Adapting an advocacy methodology of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, CIPE introduces the National Business Agenda (NBA) process to the National Confederation of Private Business Institutions (CONFIEP) in Peru. The NBA approach becomes a key component of CIPE programs for articulating private sector priorities toward improving the business climate, both country-wide and locally.
Category: Timeline Stories
All timeline stories.
49
First of Many Field Offices
Budapest, Hungary is the location of CIPE’s first field office. Staff there support a legal and regulatory reform project and facilitate the development of small businesses and support networks, as well as an economic roadmap utilized by decision-makers. The program receives funding from the United States Agency for International Development and helps create a process for public input that is ultimately reflected in Hungary’s framework for public input to lawmakers.
First Middle East Program
A privatization conference in Ankara, Turkey is the first of many CIPE-supported programs in the Middle East.
Supporting Economic Resilience
CIPE debuts Economic Reform Today, a quarterly magazine to assist private and public sector decision-makers and opinion leaders. The magazine is translated and distributed in more than 90 countries, and later takes on a digital format, inspiring many more print and online offerings.
Increasing Focus on Europe
The Berlin Wall falls and CIPE begins work with its first partners in former Communist nations across Eastern and Central Europe. Early efforts include programs in Czechoslovakia after its “Velvet Revolution,” trainings for hundreds of new entrepreneurs in Poland, and work in Romania that informs new measures to enable business. These and other activities aid the development of regional guides and resources as private enterprise becomes legal.
Image Credit: GERARD MALIE/AFP via Getty Images
New Approaches for Change
- CIPE launches its first business association management training programs and creates the Latin American Institute for Organization Management, offering various forms of professional development and leadership training in 18 countries. Soon CIPE becomes a globally recognized leader in business association management training and association capacity building, with innovative tools and a tailored training curriculum.
- The Center for Economic Orientation, a Dominican think tank, starts a program for providing reports to lawmakers in order to strengthen their ability to make informed decisions on economic policy. It is the first of many CIPE legislative advisory programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. Similar programs are soon established in Ghana and other countries.
Early Focus: Latin America
CIPE works with Hernando de Soto’s Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD) in Peru to create an economic reform agenda and advocacy campaign. The project helps integrate 300,000 small businesses into Peru’s formal economy and ILD becomes a globally recognized think tank for its work with the informal sector, property rights issues, and democracy. CIPE soon launches dozens of programs with local business organizations in emerging markets and new democracies, including Chile, Guatemala, and the Philippines.
Call to Action
U.S. President Ronald Reagan challenges the free world to “foster the infrastructure of democracy” during his famous “Westminster Speech” to British Parliament. This spurs U.S. bi-partisan efforts to create a National Endowment for Democracy and core institutes, including one with a mission to support economic freedoms through private sector involvement.
CIPE is Established
The Center for International Private Enterprise is established as an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, with the aim of supporting democratic and economic development abroad through programs with private sector partners, notably chambers of commerce and business associations, as well as think tanks and journalists.