Published: September 2 2011
St. Michael/Barbados- The
Inter-American Investment Corporation
(IIC), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, is
launching FINPYME
Integrity in Barbados.
The program’s goal is to support sustainable business development through the
dissemination of a targeted business ethics program which aims at improving their capacity
to effectively incorporate integrity, transparency, and anti-corruption
practices into their organizations.
The
IIC is collaborating with several local institutions, universities, small
business associations, chambers of industry and commerce in the
English-speaking Caribbean in training and educating small and medium
companies to gain sound integrity policies and
practices by adhering to globally-recognized ethical and governance standards
as well as showing them that business ethics can be a competitive advantage
for an SME. FINPYME
Integrity is
developed thanks to the support of the Republic of Korea through the
Korea-IIC SME Development Trust Fund. Local partners in Barbados include the
Cave Hill School of Business-UWI, the Barbados Small Business Association,
the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries and the Barbados Manufacturers’
Association.
When: September 6
th
, 2011
Where: Three W’S Oval
Pavilion, The University of the West Indies. Cave Hill, St. Michael, Barbados.
Who: The Hon. Denis Kellman,
Minister of Industry, Small Business and Rural Development; Sharon
Christopher, Deputy Chief Executive Officer-Corporate Administration, First
Citizens Group and John Williams, President, The Barbados Private Sector
Agency among others.
Why: The IIC has long believed in the importance
of promoting business ethics in the Latin and Caribbean region. In 2008, the
IIC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) with the World Economic Forum
(WEF) to disseminate Partnering against Corruption Initiative (PACI)
principles to the region’s small and medium-sized enterprises. SMEs have much to gain by adhering to globally-recognized
ethical and governance standards. It improves access to partners,
improves access to financing, creates positive effects on employee morale and
client relations, and reduces reputational risk and financial performance. This
program represents the IIC’s undoubted commitment to providing value-added
services in the fields of transparency and anti-corruption to the private
sector.
For additional information on the launching,
please contact Dr. Jeannine Comma at jeannine.comma@cavehill.uwi.edu
or via phone at (246) 424 2970.
Bio of Companies: The IIC is a multilateral
financial institution whose mission is to promote the economic development of
its regional member countries by encouraging the establishment, expansion,
and modernization of private enterprises, particularly those that are small and
medium in size. It does so by providing financing (in the form of equity
investments, loans, guarantees, and other instruments) and advisory services
to private enterprises in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2010, the IIC
reached US$1.4 billion in assets and approved forty-nine operations
channeling US$374.8 million to SMEs in the region. For more information on
the IIC’s activities, please visit
www.iic.org.
The Cave Hill School of Business
(CHSB) Inc. – The University of the West Indies is an executive education
and development institution committed to developing the human capital of the
region. This is achieved through its Academic programmes, Executive Development
Programmes & Consultancies, Research and Public Sector interventions.
Through the provision of these services CHSB/UWI is reshaping business
practices in the region.