PRESS RELEASE

The African Corporate Governance Network (ACGN) continues to expand as it celebrates its1st Anniversary

(October, 2014, Mauritius) – As the African Corporate Governance Network (ACGN) celebratesthis month its first anniversary since its launch during the Africa Rising Conference in Mauritius in 2013, it now represents the voices of over 16,000 directors and senior executives of Africa.

The 10 founding members of the ACGN, namely:

•Institute of Directors Kenya

•Institute of Directors in Malawi

•Mauritius Institute of Directors

•Institut Marocain des Administrateurs

•Institute of Directors Mozambique

•Institute of Directors in Southern Africa

•Institute of Directors in Tanzania

•Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda

•Institute of Directors of Zambia

•Institute of Directors Zimbabwe

have together worked hard this year to expand the network and 4 new members have joined namely:

  • Institute of Directors in Egypt
  • Institute of Directors inGhana
  • Institute of Directors inNigeria
  • Institute of Corporate Governance in Tunisia

Other members are in the pipeline from Algeria, Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Namibia, and Senegal.

Associate members include:

•IOD Ethiopia and FITC Nigeria

The mission of the ACGN is to develop the institutional capacity of its members in order to promote effective corporate governance practices and to build better private and public sector organisations and corporate citizens in Africa,as well as adding value to the role of Directors by promoting standards of good governance.The vision of the ACGN is for Africa to lead as an example and to be committed to effective corporate governance and ethical leadership.

“The decision of the African Institutes of Directors to join the ACGN not only shows that the ACGN has a growing impact across Africa, but it also reflects the desire of the respective Institutes towards unity and their common desire to promote more effective corporate governance in Africa which in turn will result in bringing much needed investment and development to the continent. It also further increases ACGN’sability to advocate on behalf of the regional directors community” said ACGNChairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Mauritius Institute of Directors, Jane Valls.

During the last 12 months, the ACGN has not only expanded its network to cover 15 countries in Africa, but it is has also signed MOUs to collaborate with various partners including the IFC, the Nepad Business Foundation, Webber Wentzel, ACCA, and the Ethics Institute of South Africa. And work is in progress to sign MOUs with the EY and African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA).

Members of the ACGN exchange and share knowledge, information, best practices tools and resources, as well as sharing a common platform for our 4 key focus areas: Research, Advocacy, Collaboration and Capacity Building.

Under the sponsorship of the IFC, the ACGN has this year run a Capacity Building Workshop for its membersin Tanzania and will be running a Training of Trainers workshop in November in South Africa in order to build a team of African Corporate Governance trainers.

In the past year, ACGN has playeda significant role in discussions in Africa around issues such as lack of skilled directors and ways to improve corporate governance by contributing to their training as well as conducting and storing research on corporate governance in Africa. Our objective is to provide policy makers and market participants with an important forum to exchange experiences and best practices aimed at addressing ongoing corporate governance challenges in Africa. As ACGN continues to expand, it also continues to promote its core values which all members and associate members have committed to that is: Transparency, Integrity, Teamwork and Collaboration, Accountability and Diversity.

For more information on the ACGN, see our website:

or contact the secretariat:

c/o Monica Dowie | NEPAD Business Foundation, 3rd Floor Mott MacDonald House 359 Rivonia Boulevard, Rivonia, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2128

Tel +27 10 596 1888 | Mobile +27 83459 2310 | E-mail |

Press contact:

ProaktivPR Ltd.: Tel: (+230) 59 57 26 26; (+230) 59 58 68 68; (+230) 57 81 20 52

Annaëlle, Karishma, Keshya, Sandrine, Carolyn, Laurance or Gérard

Mauritius Institute of Directors (MIoD)

The Mauritius Institute of Directors (MIOD) was incorporated on January 2008 and is a not for profit company whose core objective is to advance corporate governance in Mauritius by providing a professional forum for directors, aspiring directors and young professionals in the public and private sectors. The MIOD provides services to members that will enhance and facilitate their professional development for the ultimate benefit of the community at large. The services offered range from forums, workshops, networking evenings, in house training, information and advisory services, ethics awareness and management training, and other corporate services. Every two years an International Conference on corporate governance is organized and speakers and delegates are invited from all around the world. You can find out more on or by visiting the ‘Mauritius Institute of Directors’ Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.