Capricorn Group has contributed to the 20th annual Business Ethics Network of Africa (BEN-Africa) Conference, which took place in Swakopmund on 04 and 05 November 2021.
The stated purpose of BEN-Africa is to increase Africans’ commitment and skills to conduct morally sound business.
Capricorn Group Head for Legal, Compliance and AML, Azelle Verwey stated in a media release on Thursday that Capricorn Group sponsored the breakfast event on Friday, 05 November, and that at the event, Fishrot whistleblower, Johannes Stefansson, received the Order of the Baobab award, and Naiole Cohen dos Santos (Co-founder of the Angolan Corporate Governance Association) received the Quiver award.
Later in the day, Alexis Habiyaremye was awarded the Aloe award for the Best Conference Paper.
His paper was titled ‘Racial capitalism, governing elite corporate entanglement, and the stalemate of South African black economic empowerment strategy’.
“Capricorn Business, a major financial services group with operations in Namibia and Botswana, is especially pleased to be able to sponsor the Baobab Award Breakfast and conference bags. Capricorn Group’s mission is to be positive change connectors. As a result, we are thrilled to be a link in the chain that allows for this event and its subsequent impact,” Verwey stated.
According to Verwey, the pervasiveness of corruption in the working set is high, and the need for an ethical reaction and culture is urgent.
It requires leadership from the government, business and society to increase transparency, governance, and general knowledge of ethical procedures and behaviour.
She noted that collaboration is important because much work remains to be done to meet the aim of strengthening Africans’ commitment and competence to do business with moral integrity.
Horst Simon, Capricorn Group Business Risk Officer emphasised that some beneficial consequences included the perspective that positive ethical behaviour is much more than ethical.
It is based on the premise that individuals must consider how they contribute to the problem and how they contribute to the solution.
“As a result, rather than reinforcing the tendency to catch transgressors, we should recognise and reward people who do the right thing. Ethical behaviour is thus promoted in this manner,” he stated.
The BEN-Africa conference provides an international venue for stakeholders from the private, public, non-profit and academic sectors to reflect on, discuss, and respond to the opportunities and challenges of conducting inclusive and principled business in Africa.
The theme of this year’s conference was ‘Inclusive and Principled Business: Ethical Values; African Stakeholders’.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
