Posts in category: projects

In a unique event, the Yemeni Institute of Directors, one of the entities of the Yemeni Business Club, in cooperation with the International Finance Corporation, launched on Tuesday, May 21, 2019 the Small and Medium Enterprises Governance Guide after an effort that lasted nearly two years from the guide’s partners and the work team consisting of many local and international experts, academics and businessmen .
It is worth noting that the launch event of the guide took place in conjunction with the closure of the Yemen SMEs 25 Governance Project, which continued during 2018 by preparing the Yemeni version of the project and implementing specialized trainings in the field of governance for boards of directors and executive leadership of companies and banks participating in the project and implementing quick reforms Governance at various levels in the general assembly, boards of directors, and administrative practices within institutions.
The event was attended by representatives of the private sector from various industrial, commercial and service fields, representatives of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Central Bank of Yemen, the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce and the Sana’a Chamber, in addition to microfinance institutions and representatives of local and international organizations.

As an extension of the advisory services provided by the Yemeni Institute of Directors, the Institute implemented for the second time the Yemen Mobile Company Governance Project for Mobile Phones 2021 after the company submitted a request to implement two board evaluation services (self and external) and diagnose the company’s governance practices and prepare reports for the project to be presented to the General Assembly. The project is approximately 5 months old and has passed through the following stages:

The Institute’s advisory team obtained a set of basic files about the company.

– Coordinating the implementation of the external evaluation interviews of the Board of Directors (10 interviews with the stakeholders of the Board of Directors and its committees and several shareholders in the company).

– Coordination to attend two workshops that include the Governance Committee in addition to the Executive Director, the Financial Director, the Director of Human Resources, Internal Audit and Risk Management, to diagnose governance practices within the company and analyze the gaps.

– Coordination to attend the meeting of the Board of Directors to do the self-assessment of the Board.

– Unpacking and analyzing data related to the self- and external assessment tools of the Board of Directors and diagnosing governance practices within the company.

– Read and interpret information to conclude.

– Preparing reports on the results of evaluation and diagnosis, including recommendations for improvement, which will form an action plan for corporate governance applications during the coming stages

In the aspect of advisory projects, the Yemen Institute of Directors has implemented the Yemen Mobile Company Governance Project for Mobile Phones for the year 2019, after the company submitted a request to the Institute to implement the company’s board of directors evaluation service, which aims to verify the board’s fulfillment of the basic requirements that must be met so that it can perform the roles assigned to it according to For best practices in companies working in the field of telecommunications in particular and joint

 stock companies in general, in addition to implementing a service for diagnosing governance practices, through which the company will be able to know where it is now. And where is the position you want to reach? In essence, they are two questions: “Where are we?” And “Where do we want to be? As it enables it to measure best practices in various key dimensions of governance and to develop a plan to improve the performance of the company’s governance internally, the project went through several stages as follows:

The Institute’s advisory team obtained several basic files about the company.

– Coordination to attend a workshop that includes the Governance Committee in addition to the CEO, the Financial Director, and the Director of Human Resources, Internal Audit, and Risk Management to diagnose governance practices within the company and analyze the gaps on April 28, 2020.

– Coordination to attend the Board of Directors meeting to make a general assessment of the Board of Directors on April 29, 2020.

– Unpacking and analyzing the data of the two tools of board evaluation and diagnosing governance practices within the company.

– Read and interpret information to conclude.

Preparing a report on the results of the evaluation and diagnosis that includes recommendations for improvement, which will form an action plan for the implementation of corporate governance in the company during the coming stages.

In the aspect of advisory projects, the Yemeni Institute of Directors team visited Al-Hodeidah Governorate during the period (14-16 July-2021) to implement the project of governance of the Abdul Jalil Radman Group of Companies, after the group submitted a request to the Institute to implement one of the advisory services, which is the diagnosis of governance practices, through which the group will be able to know where she is now? And where is the position you want to reach? In essence, they are two questions: “Where are we?” And “Where do we want to be? As it enables it to measure best practices in various key dimensions of governance and to develop a plan to improve the performance of the group’s governance internally, the project went through several stages as follows:

The Institute’s advisory team obtained several basic files on the group.

– Coordination to attend a workshop that included specialists from the group on the board of directors, in addition to several employees of the group companies, in which they talked about the benefits of governance and its importance in the continuity, growth, and stability of companies. and internal audit and risk management.

– Unpacking and analyzing the data of the diagnostic tool for governance practices within the group.

– Read and interpret information to conclude.

