enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) was at a record high.
William Steinman, one of the leading FCPA lawyers in the U.S. at Steinman & Rodgers LLP, is joined by CIPE Global Program Director Anna Kompanek, and host Ken Jaques. Steinman believes that international business will improve if we continue to encourage and have conversations on
anti-corruption practices and compliance with FCPA.
In this Democracy That Delivers podcast, James Muraguri, CEO of the Institute of Public Finance Kenya (IPFK), is joined by Lars Benson, Regional Director for Africa, and host Ken Jaques. IPFK is a current CIPE partner working on budget analysis and budget participation. This is a critical topic relating to advocacy and strengthening the voice of the private sector.
Muraguri talks about the effects of devolution in Kenya, which is a form of decentralization that strengthens institutions and improves service delivery and citizen engagement regardless of where you live in Kenya. Corruption is still an issue that needs to be worked on, but Muraguri says that institutions are now much more committed to fighting it, especially on a county-level.
“Devolution is the best thing that happened to Kenya, because what happened in the 50 years before devolution was that a huge section of the country was marginalized,” says James Muraguri.
Katrin Kuhlmann, President and Founder of the New Markets Lab (NML) and Lecturer on Law at Harvard University, joins co-host Marc Schleifer and host Ken Jaques in this week’s Democracy that Delivers.
Kuhlmann dives into how NML came to be, and how her early career working in the trade and development sectors shaped what it is today. NML is a non-profit law and development center, and has worked closely with CIPE to develop projects in the field of technology. A recent study co-authored between CIPE and NML titled Digital Economy Enabling Environment Guide: Key Areas of Dialogue for Business and Policymakers was recently released.
“In the broader context of some of these pressing development issues, we asked ourselves how could you try to make a difference at an enterprise level, that would then translate all the way back up into these bigger policies?”
There seems to be a perception that democracy is on a decline, but Clay Fuller, a Jeane Kirkpatrick Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute feels this is incorrect. Democracy is not in crisis, instead, we have changed how we see and define it. In short, democracy is the game of rule, while autocracy is the game of survival.
Clay Fuller joins co-host John Morrell, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific at CIPE and host Ken Jaques to talk about democratic and nondemocratic governments and how these systems are viewed today. Democracy can be defined as having uncertain political outcomes, having a focus on individual rights, and a focus on transparency and due process. Conversely, authoritarianism has more predictable political outcomes, more focus on collective rights, and a monopoly on political power with a lack of transparency. Listen on to learn more.
Food is a common language and the Livelihoods Innovation through Food Entrepreneurship (LIFE) Project understands the power gastrodiplomacy has of bringing everyone to the table. The LIFE project supports and encourages entrepreneurship, job creation and cross-cultural engagement in the food sector.
Joan Nathan, Cookbook Author and Advisory Council member of LIFE Project, and Johanna Mendelson Forman, PhD, Distinguished Fellow at the Henry L. Stimson Center and CIPE’s Consortium partner on the LIFE Project, join co-host Stephen Rosenlund and host Ken Jaques to discuss how the LIFE Food Enterprise Center (FEC) is building food businesses and creating sustainable livelihoods in Turkey. These efforts have transformative effects for refugees and their host communities by building relationships through food.
Many observers believe that China’s Belt and Road Initiative is a vast, well-laid and finely orchestrated plan to extend Chinese hegemony over much of the developing world. However, some argue that the BRI is just a vision, not a coordinated plan.
Andrew Davenport, Chief Operating Officer of RWR Advisory Group, joins Catherine Tai, CIPE’s Asia Program Officer, and host Ken Jaques to discuss the role the Belt Road has in promoting Chinese “corrosive capital.” They discuss the challenges that will likely become more intense in 2019 with regard to Chinese activity in the tech sector. Furthermore, Davenport mentions some of the work RWR has accomplished with their program IntelTrak, which is the most comprehensive global data set of Chinese and Russian business transactions to date.
Darko Brkan, founding President of Zašto ne, joins host Ken Jaques and Regional Director for Europe and Eurasia Natalia Otel Belan in a timely discussion on the current political and economic landscape in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and what some of the greatest barriers to progress are. Brkan shares his view about the integral position of civil society and the business community, and how Zašto ne’s work contributes to positive change in civic participation. Zašto ne, which means “Why Not” in Croatian, is a Sarajevo-based nongovernmental organization promoting civic activism, government accountability, and the use of digital media to deepen democracy. With CIPE’s support in 2018, Zašto ne launched a Tax Calculator and a Vote-O-Meter, aimed at helping to improve the citizens’ understanding of and interest in economic reforms.
John Agoglia, retired U.S. Army Colonel and former head of the U.S. Army Peacekeeping & Stability Operations Institute, joins us on Democracy That Delivers with CIPE Senior Program Officer for the Middle East and North Africa, Pamela Beecroft. Agoglia shares his experience working in Iraq setting up interim Iraqi governance conferences, as well as some of the top lessons learned. He discusses the issues of corruption vacuums appearing during sudden transition phases lacking stability, such as during privatization periods. He also discusses the importance of being patient when aiming to provide stable change in developing economies:
“We’re not going to have a solution tomorrow, we have to stay the course. It’s going to take a really long time to implement change and rebuild, but we can’t back out.”
Go around the globe in 30 minutes with Democracy That Delivers host Ken Jaques and three emerging leaders at CIPE: Victoria Tellechea-Rotta, Max Scherzer, and Tracey Fung. The Program Assistants share insight about top CIPE programs and innovations during 2018, as well as information about new endeavors.
Victoria flags ground-breaking anti-corruption and compliance work in Latin America and the Caribbean. Max discusses the transition CIPE has experienced with its various partners in Asia and the Pacific over the past year. Tracey, just back from Papua New Guinea, reveals new details about a cutting-edge women’s economic empowerment program there that may serve as a model in other countries.
This week on Democracy That Delivers, host Ken Jaques and guest host Marc Schleifer are joined by two guests known for their thought leadership in Impact Investing for a discussion on a recently published report developed in partnership with CIPE. Stephanie Marienau Turpin, Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships at FHI360, and Tom Dente, President and CEO of Humentum, bring in their expertise to highlight the influence INGOs have through the emerging practice of Impact Investing, a new form of investment with the goal of yielding social return in addition to financial.
Following the first innovative Amplify report, the recently published second iteration, titled Amplifyii: The Next Mile of Impact Investing for INGOs: expands on the role and influence that INGOs have had in Impact Investing. Turpin and Dente also discuss the emerging involvement of the global market in this unique investing model, thinking differently about driving long-term impact, and how this practice may be the most viable solution to reach the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Amplifyii is a joint effort of more than 55 international nongovernmental organizations working together to bring the scale, skills, and resources of the international social sector to amplify the impact of impact investing.
This week on Democracy That Delivers, host Ken Jaques is joined by Frank Brown, CIPE’s Director for the Anti-Corruption and Governance Center (ACGC), and guest Jonathan Rusch, lawyer and consultant on corporate-compliance issues, Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Rusch is also the editor of Dipping Through Geometries, a blog focusing on law and compliance issues, and the retired Senior Vice President and Head of Anti-Bribery & Corruption Governance at Wells Fargo.
In this special episode, Rusch discusses how organizations, corporations, governments and leaders can achieve a culture of compliance. He also shares his insight on the four steps to moral ambition:
- compliance
- moral understanding
- moral maturity
- moral ambition
This week on Democracy That Delivers, host Ken Jaques is joined by three guests with a strong and diverse background in women’s issues and programming. Valerie Dowling, the Director of the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Women’s Democracy Network, Barbara Langley, CIPE’s Director of the Center for Women’s Economic Empowerment, and Marc Schleifer, former Regional Director of CIPE’s Europe, Eurasia and South Asia department.
Dowling and Langley discuss future plans for joint initiatives in women’s programming between sister institutes IRI and CIPE, stressing that the expertise provided can ensure economic and political empowerment go hand in hand to remove barriers for women around the world. Schleifer discusses his experience working with Selima Ahmad, a long-time CIPE partner who successfully began and now presides over the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI).
On the two year anniversary of Colombia’s historic peace agreement, CIPE and experts describe the dramatic changes happening in-country and what may lie ahead. On November 24, 2016, Colombia’s government and FARC rebels agreed to end the insurgency that spanned more than 50 years, the longest-running armed conflict in Latin America.
