Alliance for Integrity’s First Year in Peru: Strengthening Business Integrity Together

Corruption is a problem that has a negative impact on the development of countries because it weakens the rule of law, affects governance, diverts funds intended for basic services for the population and discourages private investment. This mainly affects the vulnerable population in developing countries. According to the results of the 11th Corruption Perceptions Survey carried out by the organisation Proética, in Peru corruption is perceived as the second most important problem in the country, only after crime. Additionally, the Global Competitiveness Report 2020, prepared by the World Economic Forum, also defines corruption as the second most serious problem for doing business in the country.

The Alliance for Integrity started its activities in Peru in 2021, with the objective of fostering integrity in the economic system and making a long-term contribution to a corruption-free business world. That is why, during the first year of the Alliance for Integrity's work in Peru, eight activities were carried out, including the implementation of the Corruption Prevention Programme "From Companies to Companies" (DEPE by its Spanish acronym) in collaboration with USAID Peru's Transparent Public Investment Project (TPI) and the Good Governance Project implemented by GIZ Peru.

The DEPE programme consists of creating a network of compliance and corruption prevention experts from large and multinational partner companies, who become DEPE trainers to train SMEs on how to prevent the different forms and consequences of corruption. Also, DEPE trainers share with SME the competitive advantages of implementing a compliance programme within their company. Finally, participants have access to a Support Desk, where trained small and medium-sized enterprises can obtain further information geared towards the implementation of what they have learned.

In 2021, five of these DEPE trainings were delivered in Peru, all in virtual mode, in which more than 150 SME representatives from 7 Regional Chambers received the training. The results of these events have been positive, as 98% of the participating SMEs consider that what they learned in the workshop is relevant or extremely relevant for their daily work, while 96% think that the content is relevant or extremely relevant for their business in general.

Some participants have even given testimonials on how DEPE trainings have helped their businesses to prevent the effects of corruption. One DEPE participant commented that he recommends the DEPE programme, considering "it is a great investment of time because you acquire, in addition to the experience, a series of tools and knowledge that in the long-term help your business and the country". Similarly, another participant shared that the DEPE "gives us the opportunity to take that step of wanting to differentiate ourselves from other companies and to put an end to corruption [...] This programme will help us to take preventive measures; it is in our hands to want to change and put an end to corruption".

These testimonials and the feedback received from the participants show that DEPE trainings make companies more competitive, internally more transparent, and therefore more profitable. We thank all partner organisations and companies, the DEPE trainers and all SMEs that participated in our activities for their trust, commitment and for being part of The Alliance for Integrity’s network in Peru.

To find out more about The Alliance for Integrity's DEPE programme, and our other activities, please visit our website.

Author: Alexa Preinfalk Dávila