Promoting Anti-Corruption Strategies and Integrating Ethical Business Practices in MSMEs

Promote anti-corruption strategies and enable MSMEs in India to integrate ethical business practices

The initiative aims to empower micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by providing a robust platform for promoting good governance and ethical business practices. Through the UN Global Compact’s strategic ambition, the initiative seeks to build the integrity readiness of MSMEs by focusing on ethics, compliance, and the governance component of ESG (environmental, social, and governance).

Its main objectives are to:

• Identify good business integrity practices for MSMEs;
• Build alliances and collaborations with aligned visions and clear goals;
• Facilitate networking and knowledge-sharing through Collective Action events;
• Engage MSMEs in anti-corruption efforts via supplier and value chain partnerships with larger companies;
• Develop a sustainable roadmap integrating ESG principles to ensure long-term impact.

The initiative is facilitated by the Global Compact Network India. It has partnered with like-minded organisations such as IamSMEofIndia, the All India Management Association (AIMA), Alliance for Integrity and Partnership for Transparency Foundation India (PTFI).

The initiative focuses on the following activities:

• Understanding and deep diving into compliance, regulations, industry best practices, and integrity, in conjunction with the governance component of ESG through ‘Business Integrity Sessions’ on ESG frameworks and the promotion of the ‘G in ESG’ for suppliers of large companies.
• Engaging stakeholders by collaborating with business and management associations in Tier 2 cities of India (Bharuch, Kochi, Faridabad, Vadodara, and Raipur).
• Facilitating peer learning by collaborating with like-minded organisations like Alliance for Integrity, facilitating knowledge exchange and best practice sharing.