Private Sector to Promote Responsible Business, Combat Corruption in Africa
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Lagos, Nigeria
(Lagos,19 January 2015) – Private sector leaders in Africa resolved to mobilize peers against corruption on the continent at the African Sustainable CEO Business Roundtable Forum, held today in Lagos.
Co-hosted by the UN Global Compact, Global Compact Network Nigeria and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), and supported by Access Bank Plc and MTN Nigeria Ltd, the roundtable brought together 150 business, civil society, Government and media representatives to discuss development challenges for the private sector in Africa, and advocate for business peers and Government to collaborate to support uptake of responsible business and anti-corruption practices. The event marked the finale of the Siemens Integrity Project, a collective action initiative against corruption in Nigeria.
Collaboration and collective action were key themes, with many CEOs, business leaders and governments calling for all stakeholders to work together toward building inclusive economies in Africa. UN Global Compact Executive Director Georg Kell urged companies to recommit to the Global Compact and emphasized the opportunities, especially in times of crisis. NESG Chairman Foluso Phillips urged the private sector to do more to combat corruption in Nigeria, noting its negative impacts such as financial loss and loss of productivity, competitiveness and lives.
In a special keynote conversation on corruption with Kell, Safaricom CEO and UN Global Compact Board Member Robert Collymore challenged businesses to push policymakers to be transparent given their investments in their countries. He encouraged businesses themselves to avoid corruption using guidance from the UN Global Compact’s 10th Principle Against Corruption, through collection action, and for large companies to support SMEs.
Additional roundtable topics and speakers included the following:
- Youth unemployment, corruption, and infrastructure development present critical gaps in development for sub-Saharan Africa, but also pose unique opportunities for the private sector to take a leadership role in driving sustainable development.
- Dr. Oba Otudeko, CFR and Chairman of Honeywell Group and FBN Holdings Plc, highlighted the need for Africa to invest in Africa. He said that Africans should “see themselves as partners” regardless of their sector and industry.
- The high-level luncheon focused on practical steps companies can take towards their commitment. UN Global Compact Board Members encouraged the African business leaders present to lead the drive for sustainable development in Africa, make sustainability a part of their core long-term business strategy, and commit to the Global Compact and support its on-the-ground efforts through Local Networks.
- Citing the UN Global Compact’s strategy for business engagement on sustainable development in Africa, Kell and the Global Compact Board Members called upon business leaders to support the development of a regional hub in Africa based in Nigeria, to advance responsible business practices in Africa.
- As issues of corruption, instability, severe infrastructure and institutional deficiencies continue to plague even the largest economies in Africa, UN Global Compact Board Member Elias Masilela pushed businesses to take ownership of the global development agenda by placing economic and social infrastructure needs at the core of issues they address. Fellow Board Member and President of Imagine Africa Pierre Sane stated that corporate sustainability should not be a separate operating tool for companies but instilled throughout the company, from the chief executive to every employee.
To learn more about the UN Global Compact and its efforts to help companies advance long-term sustainable and inclusive development in Africa, visit /NetworksAroundTheWorld/global_compact_in_africa.html.
Contact
Nkiruka Chiemelu
Relationship Manager
UN Global Compact
chiemelu@unglobalcompact.org