Democracy That Delivers

Fostering Growth & Collaboration in Central Asia with B5+1

The B5+1 is a business dialogue platform for the five central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, along with the United States. The Center for International Private Enterprise had a leading role in bringing these voices of the private sector together, including convening a two-day conference in Kazakhstan in March 2024. CIPE's Executive Director, Andrew Wilson, is joined by Eric Hontz, Director of CIPE's Center for Accountable Investment (CAI) and Sobir Kurbanov, Senior Program Manager for CIPE's Europe and Eurasia team to discuss the background of the B5+1, how this conference will address of the issues of different investment models in Central Asia, and what outcomes the conference hopes to achieve long term.

Two authors of the groundbreaking U.S. Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) join the podcast to discuss one of the most sweeping and consequential anti-corruption laws of the last four decades. Tom Firestone, a partner at Squire Patton Boggs, and Scott Greytak, Director of Advocacy at the U.S. chapter of Transparency International (TI), discuss the importance of FEPA. The law makes it a crime for a foreign official to demand or accept a bribe from a company with a U.S. nexus, including those listed on a U.S. stock exchange. The guests join Frank Brown, Director of CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center, to discuss who the law covers, the steps needed to enforce it, and what it means for other countries seeking to adopt similar legislation. This podcast is brought to you by CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center.   

Elizabeth David-Barrett, Director of the Centre for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex, is one of the co-editors of the “Dictionary of Corruption.” She joins Katya Lysova, who leads CIPE’s Business Integrity and Anti-Corruption and Governance Programs in Europe and Eurasia, and Sofiia Sapihura, Senior Humanitarian Aid and Anti-Corruption Expert for CIPE’s Europe and Eurasia team, to discuss the purpose of the dictionary, the methodology employed to create it, the ever-evolving forms of corruption and related terminologies, and how this first-ever dictionary of corruption can be applied. This podcast is brought to you by CIPE's Anti-Corruption and Governance Center.

Hernando De Soto is the Founder and President of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD) in Peru – CIPE’s first developing-country partner. ILD and De Soto shaped Peru’s economic modernization by influencing some 400 state initiatives, regulations and laws; CIPE replicated this success by forming thousands of partnerships with business associations, think tanks and civil society groups worldwide. For this podcast, De Soto joins CIPE Executive Director Andrew Wilson to discuss the importance of the informal economy, the central role of property rights, and the early successes of the ILD-CIPE partnership. 

Sabrina Segal, a risk and compliance professional with almost 20 years in the international development humanitarian sector, says there’s a link between democracy and third-sector anti-corruption efforts, also commonly referred to as charities and nonprofit organizations. In this podcast, she joins Michele Crymes, Deputy Director for CIPE's Anti-Corruption and Governance Center, to discuss the importance of risk considerations in operations and knowledge sharing between third-sector organizations and small- and medium-sized enterprises. Segal and Crymes also debate how the private sector can serve as a better partner to the third sector. This podcast is brought to you by CIPE's Anti-Corruption and Governance Center.

Dr. Patrick Mardini, CEO of the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies (LIMS), is a leading advocate for market-based solutions to Lebanon’s economic challenges. One year since their first conversation on the podcast, Dr. Mardini updates Marie A. Principe, Program Director for CIPE's Middle East and North Africa team, on the ongoing financial crisis, prospects for reform in key sectors, and how LIMS is engaging local leaders for change. 

Amy Miller-Taylor, Executive Director, and Elsa Peraldi, Associate Director, are executives at Global Integrity, a Washington-based anti-corruption NGO that is closing at the end of 2023. In its 18 years of existence, Global Integrity helped nurture what is today a global anti-corruption movement of unprecedented scope and impact. The organization was established on the belief that transformative change requires deep local expertise, something it helped build into CIPE's operations. Miller-Taylor and Peraldi speak with Frank Brown, director of CIPE's Anti-Corruption & Governance Center, to discuss why Global Integrity is closing, what might have been done to prevent it, and how Global Integrity's legacy will be preserved for the scores of anti-corruption organizations that had depended on the organization. This podcast is brought to you by CIPE's Anti-Corruption & Governance Center.

Selima Ahmad, Founder of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI), joins John Morrell, Regional Director for CIPE's Asia and Pacific team to discuss empowering women entrepreneurs. They highlight CIPE and BWCCI's partnership and how their work breaks down barriers, Ahmad's story of perseverance in founding the BWCCI, and Bangladesh's current political and economic outlook.