Preparing a report on the results of the diagnosis that includes recommendations for improvement, which will form an action plan for governance applications.

In cooperation with the International Finance Corporation, the Yemeni Institute of Directors is implementing the first governance trip to three governorates to introduce the principles of Yemeni corporate governance.

Hodeidah Governorate was the first stop on the trip. On Thursday morning, May 18, 2017, the first introductory workshop on corporate governance was held, which targeted several businessmen in the governorate. In the workshop, Dr. Muhammad Ismail Hamna, Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Yemeni Business Club, gave a welcome speech at the outset. With the participants, he reviewed the goals of the Yemeni Business Club and an overview of the emergence and development of activities in the field of governance leading to the establishment of the Yemeni Institute of Directors, which became the main carrier of the concept and message of governance and its applications in the Yemeni private sector, reviewing the efforts made by the Yemeni Institute of Directors in cooperation with its strategic partner, the International Finance Corporation.

For his part, Mr. Mohamed Abdel Wahed, Director General of the Hodeidah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, gave a brief speech in which he welcomed the attendees, thanking the organizers of this workshop for their interest in educating the private sector in the governorate with such concepts that their application would improve performance in private sector institutions and companies. The Hodeidah Chamber was then honored with the shield of the Yemeni Institute of Directors, presented by M. Ghadeer Al-Maqhafi, Acting Director of the Yemeni Business Club and the Yemeni Institute of Directors

This was followed by the start of the training workshop, which lasted for about three hours, and included the definition of governance, its concepts and basic principles, the responsibilities and tasks of the relevant parties, in particular the boards of directors of companies, and the desired benefits from the application of those concepts and the challenges facing the applications of governance.

The meeting was attended by several commercial houses in the Hodeidah governorate and a group of businessmen and interested persons.

The second phase of the trip was in Ibb governorate, where on Sunday morning, May 21, 2017, the first induction workshop was held in Ibb governorate on corporate governance, which targeted several businessmen in the governorate. At the outset with the participants, he expressed his happiness with the presence of an economic partner such as the Chamber of Commerce, reviewing the efforts made by the Yemeni Institute of Directors in cooperation with its strategic partner, the International Finance Corporation.

For his part, Mr. Abdulelah Al-Khatib, member of the Board of Directors of the Ibb Chamber of Commerce and Industry and head of the Services Department, gave a brief speech in which he welcomed the attendees, thanking the organizers of this workshop for their interest in educating the private sector in the governorate with such concepts that their application would improve performance in private sector institutions and companies. Then the Ibb Chamber was honored with the shield of the Yemeni Institute of Directors, presented by Eng. Ghadeer Al-Maqhafi, Acting Director of the Institute.

 It is worth noting that most of the reputable commercial houses in the governorate attended the workshop and expressed their interaction with the concepts that were presented by the institute’s team, and Sheikh Qassim Al-Absi, the deputy of Ibb governorate, also attended for his part. This was followed by the start of the training workshop, which included the definition of governance, its concepts and basic principles, the responsibilities and tasks of the relevant parties, in particular the boards of directors of companies, and the desired benefits from the application of those concepts and the challenges facing the applications of governance.

The last stop of the trip was Aden. On the morning of Wednesday, May 24, 2017, an introductory workshop was held on the principles and applications of Yemeni corporate governance in the meeting hall at the Emirates Sky Hotel in Bakhoor Maksar Aden. This workshop was organized by the office of the Yemeni Business Club in Aden and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Aden in partnership with IFC (International Finance Corporation – an arm of the World Bank for lending to the private sector) and the Yemeni Institute of Directors, who ran the workshop and presented interventions and working papers in the workshop by Dr. Muhammad Hamna and Eng. Ghadeer Al-Maqhafi. In the workshop, serious discussions took place about all aspects of corporate governance and its necessity, and the experiences of the governance of some family companies in Aden were reviewed. and services to achieve development in its capabilities and performance, and thus in its profitability.

On the side of advisory projects, the Yemeni Institute of Directors implemented the governance project of Al-Diaa National Group for Trade and Industry Ltd. on June 25, 2022, after the group submitted a request to the Institute to implement one of the advisory services, which is diagnosing governance practices, through which the group will be able to know where it is now? And where is the position you want to reach? In essence, they are two questions: “Where are we?” And “Where do we want to be? As it enables it to measure best practices in various key dimensions of governance and to develop a plan to improve the performance of the group’s governance internally, the project went through several stages as follows:

The Institute’s advisory team obtained several basic files on the group.

