ANNAPOLIS, Maryland, Nov. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — TRACE International, the world’s leading anti-bribery standard setting organization, today announced the launch of a pilot outreach program in Ghana, being implemented jointly with the USAID Ghana Supply Chain Development Program and Invest in Africa, to provide small and medium-sized enterprises with anti-bribery training and an internationally recognized business and compliance credential.
This initiative brings together TRACE International, PYXERA Global and Invest in Africa, forming a powerful partnership that will raise compliance standards in Ghana and create “champions for change.” PYXERA Global is a non-profit organization that has twenty-five years of experience with local content development, global pro bono programs, and integrated community development efforts. Invest in Africa is a growing group of companies working together to address the cross-sector challenges of doing business in Africa.
“We’re delighted to be launching partnerships with PYXERA Global and Invest in Africa in support of this strategic initiative. Corruption is a major barrier to economic development and through this program we hope to bring greater commercial transparency to Ghana and help local companies better compete in the global marketplace,” said Alexandra Wrage, President of TRACE International.
As part of this program, TRACE will work with PYXERA Global and Invest in Africa to offer TRACEcertification,a globally recognized due diligence review and compliance credential, to small and medium-sized enterprises in Ghana at no cost for one year. Companies that successfully complete the certification process will serve as valued business partners for multinational companies seeking to do business with suppliers, agents and consultants in Ghana who share their commitment to commercial transparency.
“This partnership with TRACE is the perfect opportunity to pilot ABAC with Ghanaian firms in the hope of demonstrating the impact it can have on firms’ competitive standing,” notes Harry Pastuszek, Vice President of PYXERA Global. “We are so thankful to TRACE for having the vision to establish this pilot, and pleased to be able to contribute to its implementation.”
Invest in Africa Ghana Manager, Sam Brandful, said, “TRACEcertificationwill enhance the quality of supplier companies that are on the African Partner Pool (APP) and thereby contribute to making the APP the go-to platform for sourcing of local companies by international and large corporates operating in Ghana.”
TRACE Certified entities will be invited to attend an anti-bribery training workshop on January 21, 2016, hosted by TRACE International and PYXERA Global.
The ever-growing global network of TRACE partnerships enables TRACE to better support small and medium-sized enterprises and address the heightened need for anti-bribery compliance services worldwide.
About TRACE
TRACE International and TRACE Incorporated are two distinct entities with a common mission to advance commercial transparency worldwide by supporting the compliance efforts of multinational companies and their third party intermediaries. TRACE International is a non-profit business association that pools resources to provide members with anti-bribery compliance support while TRACE Incorporated offers both members and non-members customizable risk-based due diligence, anti-bribery training and advisory services. Working alongside one another, TRACE International and TRACE Incorporated offer an end-to-end, cost-effective and innovative solution for anti-bribery and third party compliance. For more information, visit www.TRACEinternational.org.