We were delighted to interview our friends at the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) to highlight the work they do to strengthen democracy through private enterprise and market-oriented reform, specifically throughout the CAMCA region. Read on to learn about CIPE’s important efforts and the ways in which they align with our CAMCA Fellowship, organized in partnership with the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute - including a special feature on CIPE’s collaboration with two of our alumni who were fortunate to receive grants from CIPE to launch key resources aimed at regional development.
What is CIPE’s mission?
The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) is a business-oriented NGO working at the intersection of democracy, governance and competitive markets development, partnering with business associations, think tanks and other organizations to implement homegrown, private sector solutions to local challenges. CIPE’s mission is to strengthen democracy through private enterprise and market-oriented reform, fulfilling a vision of a world where democracy delivers the freedom and opportunity for all to prosper. In 40 years, CIPE has carried out more than 2,000 projects in over 100 countries. These projects have aimed to promote democratic reform with a focus on anti-corruption and ethics, business advocacy, democratic governance, enterprise ecosystems, trade, women’s economic empowerment and accountable investment.
How does CIPE’s mission align with some of the goals of the CAMCA Fellowship?
CIPE shares the CAMCA Fellowship’s goals of empowering leaders in business and in civil society to develop the economic and political conditions they need to live in a freer society that is more engaged with the international system. It is critical that it is the citizens of a state who are in the driver seat of their own democratic and economic advancement if these efforts are to have any lasting impact. That is where CIPE’s mission truly aligns with the CAMCA Fellowship’s aims. Both are focused at their core on the development of leadership in the region. CIPE has been partnering with members of the CAMCA Network, providing them with grants alongside the Rumsfeld Foundation, and utilizing their invaluable expertise to advance locally adapted and practically relevant democratic and market-oriented reforms in the CAMCA region.
Please share a brief overview of your key objectives and initiatives in the CAMCA countries in which you operate.
CIPE maintains consistent objectives across the region: foster cultures of integrity in the business community, facilitate grassroots public-private dialogue on regulatory reform, and building inclusive enabling environments for small and medium enterprises, women entrepreneurs, trade, and ‘constructive capital’ (CIPE’s term for transparent investments that generate positive spillover effects that promote inclusive growth). However, our initiatives vary depending on the specific needs of our partners and upon the conditions of each country where we work. Across the CAMCA region, CIPE is supporting a wide range of projects and initiatives to build private sector capacity to contribute to inclusive growth and democratic governance as well as more transparent and accountable investments. Some of the key initiatives that are worth mentioning include women economic empowerment, developing the capacity of business associations to advance collective business actions through private sector-led advocacy, promoting elements of business integrity, corporate governance and compliance among the business community, etc. We are particularly excited about a project that we’ve recently launched called, “Improving the Business Environment in Central Asia” (IBECA). The project will bring together private sector representatives from all countries in the region to identify and address the most pressing systemic barriers to the business environment and investment climate, promote connections through the regional business platform called B5+1 (to be established under the U.S.-Central Asia diplomatic platform C5+1), and build the capacity of the private sector to access international financing opportunities.
What are some of the top success stories from CIPE’s work in the region?
There is a lot of work in the region that CIPE is quite proud of. On our “National Women’s Business Agendas for Central Asia” (WAGE) program, CIPE convened coalitions of women across Central Asia to develop roadmaps for addressing social and economic barriers to women’s equal participation in the economy. In Tajikistan, 10 of 12 of the recommendations developed were adopted in Tajikistan’s National Program for Women Entrepreneurship until 2030, and this is only scratching the surface of what has been accomplished under the WAGE program. In Georgia, in partnership with the Solidarity Center, we have trained over 420 business community representatives on updates to employee protections in the labor code and 267 companies are making internal policy changes as a result of this work. Also, in Kyrgyzstan, our work on a program called Strengthening and Uniting Nascent Business Organizations (SUNBO) has led to the adoption of a Law on the Park of Creative Industries, which creates a legal framework for the operations of entrepreneurs engaged in creative activities like architecture, film, music and art.
We were delighted to have some CIPE staff attend our recent 2022 CAMCA Regional Forum and participate in our Forum Expo. Can you share some reflections from the experience of attending?
CIPE was excited to attend the CAMCA Regional Forum last year in Washington D.C., where we participated in the Forum’s discussions on Geopolitical and Geoeconomic Challenges. The event provided a wonderful opportunity to expand CIPE’s network in Central Asia as well as an opportunity to connect with many current CIPE partners. The speaker sessions were very illuminating and provided great insight into how emerging leaders in the business community are shaping the future of their countries. CIPE also appreciated the opportunity to organize a table at the Business Expo to share our achievements in the region and build the foundation for new partnerships in the CAMCA region.
We are grateful to have had many of our CAMCA Fellowship cohorts be hosted at the CIPE offices as a part of their program meetings. Can you describe some of the beneficial conversations and connections that have come from these meetings?
Having the CAMCA Fellows visit CIPE’s office in Washington, D.C. has been both beneficial and delightful. Hearing from the CAMCA Fellows about their priorities for reform and development in their countries has provided invaluable insight into how CIPE can collaborate more effectively with the CAMCA Network and better serve its stakeholders. Their ideas for democratic development in the region have also left us optimistic about the prospects for grassroots change in the CAMCA countries. In addition, these conversations have allowed CIPE the opportunity to share information about the resources that CIPE offers developing leaders in the CAMCA region, like small grant opportunities that can help fund locally-driven research and reform initiatives. Grants like these have allowed us to even partner with some members of the CAMCA Network. Feedback from recent cohorts has also helped CIPE map stakeholder interests in our upcoming IBECA programming that is sure to be an impactful project in the region.
What types of individuals or organizations in the region would be a good fit to collaborate with CIPE?
Typically, CIPE partners with individuals and organizations whose efforts aim at tackling specific issues connected to CIPE’s main areas of focus, including combating corruption, improving business regulatory environments, empowering women in the economy, increasing free trade flow, and countering corrosive capital (CIPE’s term for investments that lack market orientation, transparency and tend to exploit governance gaps). We often partner with business associations, chambers of commerce, universities, think tanks and civil society organizations, since the work of these organizations typically aligns with CIPE’s mission, However, we also welcome other partnership opportunities that support CIPE’s greater mission of strengthening democracy through private enterprise and market-oriented reform.
Last year the Foundation was pleased to partner with CIPE to establish an exclusive grant opportunity for our CAMCA Network members from Central Asia. By awarding these small grants (open only to our alumni), CIPE sought to support locally owned initiatives developed by our CAMCA Network members that will work towards inclusive and democratic change, promote constructive capital and mitigate the risks of corrosive capital.
Hear more below from the CIPE team on the inaugural grants made to Dr. Roman Vakulchuk (Kazakhstan, Fall 2015 Fellow) and Ms. Aziza Umarova (Uzbekistan, Fall 2009 Fellow):
The Foundation looks forward to continued collaboration with CIPE and finding additional ways to build upon the alignment between their efforts, our CAMCA Fellowship and the innovative leaders that comprise our alumni network. To learn more about CIPE, visit https://www.cipe.org/.