Alliance for Integrity hosts workshop at German-African Business Summit

The Alliance for Integrity held a workshop at the 3rd German-African Business Summit (GABS) which took place in Accra from 11th until 13th February, 2019. The German-African Business Summit is Germany’s signature event in Africa which is known for bringing together top businesses and government leaders from Germany and Sub-Saharan Africa to promote international economic relations between Europe’s largest economy and the fastest-growing region in the world.

The Alliance for Integrity’s workshop on “Positioning for growth: How integrity can stimulate business expansion” explored how integrity in supply chains can boost international trade whilst reducing corruption risks from third-parties. Christian Hagemann, Senior Policy Officer, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), in his welcome address, outlined the strategic priorities of the Ministry and Alliance for Integrity’s work in promoting integrity in the economic system.

Panellists for the workshop were from Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited and Siemens Ghana. They called on companies to create various measures to deal with internal corruption risks as well as potential corruption risks from their supply chain partners, whilst encouraging state actors and stakeholders from civil society to contribute their quota to making the business environment conducive. They entreated companies in Africa to fully embrace integrity and use it as a competitive advantage as it would ensure the sustainability of their businesses.

Susanne Friedrich, the Director of Alliance for Integrity, called on participants to put the lessons learned into practice and make use of Alliance for Integrity’s tools and platforms in order to build a culture of compliance in the economic system.

The GABS created a platform for the discussion of topical issues on integrity and international trade from the perspectives of both policy makers and business leaders, attracted various participants from the private sector, civil society, public sector and the international community. The biennial conference is organised by the Sub-Saharan Africa Initiative of German Business (SAFRI). Please find further information here.