On this week’s Democracy That Delivers, we are joined by two special guests from Colombia. Jaime Arteaga, Director of Jaime Arteaga and Associates , is CIPE’s lead in-country consultant in Colombia. Catalina Chamara Ortega, Director of the National Business Council of Colombia, joined him as well to discuss what she sees as the changes in narrative surrounding the future of Colombia. This includes changing the focus from security and instability to economic growth, business opportunities and increased investment. Arteaga also stresses that creating legal opportunities for citizens to make a living is an essential step forward for the country’s future development, noting CIPE’s expertise in developing projects to move citizens into the formal sector and ensure good business practices.
“Since 2019 the economy has been growing in an important way, and we see now after the peace agreement, there is a greater number of investors that have come into the country,” says Ortega.
For more information about CIPE’s work in the country, look for an upcoming post on the CIPE Development Blog.
Be sure to listen to our last podcast with Jaime Arteaga, on Democracy That Delivers Episode #89.
Technology has become a driver and an essential part of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship in the Financial Tech (FinTech) sector, in particular, has been undergoing a rapid transformation thanks to the growing prevalence of the digital economy.
On this special Democracy That Delivers podcast, we highlight the future of entrepreneurship as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. We are joined by DFS Lab’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence Dan Kleinbaum, and is joined by CIPE’s Program Coordinator for Africa, Hanna Wetters. Kleinbaum discusses his experience working in the space of emerging markets and financial services, and the growing opportunities he sees are “unlocked” thanks to services like digital payments being developed in countries such as Bangladesh and Kenya. Hanna Wetters shares how CIPE works within this environment to provide solutions to increase business advocacy. She highlights a guidebook recently launched by CIPE to help business communities, regulators, and civil society navigate the digital economy field – a key aspect of entrepreneurs’ futures.
This week on Democracy That Delivers, podcast host Ken Jaques is joined by the CEO of Prozorro.Sale, Oleksii Sobolev, and co-host Caroline Elkin, Program Assistant for Eastern Europe & Eurasia. Sobolev discusses his work at Prozorro.Sale, an online platform for public auctions that won the 2018 International Anti-Corruption award from C5 Accelerate and USA Institute of Peace as part of The Shield in the Cloud Innovation Challenge. He describes Prozorro.Sale as “the most transparent auction system in the world.” Looking forward, he hopes to see their work in more regions in Ukraine, and one day around the world.
Data transparency and access to open data sources have become increasingly timely issues around the world. CIPE Partner On Watch (İzlemedeyiz) is one of the leading organizations in analyzing data to help boost transparency and accountability that promotes capacity building and good governance in Turkey. Baybars Orsek, Chairman of On Watch Association, and Batuhan Ersun, General Coordinator of On Watch Association, join host Ken Jaques to discuss how their replicable association model helps make data more accessible to all citizens.
In this episode of Democracy that Delivers, Marie Principe, CIPE Program Officer for MENA and head of the Livelihood Innovations through Food Entrepreneurship (LIFE) project, is joined by Andrew Varnum, Executive Vice President of DC-based Food Accelerator Union Kitchen, as LIFE celebrates its one-year anniversary. The LIFE project in Istanbul, Turkey, supports sustainable livelihoods in the food sector through an entrepreneurship incubation experience and workforce training program in response to growing tensions between refugee and host communities in the region.
Looking ahead, the project seeks to open a new space for entrepreneurs in Mersin, as well as publish a forthcoming and much-anticipated cookbook with recipes and stories from its members within the next year.
Learn more about the LIFE project on the CIPE website at: https://www.cipe.org/projects/life-project/ , as well as LIFE partner Union Kitchen at: https://unionkitchendc.com/ .
In this Democracy That Delivers podcast, host Ken Jaques is joined by guest Ann Marie Plubell, EMPEA (Emerging Markets Private Equity Association) Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, and guest host Eric Hontz, CIPE Program Officer for Europe and Eurasia. Ann Marie Plubell discusses the current investment climate in emerging markets, and highlights EMPEA’s approach to promoting the spread of healthy capital conducive to better markets, that increase participation in the economy and foster entrepreneurship.
Nate Herman, Senior Vice President with the Supply Chain of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), joins host Ken Jaques and guest host Jeanne Cook for a discussion of Herman’s work on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Much of the conversation was spent dissecting various supply chain issues, including the importance of the safety of the product, timely delivery of the product, the workforce environment and quality, as well as traceability.
Herman also emphasizes the three priorities driving AAFA members to become more active in social compliance and similar matters:
- Legal liability, or complying with the law.
- Brand reputation in a 24/7 media world. He says: “[Companies] need to be doing the right thing because consumers expect it”
- The premise of doing the right thing: “Most companies want to do the right thing because it’s good for their business, and in the long-term, good for their bottom line.”
This special Democracy that Delivers podcast is part of an ongoing series organized by CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center.
This week, on Democracy that Delivers, CIPE’s Program Officer for Global Programs, Louisa Tomar, joins hosts Ken Jaques and Pamela Kelley-Lauder to discuss the upcoming launch of a new Digital Economy Guidebook co-authored by CIPE and New Markets Lab. Tomar provides some insight as to what CIPE does in the area of digital economy, and why this guidebook is so instrumental when discussing regulations, legality, compliance obligations, and more within the field.
She discusses the use of this guidebook, and how CIPE will be co-hosting public-private dialogue forums with local partners to engage business, government and civil society in dialogue on digital transformations in emerging and frontier markets and building a more inclusive digital economy.
Dr. Wenhong Chen, of the University of Texas at Austin, joins Catherine Tai, Program Officer for Asia and the Pacific, and host Ken Jaques in a lively discussion about the future of the technology industry in China. Chen discusses the Chinese strategy for recruiting global talent in the development of prominent apps, both for small enterprises and tech giants like Ali Baba. She explains Chinese government’s strategic influence in promoting job and educational opportunities to fill the famed “AI Gap,” averaging 5 million jobs. Looking forward, Chen says to expect heated competition in Southeast Asia as the region’s market becomes increasingly attractive to Chinese tech giants with a global strategy for the country’s digital transformation and expansion.
The Center for International Private Enterprise’s Assistant Program Officer for Africa, Ryan Musser, joins hosts Ken Jaques and Pam Kelley-Lauder for a discussion on Zimbabwe. Musser illustrates the current situation in Zimbabwe following their recent election cycle, and explains some of the important work CIPE has accomplished with the informal sector in the country.
Shruti Shah, President and CEO of the Coalition of Integrity, discusses the growing demand for ethics & accountability around the world, and the role of the Coalition as they execute their mission.
Shah illustrates her lifelong commitment to fighting corruption, and elaborates on the Coalition’s mission to promote greater transparency and accountability, and looks forward at the positive changes to come in ethics, compliance and integrity programs.
Four important points laid out by Shah in regards to how organizations can set a good culture of compliance:
- Make sure there are (anonymous) reporting mechanisms
- Set good incentives and discourage bad incentives
- Ensure disciplinary measures
- Accountability
On this week’s Democracy that Delivers podcast, CIPE’s Senior Program Officer for South Asia Jennifer Anderson sits in for Ken Jaques to conduct an engaging interview with Ali Salman on the wake of Malaysia’s election upset. After 61 years, Malaysia’s ruling coalition was defeated in the ballots.
Salman begins by sharing his experience working on the topic of religion and liberty as a founding member and now CEO of the Islam and Liberty Network, eager to establish a global program to share Islam’s foundations as a proponent for free-trade and market economy.
Anderson and Salman then discuss the surprising political change in Malaysia and the role of IDEAS (Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs) in changing the way citizens view government performance, as well as the role of anti-corruption efforts in the region.
“What would happen, if ten years down the road, half of the (NATO) alliance is authoritarian?” asks Jonathan Katz, a Senior Fellow with the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. Katz, who has held numerous senior positions in the U.S. government, recently co-authored the article "An Inconvenient Truth: Addressing Democratic Backsliding within NATO" and sat down with CIPE’s Natalia Otel Belan and Pam Kelley Lauder. They discussed heightened concerns about democratic backsliding in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as possible measures by nations and the development community to address mounting challenges.
On the latest Democracy that Delivers podcast, FHI 360’s Phil Psilos talks about “The Atlas of Innovation for Economic Stability”. Psilos is the non-profit organization’s Asia-Pacific Technical Director for Economic Development and Innovation. Along with host Ken Jaques, and guest host Marc Schleifer, he highlights key entrepreneurial processes, new mobile technologies, and data-driven tools that are fostering stability in fragile and emerging economies. Psilos shares his favorite stories about dozens of innovation projects around the world and explains how his research on entrepreneurial inclusion has progressed over the years.
