Women Drivers for Fair and Ethical Business at the 9th Conference of State Parties

On 15 December 2021, during the Conference of State Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, UNDP FairBiz in collaboration with UNDP Fiji Office, Alliance for Integrity, Covestro and World Economic Forum Partnering Against Corruption (PACI) organized the special event entitled “Women Drivers for Fair and Ethical Business”.
 
The webinar was an opportunity for women leaders to share innovative experiences in re-building women-owned/led businesses after the pandemic while acting as catalysts for promoting ethical business practices. 
 
The event gave excellent visibility to UNDP at the main policymaking body of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and one of the most significant inter-governmental practitioner events on anti-corruption in supporting States parties and signatories in their implementation of UNCAC.
 

Empowering women-led entrepreneurs to access government contracts with integrity in Indonesia

Available data show that the participation of SMEs, which represent the backbone of the economy, in public procurement is still relatively low, and only 1% of global procurement is awarded to women-owned companies.

To help address this disappointing data, the training entitled “SHE-BID empowering women-led enterprises to access Government contracts” was organised to enhance female participation in public tenders in Indonesia through the improvement of business standards. The initiative is a collaboration between UNDP, Alliance for Integrity and the National of Public Procurement Agency of Indonesia (LKPP). It is part of a series of training uniquely designed for the business community in ASEAN by UNDP FairBiz. 
 
Organised in November, two months after the workshop, the Open Day provided firm evidence of the program's impact: from participants who were able to register on the e-procurement platform to a women-led company that won its first tender.
 
The promising results affirm the value of improving women-led business capabilities to access Government bids through integrity and show how transformative this can be in the future.

Incorporating Environmental, Social and Governance criteria in business

Investment funds are increasingly incorporating the “Principles of Responsible Investment” (PRI), and at the same time, investors are gradually considering ESGs components in their financial prospects.
 
For these reasons, businesses that prove to minimize their environmental impact, improve corporate social responsibility, and strengthen corporate governance are more likely to generate more investments.
 
In less than 20 years, the ESG movement has grown from a corporate social responsibility initiative launched by the United Nations into a global phenomenon representing more than US$120 million in sustainable investments in 2021.
 
UNDP, in collaboration with the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and with the technical support from PwC, delivered an online training to 200 delegates, including management professionals and members of the Vietnam Association of Consumer Goods Development (VACOD). The training aimed to enhance their capacity on ESGs and promote responsible business practices in businesses.

Providing guidance to the Procurement Community in ASEAN

Corruption and lack of transparency pose significant risks to public procurement globally, hindering efficient spending and impeding sustainable development goals. Additionally, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered the vulnerability of procurement systems to inefficiencies and corrupt practices.
 
UNDP FairBiz's work on sustainable and open public procurement in ASEAN significantly advanced in 2021. Remarkably, the Report from the Regional Dialogue organized in October puts forward a set of recommendations identified as immediate priorities for the Procurement Community, from improving procurement processes and using available technology to investing in gender-responsive business contracts.
 
With only 8 years left to achieve the SDGs, systemic reforms are much needed and UNDP could play a pivotal role in enabling and nurturing a sustainable public procurement ecosystem.

Launch of the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Public Procurement for SMEs in Indonesia

Promoting market access for small and medium enterprises is a core priority for UNDP, particularly in light of the current economic slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Despite being the economy's backbone, SMEs in Indonesia participate marginally in public tenders as they have a limited understanding of procurement bidding processes. 
 
In collaboration with the National of Public Procurement Agency of Indonesia (LKPP), UNDP developed a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to improve the capacity of SMEs to access the e-procurement system. In November, an online conference launched the MOOC and provided practical guidance to 168 companies to participate in the bids.

Accelerating the digital government transformation in Thailand

As the Thai Government has ambitious policies for digital transformation, the country is experiencing a high level of motivation amongst senior civil servants to use digital services and technologies, a report finalized by UNDP on implementing a Government Digital Marketplace showed.
 
Data sharing infrastructure, clear digital governance responsibilities, and a more user-friendly procurement system are areas where it would be possible to deliver substantial improvements in the short to medium term.
 
Following the report, two key virtual initiatives have been carried out to maximize the dissemination of learnings and gain further insights from relevant stakeholders.
 
A learning session for public officials was co-organized with the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission (OPDC). The UK Government Digital Service (GDS) presented the recommendations from research conducted with UNDP and OPDC in mid-2021 through a series of interviews and workshops with various stakeholders.
 
Moreover, a multi-stakeholder consultancy was organized to present the findings of the research journey, strengthen knowledge on digital transformation and attain relevant insights from the main actors.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supports governments, the private sector, and civil society in building transparent and accountable institutions for sustainable development. The multi-year regional project - Promoting a Fair Business Environment in ASEAN is implemented by UNDP  with the support of the UK Government, ASEAN Economic Reform Programme - to promote fair, transparent, and predictable business environments by working with both governments and the private sector, with particular focus on Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.