Concept

When small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) do business and invest in emerging markets, they are often exposed to corruption risks. They do not have the market power or internal integrity systems of large companies, but are subject to the same demands from legislation, business partners and civil society on combating and avoiding corruption. Many companies do not have the necessary knowledge and tools to handle this dilemma.

The Business Anti-Corruption Portal (Portal) is intended to help companies avoid bribery and extortion by providing them with necessary information and tools, free of charge. The Portal was originally launched as a public-private partnership between the Danish government and Global Advice Network and underlines the importance of private sector participation in development strategies.

Comprehensive, Practical Business Tools

The Portal is constructed as a one-stop shop with information and tools on anti-corruption for SMEs operating in emerging markets and developing countries. It has been online since August 2006 and has been gradually expanded since its initiation. The central elements are:

• About Corruption section on international and regional anti-corruption conventions, grey area questions regarding business and corruption, and a glossary of business corruption vocabulary and definitions.
• 60 Country Profiles in 6 regions comprising detailed regulatory environment and sector-specific business and corruption risk analyses. Facts about anti-corruption legal/institutional frameworks and implementation, public and private anti-corruption initiatives and ratification status of international conventions.
• Integrity System on how to integrate anti-corruption policies and practices in the existing company procedures, including a model code of conduct, examples of key procedures, a guidance question list and a model risk assessment tool. The Integrity System represents an easily applicable compliance model to meet the demands of the UN and OECD anti-corruption conventions.
• Due Diligence Tools related to public procurement, seeking and vetting an agent or a consultant, setting up a joint venture, dealing with contractors or subcontractors and implementing a project. The tools represent an easily applicable package to comply with international due diligence standards.
• Anti-Corruption Initiatives of Portal Partner countries as well as international organisation, business and NGO anti-corruption initiatives.
• Information Networks to turn to for help and to provide entry points to acquire further information from public and private organisations in profiled countries.
• Anti-Corruption Tools Inventory providing a full list of anti-corruption conventions and treaties, a list of public and private initiatives and initiatives in partner countries, resources on grey area questions, corruption cases, reporting, sector-specific anti-corruption resources, useful links and more.
• Training Modules on business anti-corruption based on the Portal.

Sources Used

The tools are based on practical experience, hereunder various business codes. The digested data and information is based on research by international finance institutions and public and private organisations, such as CSOs and business associations. All data is based on free, publicly available sources and is available free of charge.

Portal Team

The Portal is a public-private partnership between the governments of Austria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom together with Global Advice Network, a Nordic private consultancy company specialised in anti-corruption, anti-fraud, sustainability and business development. In June 2007, the Portal won the Changemakers.net/Ashoka Ending Corruption: Honesty Instituted competition on innovative anti-corruption solutions along with two other entries.

Applications

The Portal is used extensively by SMEs from around the globe to resist corruption and manage corruption risks. However, it is also utilised by larger companies among a swath of other users, including public agencies, embassies, trade councils, business organisations, auditors, lawyers, consultants, research organisations, CSOs, universities and journalists. Importantly, many users who are not SMEs in fact constitute the traditional advisors of SMEs or can otherwise influence SMEs through their supply chains and other channels. The Portal is a referred tool by several major international organisations, including the OECD, the UN, the World Bank, the IFC and Transparency International. Among other applications, the Portal is available to the UN Global Compact as a tool for companies to implement the 10th Principle on corruption, and is incorporated into the World Bank Institute's business collective action against corruption initiative as well as the IFC SME Toolkit.

Future

The Portal has attracted considerable international attention. Public and private agencies from a range of European countries and beyond have expressed support for the Portal as a relevant platform for improved cooperation in the field of anti-corruption. To ensure the validity of the data presented, Country Profiles are updated annually or biannually.