On this week’s Democracy that Delivers podcast, CIPE’s Ken Jaques and Anna Kompanek sat down with incoming CEO of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics, Gerry Zack to discuss how fraud and compliance issues have evolved over the last 30 years. Zack has spent more than 30 years providing services involving the prevention, detection, and investigation of fraud, corruption and noncompliance.
In this latest Democracy that Delivers podcast, Anatoly Motkin, the founder and president of StrategEast, joined CIPE’s Ken Jaques and Maiko Nakagaki to discuss the growth of digital economies in the former Soviet Union. Motkin talks in-depth about the how the recent legislation in Belarus called Decree #8 “On the Digital Economy,” is designed to spur growth in the IT sector through various tax breaks. He also discusses how countries such as Belarus seem to be more advanced in the growth of digital economies than others in the region.
On this new podcast, a look at the political and economic situation in Tunisia with CIPE Country Representative Ali Ayadi.
On this week’s Democracy that Delivers podcast: International columnist and author Richard Javad Heydarian shares first-hand observations and insightful analysis on the latest developments and challenges related to governance and democracy in the Philippines.
In a discussion on Asian geopolitics, he shares his theories about what created the rise of the Duterte movement, and predictions on what populism means for elections around the globe.
Petar Čekerevac, the Executive Manager of LIBEK, a Serbian organization promoting individual liberty and a free market economy, discussed the evolution of his home country economically and politically since the Yugoslav Wars.
The World Bank and International Monetary Fund, currently holding their Spring meetings in Washington, cite corruption as a top challenge to promoting inclusive economic growth and ending extreme poverty. However, studies indicate that many anti-corruption interventions fail to have significant impact. So what anti-corruption approaches are really working?
CIPE talks with one of the world’s leading academic voices on the subject, Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, Democracy Studies Professor at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin.
For insight on how some governments are encouraging change in the public and private sectors, CIPE’s Ken Jaques and Tim Ridout interviewed Renato de Oliveira Capanema, Brazil’s Director for Integrity and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Transparency and Office of the Comptroller-General.
CIPE looks at the evolving roles of Slovakia’s civil society and NGOs in recent decades with Pavol Demeš, a Transatlantic Fellow for the German Marshall Fund.
Jessica Batke, senior editor of ChinaFile, explains that although the new Foreign NGO Law will provide a better framework for NGOs operating in China, it could have dire effects on those organizations promoting advocacy or NGOs whose objectives do not align with those of the Chinese government
Brad Coley, Economic Officer for the U.S. Embassy in Port Moresby, recently sat down with CIPE’s John Morrell and Pam Kelley to discuss how the WBRC project is helping to advance gender equality and positively impacting PNG’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Samy Boukaila, the founder of Algeria’s first think tank, CARE, recently sat down with CIPE’s Ken Jaques and Brenna Curti to explain why economic diversification is so critical for the nation and how his organization has pressed the message.
On this week’s podcast, George Welton provides insight on Georgia’s struggle with corruption following the fall of the Soviet Union and the country’s economic collapse.
New York Times journalist David Barboza discusses how he uncovered a network of corruption by the Chinese prime minister’s family in which billions of dollars in secret wealth were uncovered.
Andrew Wedeman, a political science professor at Georgia State University, provides a history of China’s economic growth and the positive and negative effects of its international investments thru the One Belt One Road Initiative.
Ruslan Stefanov, Director of the Economic Program of the Center for the Study of Democracy in Bulgaria
Nemanja Todorović Štiplija, President of the Centre for Contemporary Politics and Editor-in-Chief of the European Western Balkans
Igor Novakovic, Research Director of the International and Security Affairs Centre
With presidential elections approaching in the Czech Republic, policy expert Radko Hokovsky analyzes the current political climate and key reform issues.
On this special 100th episode of Democracy that Delivers, Dr. Delia Ferreira Rubio shares her vision regarding the global fight against corruption and spotlights innovative new approaches that appear to be working.
On this week’s podcast, Belarussian economist Jaroslav Romanchuk discusses important reforms taking place in his home country, which has maintained many Soviet Union ideologies.
Drago Kos, who chairs the OECD’s Working Group on Bribery, is the guest of this week’s podcast and discusses the difficulties many nations face when implementing anti-corruption measures.
In this week’s podcast, Civil Development Forum Vice President, Marek Tatala shares his take and explains how CDF is using technology and other outreach mechanisms to empower citizens.
In this week’s podcast, Jeanmarie Meyer and Troy Wray discuss the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) efforts to update Indonesia’s purchasing processes through the Procurement Modernization Project.
In this new podcast, Cadasta Foundation Interim CEO Frank Pichel explains the vital role of land rights within modern economies and how Cadasta is leveraging new technology to strengthen and formalize land tenure systems in developing nations
In this week’s podcast, Aziz shares the changes she’s witnessed and helped foster for women entrepreneurs from 1988 to today.
In this week’s podcast, Steven Pifer, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former Ambassador to Ukraine, guides the listener through the development of U.S. diplomatic relations with Ukraine following the breakup of the Soviet Union through the present.
Hudson Hollister quit his congressional job in 2012 and used his retirement savings to found The Data Coalition. His mission: to make U.S. government spending information more transparent and publicly available. The Data Coalition successfully pushed for new laws requiring federal agencies to release key financial figures on one internet site and use the same format.
Despite some big implementation challenges, Hollister says the requirements make government leaders more accountable to the public and provide new business opportunities to the private sector. In this week’s podcast, Hollister outlines next steps and new value propositions for entrepreneurs. CIPE’s Ryan Musser provides a global perspective, sharing his experiences about coalition building among competing businesses in Africa.
Businesses that take on corruption and pursue a path of integrity can come out ahead financially, says Frank Vogl, anti-corruption expert and adjunct professor at Georgetown University.
As part of its post-war recovery plan, Colombia’s government is offering big incentives to businesses that expand operations there and reaching out to local communities for input.
The new program is a critical part of Colombia’s ongoing peace process, according to Jaime Arteaga, CIPE’s lead in-country consultant.
The government is promising huge tax breaks to companies that make long-term investments in Colombia’s post-conflict regions, many of which are highly-populated and rich in natural resources. In this week’s podcast, Arteaga and CIPE Regional Director John Zemko discuss the challenges and benefits of increased private sector activity in Colombia.
This week’s podcast features Vladimir Petronijevic, executive director, and Miroslava Jelacic, legal analyst, with Group 484—a nonprofit organization founded in Serbia in 1995 to support 484 refugee families.
This week’s podcast guest is Imtiaz Gul, founder and executive director of the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), a Pakistan-based think tank.
This week’s podcast guests discuss the relationship between a thriving democracy and an open and accessible internet.
This week’s guest is Hans-Joachim Hogrefe, director of policy and advocacy at Refugees International, a nonprofit organization that advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people.
This week’s guest on Democracy that Delivers is food diplomacy expert Johanna Mendelson-Forman. She is an adjunct professor at American University and distinguished fellow with the Managing Across Boundaries Initiative at the Stimson Center.
This week’s guest is Jeffrey Smith, executive director of Vanguard Africa, a startup nonprofit that provides campaign advice and public relations support to pro-democracy leaders in Africa.
Smith aims to bring the international spotlight to Gambia, which is recovering from a more than two-decades-long dictatorship. Political and civil rights were nonexistent during the presidency of Yahya Jammeh, a former military officer who ruled the country from 1994 to 2016 . Vanguard Africa partnered with Gambia’s presidential candidates in 2016 to campaign against Jammeh, who lost the election.
Despite this accomplishment, Smith says Vanguard Africa’s work in Gambia is unfinished; a country cannot transition from dictatorship to democracy overnight. The nonprofit is now focused on holding the new government accountable. To aide with the transition, CIPE has partnered with the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry to establish a national business council for the private sector.
This week’s guest on CIPE’s Democracy that Delivers podcast is Karim Shaaban, CIPE’s program director in Jordan. In this podcast, Shaaban discusses the positive effects that CIPE and the USAID Jordan Local Enterprise Support (LENS) Project have had on economic growth in local communities in Jordan.
LENS was created to support the growth of micro and small enterprises, particularly those led by women. Three associations involved in LENS focus primarily on empowering working women and women entrepreneurs.
