Center For International Private Enterprise Inc

Programs: Business advocacy: cipe works to empower the private sector to actively participate in the democratic process through partnerships with local business associations, chambers of commerce, and think tanks. Cipe programs equip these partners to advocate economic reform and engage in policy dialogue with the government. - cipe sees the economy as the issue that will decide whether tunisia's democracy succeeds. A fair market will deliver the prosperity citizens need, which in turn will contribute to stability and security, fuel innovation that will create jobs, restore citizen faith in government, and foster civic participation - all of which will further invigorate democracy. Tunisia's private sector has some of the most informed and pragmatic advice about economic reform to offer decision makers. Businesspeople throughout the country live the realities of badly designed laws, bureaucracy and corruption; they know exactly why tunisia's private sector is not growing as it must, and have specific ideas for improvements. Through a long-term partnership with the arab institute of business leaders (iace, in french), cipe has launched a national business agenda (nba), which produces a coherent roadmap of reforms to improve the business environment, and then supports dialogue and business-driven advocacy to implement those reforms. - in ethiopia, cipe worked with over 50 chambers of commerce and sectoral associations around the country to help the indigenous private sector participate in democratic and economic policy reform, through using public-private dialogue platforms with the government at the national, regional, and city level. Cipe also helps build the institutional capacity, sustainability, and management skills of ethiopia's chambers of commerce, business associations, and women's entrepreneurship associations, as well as building their ability to organize and advocate. Cipe also works at the national level to provide sustainable long-term business association management training via the ethiopian chamber academy. With cipe support, chambers of commerce and other regional-level bodies have begun to undertake coalition building to address key priority issues with their regional government.

enterprise ecosystems: building the institutions of a market economy means reducing barriers to doing business and promoting an entrepreneurial culture that provides opportunities for all citizens. Through its inclusive approach to entrepreneurship and policy engagement, cipe helps ensure that democracy and the market economy are accessible to all segments of society. - in turkey, cipe has begun leading a consortium of international partners implementing the livelihoods innovation through food entrepreneurship (life) project, funded by the u. S. Department of state's bureau of population, refugees, and migration (prm). The life project promotes sustainable and integrated solutions to the syrian refugee crisis by creating and expanding enterprise opportunities and stimulating business development in the food sector for refugees and host communities. This involves entrepreneur incubation and related support services and leverages food as a powerful medium for cross-cultural exchange and understanding through the practice of "gastrodiplomacy. " the program, based in turkey, aims to help both the local business community and the ever-growing community of refugees coming to the country from syria. - cipe is advocating for improved banking services and a transition to a cashless economy in egypt, in an effort to improve the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Working with local partners, cipe has introduced an app designed to improve the business environment for small and medium enterprises (smes) and assist smes with tools on access to finance. This app, "tamweely," matches entrepreneurs in the country with egyptian banks and potential investors, which is key to integrating the informal sector into the larger economy.

democratic governance: giving citizens a say in how decisions are made is fundamental to ensuring that democracy delivers for all of society. Strong democratic governance is characterized by transparency and accountability in both the public and private sectors. Cipe's democratic governance programs promote open, informed public decision-making and principled corporate governance. - over a decade ago, and following a lengthy civil war, nepal's political parties agreed to change the country's unitary system of government to a federal system. After years of discord and stasis, the country's constituent assembly successfully passed a new constitution in september 2015, which mandates establishing three equal tiers of government: federal, provincial, and local. Now, the country's leaders must deliver on those promises of the constitution. Therefore, cipe and partner samriddhi are working to guide the process of federalization and devolution of economic policymaking, as well as setting up local civil society organizations that can hold newly-established provincial governments accountable for implementation of promised reforms. Local government can make policy decisions more responsive to citizens, decentralization can facilitate entrepreneurship, and pro-growth competition can emerge among provinces. In this way, successful implementation of federalization can underpin the success of democracy in nepal in the long-term. - colombia has had significant achievements despite being home to one of the longest-running internal conflicts in the world. Even with having endured nine civil wars over two centuries, colombia has managed to maintain a stable democracy. Meanwhile their economy has lagged behind in such progress. An historic peace agreement, signed in december 2016 by the colombian government and farc rebels, removes one of the last obstacles on the country's path toward economic development. The peace accord creates boundless opportunities for private investment, and cipe is supporting the process by helping the private sector address post-conflict peacebuilding needs in their local communities. This includes working with partners to support a well-developed legal framework for colombia's peace accords with input and monitoring from the private sector and civil society, to encourage transparent procurement processes for the financing of the peace process, and to foster enhancements in dialogue among the private sector, local communities, and civil society groups operating in post-conflict areas of colombia.