Qalaa Holdings, an African leader in energy and infrastructure, has officially joined the Integrity Network Initiative (INI) in its mission to advance integrity and counter corruption in Egypt.

Established in 2012 by the Egyptian Junior Business Association (EJB), the INI seeks to engage Egypt’s leading companies and SMEs in a collective effort to fight corruption and create an efficient and enabling business environment.

A pioneer in sustainable and ethical business practices, Qalaa Holdings views private sector leadership as crucial to affecting positive social change and economic development in Egypt, said officials at the signing ceremony held recently in the presence of Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Tarek Kabil.

Hisham El Khazindar, co-founder and managing director, Qalaa Holdings, said: “The principles of fairness, openness and transparency are things that we take very seriously as a company.”

“Over the past years we began a process that has seen us strengthen our governance function to support sustainable growth, enhance risk management, and maximize efficiency at our company and across all our subsidiary companies,” he said.

“This approach to governance has progressively regulated a wide range of practices ranging from risk assessment frameworks to anti-fraud and financial reporting policies. We look forward to exchanging ideas, experiences and lessons learned with fellow members of the INI network,” he added.

Qalaa Holdings was an early mover in applying international standards in compliance. As early as 2014 the firm hired a head of internal audit to oversee the adoption of global best practices including an internal audit charter and an anti-fraud policy to strengthen the firm’s ability to create and maximise shareholder value.

Qusay Salama, executive director of INI, said: “Corruption is a major obstacle to sustainable development, and the business community must realize that it has a role to play in supporting integrity and combating corruption in order to create a clean and attractive business environment.”

Ghada Hammouda, chief marketing officer said, Qalaa Holdings, said: “Our company has sought to lead the way in advancing integrity by pioneering sustainable business practices, becoming a founding member of the Egypt chapter of the UN Global Compact and working diligently to promote the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s).”

“Joining the INI presents an excellent opportunity for us to share our experiences creating and enacting ethical business practices with Egypt’s most promising small and medium enterprises,” she added.-TradeArabia News Service