LENS and CIPE have also worked to bolster Jordan’s tourism sector. Despite the country’s appeal as a hiking and rock climbing destination for international tourists, the tourism industry has historically lacked structure. CIPE partnered with the Jordan Mountaineering Association, which is composed of tour guides and tourism operators, to help the association plan and organize its first board of directors’ election.
In addition, Shaaban credits CIPE with providing local businesses with training and technical assistance. He says that with CIPE’s support, seven business associations were able to increase their revenue and diversify their revenue streams.
This week’s guest on CIPE’s Democracy that Delivers podcast is Vaqar Ahmed, Ph.D. Ahmed is deputy executive director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
In this podcast, Ahmed discusses CIPE’s partnership with SDPI, the growth of Pakistan’s economy, and the country’s need for a thriving private sector. After a decade of low gross domestic product (GDP) growth, Pakistan’s economy has begun to improve. The private sector will play a key role in the country’s economic turnaround, and a free, transparent market is necessary for the private sector to flourish.
SDPI’s main aim is to provide a sustainable development community in Pakistan by addressing such issues as climate change, food security and tax reform. With CIPE’s support, SDPI has developed economic programs that have received support from members of the Pakistani parliament.
This week on CIPE's Democracy that Delivers podcast, Manzoor Ahmad, Ph.D., discusses economic and infrastructure growth in Pakistan. Ahmad is president of the PRIME Institute and a senior fellow with the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development in Geneva.
CIPE and PRIME collaborated to create the Government Policy Scorecard, which is intended to hold the Pakistani government accountable for economic promises made to its citizens. Ahmad says the project has been a success because it has opened the door for dialogue between the Pakistani government and PRIME Institute.
Ahmad also discusses the positive effects of the World Trade Organization's Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which took effect in February 2017 Ahmad credits the TFA with facilitating exports and expediting trade in developing countries, such as Pakistan.
Finally, in regards to infrastructure, Ahmad says Pakistan has benefited since the 2016 implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is intended to strengthen Pakistan's economy by modernizing its infrastructure.
This week on CIPE's Democracy that Delivers podcast, Masooma Sibtain, president of the South Punjab Women's Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SPWCCI) in Pakistan, discusses the current state of women entrepreneurs in South Asia.
Born and raised in Pakistan, Sibtain says women in her country have always participated in the work force. However, most of their jobs have been in the informal sector as artisans. The regional women's chambers are transforming Pakistani women from informal artisans to entrepreneurs by helping them to market and sell their products.
Sibtain says because of CIPE, the other women's chambers in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh learn from and support one another. Sibtain credits her chamber, its members and CIPE for teaching her the importance of support systems and advocacy.
This week on CIPE's Democracy that Delivers podcast, CIPE's Country Director in Nigeria, Omowumi Gbadamosi, discusses economic and democratic progress in Nigeria. Gbadamosi began her career with CIPE in 1988, and the most dramatic change she has seen in the last thirty years is the transformation in Nigeria from a military dictatorship to a democracy.
Gbadamosi believes the Nigerian government is now listening to the needs of the private sector, but the government needs to learn to respond. She is optimistic about Nigeria's future as CIPE's partners have continued to push for reforms.
Her advice to Nigeria's private sector is to be resilient. Gbadamosi says working with the public sector can be dispiriting; it is essential for those in the private sector to stay persistent because advocacy is a continual process.
Thida Khus is the founder and executive director of Silaka, a non-profit organization in Cambodia.
Khus and her family migrated to the United States in 1979 to flee the Khmer Rouge regime. From 1993 to1996, she organized 80 Cambodian-Americans to move to Cambodia to counteract the lack of human resources.
Khus states that Cambodia's government continues to suffer from corruption, lack of good governance and an unreliable justice system. She believes citizen education and government transparency are needed to see a change in the national government.
Despite the problems in the national government, Khus discusses the positive changes in local government. For the first time in local elections, an opposition party won a significant amount of votes. She credits a large population of young people and social media for the election results. She believes Cambodia's younger generation is positioned to bring about change because younger people there do not fear war like the older generation and social media has made it easier to share information.
Christina Bain, director of the Initiative on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery at Babson College in Massachusetts, discusses the role of business and entrepreneurship in combatting human trafficking.
As a college professor, Bain teaches her students about the types of human trafficking and how to prevent trafficking in their respective fields.
In addition, Bain raises awareness of human trafficking among high school students in the Boston region. Babson's Initiative on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery launched the Human Freedom Entrepreneurial Leadership Program in 2016. The program visits schools where students are more vulnerable to trafficking and aims to train and inspire the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs to fight human trafficking. The program has proven successful. For example, two high school students have created a program to educate preteen girls about the dangers of the Internet.
Henry LaGue sits down with Mark Oxley, a CIPE consultant in Zimbabwe.
Oxley explains how he became involved with the country's National Chamber of Commerce and CIPE, and he discusses the economic challenges facing Zimbabwe. Specifically, the country has a large number of highly educated individuals who are either unemployed or working in the informal sector. Despite economic difficulties, there are opportunities for investing in the country's infrastructure and tourism.
LaGue provides an update on the accomplishments of the Women Alliance of Business Associations of Zimbabwe (WABAZ). CIPE supports WABAZ in building partnerships and networks among women entrepreneurs. CIPE also works with WABAZ to raise awareness on funding opportunities available to women entrepreneurs.
Mauro DaCunha, the chief executive officer of Brazil's AMEC (Capital Market Investors Association), discusses the importance of democratization of capital in Brazil.
DaCunha credits CIPE's partnership with Brazil with increasing public awareness of capital markets and its correlation with economic growth. The development of capital markets in Brazil would positively influence the country's economy by creating job growth, opportunities for investment and a culture of equity investment.
DaCunha also talks about how corruption and distrust of businesses are hindering the development of capital markets, while providing insight on what needs to take place to counteract corruption.
Majdi Hassen, Executive Director of Tunisian think tank Institut arabe des chefs d’entreprises (IACE) talks with CIPE’s Anna Kompanek about the economic reform initiatives his organization is undertaking in Tunisia. IACE is an independent, non-profit think tank based in Tunis. Since Tunisia’s revolution, Hassen has overseen IACE’s growth into a “think-and-do” tank that plays a vital role in convening diverse political and civic actors to discuss urgent economic problems.
Hassen has developed a series of IACE programs designed to bring leadership skills and civic awareness to young entrepreneurs, policymakers, and stakeholders in Tunisia. He has also been instrumental in organizing IACE’s Enterprise Days, Tunisia’s biggest economic forum, which gathers over 1000 national and international policymakers, business leaders, and experts to discuss critical private sector issues.
Kompanek and Hassen discuss a major public-private dialogue effort – the National Business Agenda – that has brought together voices in the business community to provide the government with constructive recommendations for economic reform. They also discuss a hotline that has been set up in Tunisia to help local businesses deal with red tape and bureaucratic hurdles.
Randa Al-Zoghbi, CIPE’s Program Director in Egypt, discussed the release of their new app, Tamweely.
The app is designed to connect financiers to small businesses and entrepreneurs in Egypt seeking start-up funding, as well as to provide business education tools and information about the institutional and legal environment for entrepreneurs and startups. Al-Zoghbi also discusses the economic situation in Egypt and the many challenges facing the business community there, and where she sees the app going in the future.
Two CIPE-supported entrepreneurship club graduates in Uganda discuss how the skills they learned through the club have helped them to be successful. The conversation covers how the guests took what they learned in the club to start their own businesses and tackle the challenges they have faced along the way. Muwanguzi talks about how his work as a youth advocate helps Ugandan youth to develop the skills to be successful in life and business. Magoola describes how he established his real estate marketing agency. They also discuss the high number of informal businesses in Uganda and the role of entrepreneurship training in helping aspiring entrepreneurs learn how to establish sustainable businesses in the formal economy.
The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and OEF Research, a program of the One Earth Future Foundation (OEF) co-hosted a presentation and panel discussion on the role of local business communities in repairing fragile states.
Fragile States continue to garner international attention, and the need to overcome this problem cannot be ignored. They put pressure on the global community by creating devastating poverty and restricted access to basic services for citizens. Fragile States also produce terrorism, piracy, human trafficking, and other dark network activity that puts the well-being of the global community in danger at much higher rates than secure states. One key way to address these problems is through the influence and conduct of the business community.
