Introduction
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is experiencing rapid private sector growth. While each country is unique, visionary companies throughout the region embrace improved corporate governance as a strategic advantage in their quest for growth and profitability. Reasons for introducing these practices are as varied as the companies involved, but include attracting lower-cost and differentiated sources of capital, employee motivation, corporate sustainability, efficiency, and, for family-owned companies, resolving inter-generational issues.
This guide provides concrete and relevant examples of corporate governance successes in the MENA region taken from interviews that were conducted with medium-sized enterprises, larger companies, and banks in the MENA region. They represent the breadth of corporate structures in the region; some are family-owned, some partially state-owned, and some have private-equity ownership. The studies provide real-world examples of companies’ incremental steps on the long path toward corporate governance improvement. These companies’ achievements were not easy accomplishments; they took time, effort, and resources. What the case studies demonstrate, however, are the tangible benefits to improved corporate governance practices.
The guide is divided in three parts: Section I focuses on the primary motivations and benefits for improving corporate governance; Section II presents cases of corporate governance challenges and successes from the Middle East and North Africa; and Section III focuses on the key mechanisms that the companies used to improve their practices.
Published Date: February 04, 2011