In Bangladesh, companies are frequently exposed to corruption risks and resisting and reporting corruption to the authorities includes risks of repercussions. Locally, there is limited public-private sector integrity dialogues in the maritime sector and no immediate mechanism to monitor and address integrity challenges in maritime trade. Corruption is pervasive at many levels of society and enforcement of anti- corruption legislation is low.

MACN scaled up its Collective Action in South Asia and launched the new initiative in Bangladesh with funding from the Siemens Integrity Initiative in 2021. The project focuses on improving governance and efficiency of ports by promoting corruption prevention practices and Collective Action among local NGOs and across the local logistics value chain.

MACN has partnered up with UN Global Compact (UNGC) in Bangladesh to establish a Collective Action alliance to create a platform for dialogue with authorities on how to address current gaps in legislation and operational practice in ports. MACN aims to deploy several tools that can help the private sector resist and report corruption and enhance compliance practices. By taking Collective Action and forming an alliance, the industry gains leverage and momentum to curb corruption and create a better business environment in Bangladesh. Additionally, those who join the alliance will get access to valuable compliance tools and MACN’s Integrity training to help comply with ever-tightening global anti-corruption laws.