This event began with a presentation on the new report Firm Behavior in Fragile States: The Cases of Somaliland, South Sudan, and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and the panelists discussed how the lessons learned from the report can be used in other regions and countries.
Director of the Al Quds Center for Political Studies, Oraib Al Rantawi, talks about how he moved from being a journalist to the head of the Al Quds Think-Tank. Al Rantawi was a reporter and journalist from 1978-1993, covering a wide array of topics for pan-Arab newspapers, including the civil war in Lebanon and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Al Rantawi and guest host Anna Kompanek further discuss Al Quds partnership with CIPE, working for the past decade to engage political parties in Jordan with the economic reform process. They discuss the progress that has been made since the beginning of the partnership, as well as the political climate in Jordan and the opening space for public-private dialogue.
This podcast was recorded in the field, and the sound quality may vary.
Senior Manager for Strategic Partnerships at the Alliance for Peacebuilding Stone Conroy discusses the processes and vehicles that organizations can use to resolve conflict. He also discusses the need to engage a wide range of players in these efforts including businesses, non-profits, governments, the media, military, academia, and others. Conroy also talks about the drivers behind conflict, and identifies “a sense of injustice” as one of the most powerful forces for dissatisfaction that can lead to violence.
Conroy describes a project in Nigeria and how the marketplace brought people together, providing an opportunity for peacebuilding. He talks about how business associations can contribute to peace and conflict resolution, using Northern Ireland as an example. He describes the Northern Ireland business alliance, a collection of companies drawn together because of the conflict, as the “unsung heroes” of the Irish peace process. He talks about the convening power of business association and how they can gather a wide range of stakeholders to address a conflict situation.
Finally, he discusses a new, cutting-edge Alliance project bringing together peacebuilders, spiritual leaders and neuroscientists to look at how the brain can be “rewired” to be more peaceful. Pilot projects are planned for Minneapolis, Chicago, and in Bogota, Colombia. He also discusses previous work of this type with gang members, rewiring the way they respond to an attack or situation to reduce the likelihood of continued violence in communities.
Recording of an event CIPE recently co-hosted with the International Real Property Foundation on the topic The Role of Property Rights and Property Markets in Sustainable Urbanization and Economic Growth. Listen to experts discuss how property rights and the institutions that support them –ranging from appropriate regulation to transparent financial markets– are key to sustainable development. Robust private property markets promote social stability, strengthen democratic institutions, and promote economic growth.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for equal rights, in particular by the poor and the vulnerable, to ownership and control over land and other forms of property. The SDGs also call for inclusive and sustainable urbanization, an imperative echoed at the recent United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (HABITAT III). Important progress has been made. Yet, billions of people around the world today still remain without access to secure property rights and the means to build sustainable settlements and economies.
The event speakers explored these global reform priorities, and how to accelerate and measure progress. This event took place on the sidelines of the World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty.
Maya Eristavi, CIPE's representative with USAID’s Governing for Growth (G4G) Project, talks about the role of women in Georgian society and how women in business have been taking on a larger role in society, especially since the fall of the Soviet Union. She also talks about the young entrepreneurs and businesswomen who have benefitted from the comprehensive free-trade agreement Georgia has with Europe.
Maya also reflects in growing up in Tiblisi, studying abroad in America in the late 90s, and how this shaped her attitude towards business and put her on the path to where she is today.
National Coordinator of the Association of Nigerian Women Business Network, Nikiru Joy Okpala, talks about how she went from being a young lawyer interested in women’s issues to working in the field of business association management. She discusses the importance of economic empowerment for women and the barriers that make it difficult for women in Nigeria to succeed in business. One of those barriers is what she calls the “two-job function” where women have to juggle demands at work with demands at home, such as housekeeping and childcare.
Okpala also discusses the role of women in Nigerian society, the urban/rural split in attitudes, and how education is helping expand what is possible for women in her country. Finally she talks about how her parents raised her to be an independent and successful woman, including the confidence she gained through debating current affairs with her banker father and his friends.
Ambassador of the Republic of Albania, Floreta Faber, discusses her previous role as head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Albania and how she built the institution into one of the strongest associations in the country. She talks about establishing forums for public-private dialogue to present governments with business community perspectives. She also discusses the importance of focusing on collective issues rather than individual company needs. She offers advice to new associations establishing themselves in developing countries, including the importance of representing members equally and fairly, which, she says, is not always easy to do.
Ambassador Faber also discusses how leading a business association prepared her for being an Ambassador. Working for a better business environment, for economic growth, for more government accountability and transparency, fighting corruption, and improving economic ties between Albania and the U.S., are issues she still works on today. Finally, she talks about meeting President Trump, the huge responsibility she feels representing her country, and what she most admires about the United States.
Editor of the Washington Post’s DemocracyPost blog, Christian Caryl, discusses the challenges facing democracy around the world and whether we are at a major inflection point in history. He talks about the current crisis facing western democracy and why its implications are vitally important for Americans.
Caryl, a self-described “troll magnet,” also talks about the difficulty of countering fake news and the Russian information war. He explains the rules that guide the work of journalists in the United States, and how increasing media literacy is important for rebuilding the public’s trust in the media.
Ayesha Bilal, Chief Operating Officer of Pakistani think tank PRIME (Policy Research Institute of the Market Economy), discusses PRIME’s work encouraging citizen involvement in public policymaking in Pakistan. She talks about PRIME’s highly successful Scorecard project to track how well the government has met its economic reform promises. Bilal shares how PRIME included the government as a stakeholder in the project and how the government is now using the Scorecard to track its own progress.
Bilal talks about the importance of tackling issues that have a broad appeal, and tactics for involving many sectors of the population in policy discussions – from homemakers to entrepreneurs to business owners. She stresses the need for openness and transparency in research and advocacy projects, and the importance of encouraging discussion, not imposing solutions. She also discusses PRIME’s current #FairTax campaign.
This week on the Democracy that Delivers podcast, Craig Fagan, policy director of the World Wide Web Foundation and Sonia Jorge, the executive director of the Alliance for Affordable Internet discusses how over 60 percent of the world is still not connected to the internet and how this digital divide is keeping billions from prospering economically and socially. They talk about how their mission is to raise voices for those who don’t have internet access, enhance internet participation and expand access by reducing cost of digital access.
This week on the Democracy that Delivers podcast this week, AARP Chief Communications and Marketing Officer Martha Boudreau stopped by to discuss the importance of messaging and branding in the world of non-profits. A CIPE board member and top communications strategist in the DC area, Boudreau also talks about her years at FleishmanHillard where she was president of the mid-Atlantic and Latin America and the experiences there that led her to interest in international communications. In particular, she highlights her work at FleishmanHillard in the Middle East and Latin America and explains how that work led to her interest in serving on CIPE’s board, where she heads the communications committee. Boudreau also talks about the mission of AARP, which is to enhance the quality of life for all people as they age, and the important part storytelling plays in furthering that mission.
Founder and President of the Bangladesh Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI) Selima Ahmad returns to the Democracy that Delivers podcast to talk about helping women move beyond micro-enterprise to larger businesses. She also discusses how when women become economically empowered they become more engaged in policy making and seeking accountability in governance. Ahmad also explains the societal changes in her country that are making it easier for women to succeed in business.
Ahmad was the podcast’s most popular guest of 2016 and she returns to the show after a very successful year for her organization, culminating in winning the Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s Local Chamber Award for 2016, beating 27 other countries. Ahmad discusses why this award was especially important to her, and the work she is doing taking the best practices she has developed with her Chamber and sharing them with chambers in countries as far and wide as Papua New Guinea, Somalia, and Bhutan. She also talks about how business interests cross borders and sectarian divides, and how the private sector can transcend political constraints to work together to move issues forward.
CIPE Country Coordinator in Papua New Guinea Eli Webb discusses the challenges facing women in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the work being done to empower women from all levels of society. Web talks about efforts being made to bolster women’s rights in the country where she says 98 percent of women have been victims of gender-based violence. She discusses legal reforms and development programs that address the issue. Webb also talks about “good news” stories of positive achievements that are being made.
Creating economic opportunities for women is another key element of development work in the country. During his recent confirmation hearing before Congress, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson noted the importance of women’s empowerment programs in Papua New Guinea. Webb discusses the international community’s focus on PNG and the work that CIPE is doing to help women succeed by supporting establishment of a women’s chamber of commerce and a women’s business resource center. Webb tells inspiring stories of women being helped by the Center, including illiterate women who are brought to the Center by their husband’s to access training opportunities.