It’s a pivotal moment in Cambodia’s history, and Charles Dunst joins the Democracy That Delivers podcast to discuss the leadership transition as Prime Minister Hun Sen hands power to his son Hun Manet. Does this create a once-in-a-lifetime historic change for the country? Dunst is a regional expert and the author of Defeating the Dictators: How Democracy can Prevail in the Age of the Strongman, and joins Jennifer Anderson, Program Director for CIPE's Asia & Pacific team, to discuss implications of this historic transition and what it means for Cambodia’s future. 

The Ukrainian Business Women Platform, founded by President Nadiia Lysetska, specializes in assisting business women and women entrepreneurs, especially during wartime in Ukraine.Lysetska and Kateryna Khudyk, platform mentor, join Deputy Director of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Programs Stephen Rosenlund, CAE, IOM, to explain the essential mission of the association and its impact.

Both Lysetska and Khudyk draw from their personal business experience and explain how the war has changed the role of women in the economy and how the platform empowers those women.

Nadiya Bedrychuk, Ukrainian Direct Selling Association Executive Director and Ukrainian Business Council board member discusses her vision for Ukraine’s future and policy changes necessary to strengthen Ukraine’s business climate and drive growth. 

Sankhitha Gunaratne, Deputy Executive Director at Transparency International Sri Lanka, joins Barada Regmi, Asia Program Officer, and Emma Yingst, Asia Program Associate, to discuss the latest anti-corruption efforts in the country, including a law that was recently certified and the launch of a government diagnostic report. Sri Lanka faced its most severe economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948 due to widespread corruption, leading to the Aragalaya protest movement in 2022. Gunaratne explains the economic causes of corruption and the roles and influence of her organization and others, including the International Monetary Fund.  This podcast is brought to you by CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center.

Acclaimed Russia expert Jill Dougherty examines the history of Ukraine and Russia and offers her thoughts on the future.  Based on her experience as a former CNN Moscow Bureau Chief and Georgetown University professor, Dougherty discusses the global implications of Russia's brutal aggression and how Ukraine continues to inspire.

Marcin Nowacki, President European Enterprise Alliance shares his bold ideas to help strengthen Ukraine’s economy. As a leading figure in Poland's business community, Nowacki is spearheading initiatives to address supply chain challenges and open opportunities for Ukrainian companies. Tune in to learn how Ukraine’s economic entrepreneurial spirit is helping to fuel the economy.

Justin Snyder and Meissy Sabardiah of Indonesia’s Kemitraan, join Gabrielle Cervone, ACGC Program Associate, to discuss their research into sextortion in Indonesia, and explain why it’s a unique problem in the country. They share lessons learned from recently completed case studies funded by USAID’s Integritas initiative. Findings from the case studies should be applied by everyone working on sextortion Snyder and Sabradiah argue.

Feeding Ukraine’s Future features a discussion with Andrii Dykun, Chairman of the Ukrainian Agrarian Council. The agriculture sector has been a main engine of Ukraine’s economy since before the war. This podcast provides a stark look at everyday life for the country’s network of farmers, considered some of the country’s most important small business owners. Some have been imprisoned by the invaders and others are being forced to sell their crops below cost.

Dr. Maximilian Burger-Scheidlin, Executive Director of the International Chamber of Commerce in Austria, specializes in finding new ways to encourage individuals and businesses to adhere to global anti-corruption standards and legal frameworks through business incentives and practical ways to resist bribery and other forms of corruption, especially in difficult environments. Burger-Scheidlin joins Anna Kompanek, Director for Global Programs, to provide an overview of his innovative anti-corruption training program, its target audience, the role branding plays in the success of the program, and its overall approach. Burger-Scheidlin also discusses the sustainability of the program in years to come and plans to further scale up and spread its global reach.

What will it take to revitalize Ukraine’s economy amidst conflict? Dimitar Bogov, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Lead Economist for Eastern Europe and Caucasus discusses economic recovery strategies, investment climate reforms, and long-term growth prospects.

Kateryna Glazkova, head of Ukraine’s largest business union, shares how entrepreneurs are driving resilience and renewal. Learn how strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and improving the business climate can accelerate growth during rebuilding.