All timeline stories.
CIPE launches an initiative in the largest Pacific island country, Papua New Guinea, to help empower women economically and create a women’s chamber of commerce.
Future efforts will include business training programs with local universities and the opening of a Women’s Business Resource Center that serves thousands.
The Ethics 1st program launches in Africa, a robust initiative to inform companies on universal business standards and pathways to demonstrate compliance to potential investors. Initial efforts focus on Kenya and Nigeria.
CIPE, NED, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Africa Business Center launch a joint initiative with the Burkina Faso government to urge greater regional collaboration between government, business, and civil society. This results in the release of the “Ouagadougou Declaration” at a conference attended by the leaders of Mali, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Niger. This inspires similar dialogues elsewhere, including high-level roundtables sponsored by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance, a CIPE partner.
At a Capitol Hill event, experts introduce the concept of “corrosive capital,” foreign investment that exploits governance gaps in recipient countries and weakens democratic institutions. This coincides with the publication of case studies from dozens of countries and key recommendations. The corrosive capital term catches on and becomes widely used in many circles.
At the height of the global refugee crisis, CIPE and international partners start the Livelihoods Innovation through Food Entrepreneurship (LIFE) Project, which supports and encourages entrepreneurship, job creation, and cross-cultural engagement in the food sector in Turkey. With CIPE’s first-ever funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, the project established the first food business incubators in Turkey, where refugees and members of the host communities start and scale successful food businesses.
Women’s regional business networks in Africa continue to grow with support from CIPE. Dr. Joyce Banda, the founder of the National Association for Business Women and a former CIPE partner, becomes Malawi’s first woman president and gains international attention.
CIPE leads and participates in numerous events worldwide to share evidence-based approaches and tools to aid democratic and market-oriented reform. Among them: an International Property Markets Scorecard to gauge laws around property rights in emerging markets, including many African countries. The materials are utilized by numerous audiences, including university urban planning classes.