President and CEO of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council Karen Kerrigan discusses why it is important for the United States to support entrepreneurship around the globe. Kerrigan discusses challenges faced by entrepreneurs the world over and how the private sector can engage government on innovative solutions.
She also discusses her work helping fledgling business associations develop the skills to advocate the policy and regulatory reforms needed for an improved business environment. Kerrigan discusses the importance of taking into account local context and cultural sensitivities when working with partners overseas. She describes how she helped a women’s business organization in Palestine when it was starting out and how that organization has grown to be one of the most powerful business groups in that country.
Kerrigan also discusses the attitude towards entrepreneurship she sees in many millennials and the need to expose youth to the opportunity of entrepreneurship early in their education.
Aurelio Concheso, President of the Advisory Board of Venezuelan think tank Centro de Divulgación del Conocimiento (CEDICE), discusses populism in Latin America and the challenges to democracy in that region. He uses the example of Chile to discuss the importance of a free market for meeting citizen demands. He also discusses the need for a social context for market reforms, and how open markets and a level playing field create vested interest in the rule of law by all citizens.
Concheso also talks about how problems with democracy and globalization have led to dissatisfaction and populism, and explains what he considers to be the antidote to the challenge facing democracy in Latin America today.
This week’s podcast is a recording of an event CIPE recently co-hosted with the National Endowment for Democracy titled "Defending Liberal Democracy in Emerging Markets: The Role of Free Markets and Rule of Law."
Specifically, the event explored whether liberal economic reforms and accountability in economic policy can help bolster the consolidation of democracy and, if so, under what conditions.
- What are the common challenges facing liberal democracy and market economies?
- What are the economic arguments in support of liberal democracy?
- How can a free-market system respond to demands for economic and political inclusion?
- What types of reforms would promote a level playing field and accountability in government?
Opening remarks were provided by:
- Greg Lebedev, Chair, Center for International Private Enterprise
- Carl Gershman, President, National Endowment for Democracy
Three members of CIPE’s Free Enterprise and Democracy Network engaged in a panel discussion on the topic:
- Aurelio Concheso, President of the Advisory Board, Centro de Divulgación del Conocimiento (CEDICE), Venezuela
- Güray Karacar, Former Secretary General, Corporate Governance Association of Turkey (TKYD)
- Selima Ahmad, Founder and President, Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI)
The discussion was moderated by:
- Karen Kerrigan, President and CEO, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council
Secretary General of the International Real Estate Federation – USA Bill Endsley discusses the importance of property rights for economic growth and prosperity.
Endsley talks about how a lack of property rights, or inadequate access to information on property rights, can undermine markets and impede business development. He highlights trends in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and explains how – even in markets where there is thriving real estate development – poorly functioning property markets can undermine the health and sustainability of the economy. He discusses lessons the rest of the world can learn from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis.
Endsley also talks about the property markets scorecard project that has mapped out the ecosystems of property markets in 30 countries so far. He highlights resources available through the project and discusses reforms that have been identified as a result of the scorecards
European Endowment for Democracy (EED) Executive Director Jerzy Pomianowski discusses how the EED came about and the focus of its work today. He shares his philosophy that democracy can only truly be generated from within society, not imposed from outside, which is the basis for EED’s demand-driven model of support. He also talks about the importance of flexibility when adjusting to a rapidly changing environment and discusses the EED’s rapid response projects that meet urgent demands for support.
Pomainowski also discusses the need for a new political philosophy to communicate the promise of democracy and solidarity, and how his past experience as a student activist in Poland shapes his drive to help those taking risks today to support democracy and freedom in their countries.
Lindsey Marchessault from Open Contracting Partnership discusses opening up public contracting through disclosure and data engagement so that public money is spent honestly, fairly and effectively. Marchessault talks about how this is done and the problems that open contracting is trying to address. She provides interesting examples of projects in countries such as Ukraine and Nigeria, and discusses the different roles played by government, the private sector, and civil society in developing impactful and sustainable change. Marchessault also discusses the kind of support and resources available for those who want to implement open contracting, and gives her advice on the most important first step in any open contracting initiative.
Distinguished Fellow at The Heritage Foundation Dr. Kim Holmes, who recently returned to the CIPE Board of Directors after a 15 year hiatus, discusses how his views on democratic and economic development have evolved through the years. Holmes discusses specifically how his views on the role of economic development in conflict zones has changed and why. He also talks at length about his new book, The Closing of the Liberal Mind: How Groupthink and Intolerance Define the Left.
CIPE Board member Claude Fontheim talks about how the rule of law, transparency, and good governance underpin strong, inclusive development. Fontheim explains that investment alone is not enough and that support for public institutions is needed to ensure that the benefits of trade and economic growth reach all segments of society. He discusses the direct link between development around the world and U.S. national security interests. Fontheim also talks about how U.S. companies contribute to the good governance of countries they invest in, and how they partner with NGOs and civil society to support initiatives in sectors such as health, education, and women’s rights.
CIPE Regional Director for Europe, Eurasia, and South Asia Marc Schleifer works on democracy projects in vastly different parts of the globe. On today’s episode he discusses the trends that are affecting the health and development of democracy in his areas of focus, including the attitudes and outlooks of the citizens in each region.
Schleifer describes his early interest in social issues and how his fascination with Russia led to eight years living in the country, working in law and international development (and his brief stint as a rock musician). His recollections from this time, including the exciting and chaotic mood in pre-Putin Russia, contrast sharply with his assessment of Russia both today and in the near future. He also talks about the rise in populist sentiment in many parts of the world and challenges us to avoid knee-jerk reactions and look at the political and economic developments behind it.
On this week’s Democracy That Delivers podcast, CIPE Country Representative for Tunisia Ali Ayadi talks about the country’s democratic transition since the revolution and areas of progress and challenge. Ayadi talks about a missing element in the country’s transformation – economic growth and development. He discusses how the government and the private sector are working together to improve the business environment in the country to boost growth and create much-needed jobs. Ayadi discusses the role of women in the new political system. He also talks about what it was like to move back to his home country after many years working in Washington, DC and his current work with local leaders to help carve a path forward for Tunisia.
The podcast was hosted by CIPE’s Program Officer for the Middle East and North Africa Barbara Broomell and Communications and Digital Content Coordinator Ashley Fox.
Best of 2016: The third most listened to episode of 2016 is an event CIPE co-hosted with OpenGovHub on Leveraging Youth and Technology for Governance Reform. The event featured panelists Director of Programs & Strategy, North America at Souktel Maggie McDonough, former Atlas Corps Fellow and social media manager at CIPE partner CEDICE, and Founder and Executive Director of Accountability Lab Blair Glencorse and was moderated by CIPE Program Officer for Global Programs Maiko Nakagaki. The event was held in honor of International Youth Day.
Best of 2016:
In the second most listened to episode of 2016, Ken and Julie sit down with American Interest journalist Karina Orlova to discuss the risks reporters in Russia face and why she had to leave the country. She covers her experience reporting on Russian politics and business and the powerful forces that exert control over journalists and media outlets.
The best of 2016: The first episode is a conversation with Selima Ahmad, a CIPE partner and the founder of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In the episode, Ahmad talks about how she built an organization that helps thousands of women entrepreneurs and what it takes to be a successful businesswoman in Bangladesh.
This week on the Democracy that Delivers podcast, Ken and Julie sit down with two members of CIPE staff, Program Officer for Africa Henry LaGue and Program Assistant for Middle East and North Africa Abi Stoltzfus. LaGue and Stoltzfus discuss their work at CIPE, how they got interested in international development, and the paths that led them here.
This week’s Democracy that Delivers podcast is a recording of a discussion that was held at CIPE on December 9 to celebrate International Anti-Corruption Day. CIPE and Women in International Trade (WIIT) co-hosted a panel discussion titled “ISO 37001: A Game Changer in Global Anti-Bribery Efforts?” Panelists discussed the significance of the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) new standard on anti-bribery management systems, whether the standard will become the new international benchmark for doing business with integrity, and its benefits and limitations. A panel of experts addressed these questions and shared their insights:
- Worth MacMurray, Principal, Governance and Compliance Initiatives
- Shruti Shah, Vice President of Programs and Operations, Transparency International-USA
- Jesse Spiro, WorldCheck Research Manager, Thompson Reuters
The discussion was moderated by CIPE's Regional Director for Asia John Morrell
President of the Organization for Women in International Trade Andrea Ewart on why trade matters. Ewart speaks about her work helping companies on a wide range of issues related to trade, including customs law and enforcement. She also talks about helping women to be more successful in international trade.
International trade expert Aurelio Garcia talks about trade facilitation and how tackling red tape makes trade more inclusive. Garcia differentiates trade policy from “trade facilitation,” which involves improving the procedures required to move goods across borders. He describes how trade facilitation helps bring the benefits of trade to more businesses and entrepreneurs. Garcia explains that you cannot “solve 21st century problems with regulations from the 1950s and 60s” and discusses how data and IT systems are key to making trade systems more efficient and accessible. Garcia also talks about his first job working for a garlic exporter in Spain and how that experience still informs his work today.
Angela Ospina discusses her current work as a trade advisor at the Colombian Mission to the European Union where she focuses on international trade policies, particularly World Customs Organization regulations. Ospina talks about growing up in Bogota, her interest in travel and international relations, and how her experiences studying for her master’s degree in Japan influenced her approach to trade policy and its implementation.
Ospina discusses the significance of a peace agreement in Colombia and her optimism regarding the economic future of her country. She also talks about how seemingly technical trade issues play out in people’s daily lives. The hardest part of her job? Not the policymaking itself but ensuring that policies will work in practice.
The views expressed in this discussion are those of the guest Angela Ospina and do not represent those of the Government of Colombia.
CEO and Founder of Invest2Innovate (I2I)bKalsoom Lakhani talks about the trends, opportunities, and challenges that entrepreneurs face in Pakistan and the report that I2I just launched that looks at the environment for startups and investors in the country. Lakhani traces her work today back to her childhood in Bangladesh and Pakistan, and to her early interest in conflict resolution that stemmed from hearing about her family’s experiences during the Bangladesh War of 1971. The stories she heard as a child still resonate today as she seeks to increase understanding around the world about what everyday life is really like in countries such as Pakistan that are often best known in the West for violence and instability. Lakhani talks about how her interest in social justice led her to venture philanthropy and to the work she does today helping shape a supportive environment for entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses in Pakistan.
This week in CIPE’s podcast Democracy that Delivers, Manogya Sharma and Sarita Sapkota from Samriddhi, The Prosperity Foundation, discuss their organization’s work in Nepal providing policy solutions to economic challenges and generating public-private dialogue to forge a way forward on key issues facing the country.
Sharma and Sapkota talk about how their organization has grown over the last ten years from focusing on youth-based programs to wider issues, including the development of a Nepal Economic Growth Agenda. They also discuss the importance of coalition-building and how to make sure your message reaches the government even when there is a turbulent political atmosphere. They also talk about the investment climate in Nepal and the environment for entrepreneurs starting and growing businesses.
CIPE Board member Claude Fontheim talks about how the rule of law, transparency and good governance underpin strong, inclusive development. Fontheim explains that investment alone is not enough and that support for public institutions is needed to ensure that the benefits of trade and economic growth reach all segments of society. He also discusses the direct link between development around the world and U.S. national security interests.
Fontheim also talks about how U.S. companies contribute to the good governance of countries they invest in, and how they partner with NGOs and civil society to support initiatives in sectors such as health, education, and women’s rights.
Fontheim discusses his early work with the Democratic Leadership Council and how he was inspired by Bill Clinton’s vision of “globalization with a human face.” He also shares how his family’s experience during the Holocaust shaped his world view and generated his interest in the forces that knit societies together and create peace.
President of Transparency International Hungary, András Lőke, discusses the state of democracy in Hungary and the hard work it takes to maintain that system over time. He also discusses the cultural differences between countries in Central Europe and how culture can influence democratic development. Lőke is also founder and editor-in-chief of www.Ittlakunk.hu, a group of websites covering 23 Budapest neighborhoods that receives 800,000 unique visitors a month. He speaks about the government’s influence on the media. Lőke also talks about how corruption undermines democracy and the “economy within the economy” that institutionalizes corruption in Hungary.
On September 16, 2016, CIPE hosted a panel discussion on the need for rapid response in countries where a significant opportunity has appeared for achieving anti-corruption progress. CIPE’s Rapid Reaction Anti-Corruption Project is designed to address this need by deploying a team of anti-corruption experts with international stature to countries in transition. Today’s podcast is a recording of the September 16 event at which experts discussed corruption challenges and practical solutions.
Italian whistleblower Andrea Franzoso talks about the difficult decision he made to expose corruption in his company and the impact this had on his personal and professional life. Franzoso talks about how he came across evidence of wrongdoing by the company’s president, the reaction to his revelations internally, and his eventual decision to take his findings to the police. His story is both inspiring and troubling as he shares the professional and personal cost of his decision. The conversation also covers what companies and governments can do to better protect whistleblowers and encourage a culture of accountability and transparency.
This week’s podcast is a recording of an event CIPE co-hosted on September 15th with Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in recognition of the International Day of Democracy. This event provided a brief update of the recent MCC Board Meeting, and brought together thought leaders to discuss the role of democracy in development.
Sustainable development and reducing poverty are primary objectives of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Panelists demonstrated how the SDG goals that pertain to democratic governance are vital to reducing poverty, creating jobs, boosting economic growth, and making sure that development is sustainable. They discussed how strong democratic institutions, a robust rule of law, and inclusive economic policies that create a level playing field for everyone are essential elements of a development agenda with lasting impact. The discussion was moderated by CIPE Managing Director [then Executive Director (acting)] Andrew Wilson.
CIPE’s Program Officer for South Asia Jennifer Anderson talks about the economy in Pakistan and holding the government accountable for delivering on its economic promises. Anderson discusses the crucial link between successful implementation of economic reforms and citizen support for the civilian government and democracy. She shares the view expressed by some in Pakistan that “entrepreneurship is dead” and why a number of aspiring Pakistani businesspeople feel this way. Anderson also discusses the new registration process required for international and domestic NGOs to operate in the country. The show closes with Anderson sharing her story of how helping a friend cope with the tragedy of the Rwandan genocide changed her world view and got her started on her international development career.
In this week’s Democracy That Delivers podcast, Murray Hiebert, Senior Adviser and Deputy Director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), talks about the historic visit to the U.S. last week of Aung San Suu Kyi. Hiebert discusses what the visit means for Myanmar’s future, including the peace process and the investment climate in a country where peace and development is long overdue. Hiebert also talks about what the lifting of sanctions will mean for the inflow of foreign direct investment, and how economic development and the resolution of ethnic grievances through the peace process are linked. Reaction in Myanmar to Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit is also discussed. Hiebert also talks about the tension between the Muslim-minority Rohingya population and the majority Buddhist population in Myanmar and Aung San Suu Kyi’s commitment to resolve tension between the two groups.
Thomson Reuters Breakingviews correspondent Gina Chon talks about reporting on economic news from around the world. Chon discusses the challenges journalists face in countries where gaining access to accurate economic information is difficult and where authoritarian governments attempt to control the news on the economy. Chon also talks about how she became a journalist, her experiences working overseas, and what excites her about the way journalism is evolving today.
CIPE consultants Camelia Bulat and Carmen Stanila talk about working with the private sector and business associations on public policy development and advocacy. They discuss their early work in Romania and later in the Balkans, Moldova, and the Caucuses, and the challenges of managing citizen expectations when countries transition to democratic, free market systems. Bulat and Stanila also talk about how they were able to transfer early lessons learned in Romania to projects elsewhere, and the surprising similarity between the issues and priorities facing business associations all over the world.
Dr. Kim Holmes, who recently returned to the CIPE Board after a 15 year hiatus, discusses how his views on democratic and economic development have evolved through the years. Holmes discusses specifically how his views on the role of economic development in conflict zones has changed and why. He also talks at length about his new book, The Closing of the Liberal Mind: How Groupthink and Intolerance Define the Left.
Syrian Economic Forum Chairman Ayman Tabbaa and Executive Director Tamman Al Baroudi discuss the current situation in Syria and the role of the private sector in reconstructing the country. Tabbaa and Baroudi talk about their lives in Syria prior to the revolution, why they had to leave Syria, and their work today providing information and policy options to help with the current economic situation and to plan for the future.
Tabbaa and Baroudi speak candidly about how their lives have changed, dangers they have faced in pursuing their work to help build a future for Syria, and their concerns for Syria’s youth.
The Syrian Economic Forum is an independent think tank that gives voice to the pro-democracy Syrian business community.
International development organizations are increasingly recognizing the importance of engaging youth in efforts to improve governance around the world. Youth in most societies are consistently more adept at using technology and recognizing its impact. Harnessing their energy and creativity to improve government policies and service delivery, through incorporating youth ideas and feedback, is a focus for a number of programs developed by CIPE and other organizations.
This week’s podcast is a recording of an event co-hosted by CIPE and OpenGovHub. The event was a panel discussion on the topic Leveraging Youth and Technology for Governance Reform.
The "blockchain" is the key innovation that makes decentralized, digital currencies like Bitcoin possible. Jerry Brito, executive director of Coin Center and an expert on cryptocurrency regulation, discusses the implications of the blockchain and its potential applications to governance and corruption problems from tracking land ownership to stopping the trade in blood diamonds.
International Association of Women Judges’ Senior Advisor Nancy Hendry discusses IAWJ’s work addressing "sextortion." The IAWJ coined the term to describe a pervasive, but often ignored, form of sexual exploitation and corruption that occurs when people in positions of authority – whether government officials, judges, educators, law enforcement personnel, or employers – seek to extort sexual favors in exchange for something within their power to grant or withhold. In effect, sextortion is a form of corruption in which sex, rather than money, is the currency of the bribe. Although it is a prevalent practice in many countries, it often is not discussed in the context of corruption issues because corruption is generally associated with financial exchanges.
Created in 1991, the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization whose members represent all levels of the judiciary worldwide and share a commitment to equal justice and the rule of law. The IAWJ currently has approximately 4,600 members in 75 countries and areas worldwide.
CIPE's Medhawi Giri, Program Assistant for South Asia, and Stephanie Bandyk, Program Assistant for Global Programs, discuss how they got interested in international development, democracy, and economic reform issues, their academic and career backgrounds, and what they've learned since working at CIPE.
The American Interest journalist Karina Orlova discusses the risks reporters face in Russia and why she had to leave. Orlova talks about her experience reporting on Russian politics and business, and the powerful forces that exert control over journalists and media outlets in that country. She also shares fascinating insights into current living conditions in Russia and citizen attitudes towards corruption and governance.
CIPE’s Iran expert Babak Yektafar discusses the current economic situation in Iran and how the regime controls information and policies to stay in power. Yektafar talks about how the economy has been damaged through mismanagement, Iran’s entrepreneurial youth culture and their hopes for the future, and what the government needs to do to make it easier for Iranians to start and grow businesses. He also discusses the government’s control over the flow of information within the country and explains how an “Expediency Council” works to ensure the regime stays in power.
Former FCPA violator and current anti-bribery consultant Richard Bistrong was convicted of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, cooperated with the FBI, and served time in prison. Today he works with companies to help them deal with anti-bribery and compliance issues around the world. He discusses what led to his conviction, what he learned about corruption risks and the incentive structures that make bribery more likely. He also shares the advice he would give his younger self before he embarked on that first international sales trip that started it all.
Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow Nyaradzo Mashayamombe discusses her work as a women’s and girls’ rights advocate in in Zimbabwe and how the way women are viewed in society is changing in that country. Mashayamombe talks about the hardships she experienced as a child in rural Zimbabwe and how this created her drive to help other girls and women. She also discusses the empowering impact of social media and the current economic situation for women in Zimbabwe.
Former Executive Director of CIPE John D. Sullivan discusses how the private sector and a free market economy are essential for a thriving democracy and the role CIPE plays working with private sector partners to strengthen democratic institutions around the world. Sullivan recalls what led to the establishment of the National Endowment for Democracy and its core institutes, including CIPE, and how it was decided that the private sector needed to be represented in the “democracy program” that began under former President Ronald Reagan. Sullivan also discusses the important relationship CIPE developed with the Russian Chamber of Commerce, and the impact of the work of Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto on CIPE’s programs.
Executive Director of eBay’s Public Policy Lab, Brian Bieron, discusses how global e-commerce platforms are helping small and medium-sized enterprises around the world to export at an unprecedented rate, and how this is opening the global economy like never before. Bieron also talks about how online commerce is changing the dynamic of who can export where, the logistics challenges that companies face, and the policy reforms that can help micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises harness the potential of e-commerce to reach new markets.
Atlas Corps fellow and social media manager at Venezuelan think tank CEDICE, Gigi Raffo, talks about the everyday hardships experienced by citizens in her country, the challenges facing the private sector, and how she and others are trying to make changes and build hope for the future. Raffo also talks about adjusting to the freedoms and choices offered in the U.S. and what she is learning here that will inform her work when she goes home.
Alexis Bonnell from USAID’s Global Development Lab talks about how innovation is changing the way development work is done around the world, harnessing 21st century technology to create more development impact, and how some of the most effective innovation tools can be both simple and inexpensive. Bonnell also talks about what it takes to have a successful career in international development today.
Business development consultant Toki Mabogunje talks about the current business climate in Nigeria, how the new government is tackling economic, security and corruption challenges – and the private sector response – and how Nigerian entrepreneurs find ways to thrive in even the most difficult circumstances. Mabogunje also talks about how her American school education still shapes the way she approaches issues today.
CIPE’s program coordinator in Indonesia talks about the burgeoning Indonesian economy, foreign investment opportunities, and how Indonesian companies are coming to terms with what anti-corruption compliance means for them. Ardie also discusses the challenges of meeting cultural norms while being compliant with international business practices, and the inherent “sloppiness” of implementing decentralization and democracy in one of most populous countries in the world.
President, CEO and Co-Founder of WEConnect International Elizabeth A. Vazquez discusses the biggest challenges that women around the world face when trying to start and grow a business, and the one thing that they all want the most. Vazquez also talks about how watching her mother host Mexico’s “first yard sale” while she was growing up taught her the value of entrepreneurship for changing women’s lives, and the fundamental mental shift that many businesswomen need to make to reach their potential.
CIPE’s Regional Director for Asia John Morrell discusses when he witnessed for the first time how lack of governance and corruption undermines democracy and how that experience shapes his work today. Morrell talks about business-led solutions to corruption challenges and a CIPE project underway in Thailand that is changing the business culture in that country.
Executive Director of Accountability Lab, Blair Glencorse, discusses why accountability is important and how his organization is building a generational movement for integrity.
CIPE’s Regional Director for Middle East and Africa Abdulwahab Alkebsi discusses how his childhood in Yemen informs his democracy work today, the correlation between the institutions that build the Islamic faith and those that build democracy, and the important role the private sector can play in public life.
Deputy Director in the U.S. State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau, Jessica Long, discusses how international cooperation and partnerships underpin best practice in counterterrorism policy.
Deputy Director of the South Asia Program at the Stimson Center Sameer Lalwani discusses how counterinsurgency and state-building efforts interact with issues of governance and economic development in South Asia.
Founder of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry Selima Ahmad discusses how she built an organization that helps thousands of women entrepreneurs and what it takes to takes to be a successful businesswomen in Bangladesh.
Former U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutor Charles Duross talks about how he moved from prosecuting “guns, drugs, and thugs” cases to leading the DOJ team that enforces the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and what the FCPA means for companies today.
Senior Director of International Trade at Walmart Sarah Thorn discusses the evolution of the global giant’s corporate social responsibility program, what they look for in a partner, and the company’s goals today.
CIPE’s Senior Program Officer for North Africa, Pamela Beecroft, on how CIPE develops locally-driven partnerships and programs to promote economic development and good governance in the region.
The U.S. Department of State Director for Countering Violent Extremism, Irfan Saeed, talks about his work looking at what drives people to join terrorist groups and programs that can help prevent radicalization.
CIPE’s acting Executive Director Andrew Wilson talks about the organization’s history and mission, its work today, and the role of the private sector in democratic development.
Director of the Al Quds Center for Political Studies, Oraib Al Rantawi, talks about how he moved from being a journalist to the head of the Al Quds Think-Tank. Al Rantawi was a reporter and journalist from 1978-1993, covering a wide array of topics for pan-Arab newspapers, including the civil war in Lebanon and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Al Rantawi and guest host Anna Kompanek further discuss Al Quds partnership with CIPE, working for the past decade to engage political parties in Jordan with the economic reform process. They discuss the progress that has been made since the beginning of the partnership, as well as the political climate in Jordan and the opening space for public-private dialogue.
This podcast was recorded in the field, and the sound quality may vary.