– Coordination to attend a workshop that included specialists from the group on the board of directors, in addition to a number of the group’s employees, during which the diagnostic session was carried out in the presence of the owners, the general manager, the financial director, the director of human resources, internal audit and risk management.

– Unpacking and analyzing the data of the diagnostic tool for governance practices within the group.

– Read and interpret information to conclude.

Preparing a report on the results of the diagnosis that includes recommendations for improvement, which will form an action plan for governance applications in the coming stages.

Today, governance has occupied great importance in the world in light of the transition to the capitalist economic system, in which private institutions play a large and influential role, with the consequent necessity of monitoring and evaluating this role on an ongoing basis. And the continuity of business institutions, especially after the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, which witnessed the collapse of huge international companies due to a lack of awareness of the importance of adopting the principles of good management (corporate governance). Therefore, the Yemeni Islamic Insurance Company submitted to the Yemeni Institute of Directors a request to design a corporate governance system that considers its characteristics and privacy and ensures It has obtained a useful and effective system of supervision and guidance, and through which the company can enhance its competitive position among the peer companies. will be done.

To implement this project, an implementation plan for the project has been prepared according to the following steps:

First: Obtaining the main documents of the company.

Second: Coordination to attend the Board of Directors meeting in the presence of the Chairman of the Board, the Executive Director, members of the Board, and the Advisory Team of the Institute to implement the Board Evaluation Service, which aims to assess the Board of Directors to verify the fulfillment of the basic requirements that must be met by the Board so that it can perform the roles assigned to it by the best practices in Companies in particular.

Third: Unloading and analyzing the data of the Board of Directors evaluation tool.

Fourth: Reading and interpreting the data to conclude.

Fifthly: Prepare a summary report on the report’s results, including recommendations for improvement.

Sixth: Starting to build the Board of Directors evidence (Governance Guide – Board Charter – Guide for Disclosure and Transparency Rules – Code of Ethical Conduct – Mechanism for Reporting Unethical Practices) and handing it over to the company after review and arbitration. All evidence was delivered after review, arbitration, and final output to the company.

In 2018, the Yemeni Institute of Directors, in cooperation with the International Finance Corporation, implemented the 25 YSMEs project for the governance of 25 small and medium companies. The areas of administrative, organizational, strategic, financial, and legal governance work continuously and permanently to develop and attract the latest tools in corporate and banking governance, which makes the team at the highest level of efficiency and readiness to meet the tasks required of it, as the project made the institute and its team able to absorb and understand the nature and privacy of various types of companies Banks and provide support to boards of directors to improve their performance and enhance their competitive position.

It is considered the first project in Yemen for the governance of small and medium companies in cooperation with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), where 46 companies were submitted, and 25 small and medium companies were selected according to the project criteria. For several administrative, financial, legal, and strategic aspects aimed at supporting and developing small and medium-sized companies and applying the principle of governance to achieve the benefit of governance at the level of the company’s reputation, expansion and strengthening its competitive position and serve as an example for other companies. The project was completed by launching a group of Yemeni companies that started in the field of governance, which enables her to get any financing opportunity.

Why a project?

To meet the common challenges of small and medium enterprises in:

1. Weak institutional building.
2. Poor communication capabilities with banks and financing channels.
3. The difficulty of communicating with potential investors locally and internationally.
4. The lack of guidance and support institutions for small and medium-sized companies.
5. To help SMEs transition to large enterprises which is a crucial stage in the life of SMEs that hinders progress globally.
6. To promote the principle of sustainability and succession in SMEs.

Project Objectives: The overall objective is to improve, enhance and apply governance practices in small and medium-sized companies in Yemen.

Expected results of the project:

1. 80% of companies are fully aware of the importance of governance.
2. The trained companies have access to auxiliary tools for implementing and practicing governance.
3. 15% of the targeted companies have a systematic framework for governance.

Phase one activities:

1. Build a project team structure.
2. Project announcement.
3. Interviews: 36 field interviews were carried out for the companies joining the project by the project committee and the implementation of a SWOT analysis so that the institute could know the training needs and requirements and provide advice to the companies that will join the project.
4. Launching the project and starting the first training program, which is the governance of small and medium companies, for two days with a total of 16 training hours. The program concluded by writing a draft of the internal plans for each company separately to be implemented in the next stages of the project.

Outputs of the first stage: The project team was able to obtain complete information about the companies involved in the project through (gap analysis – SWOT analysis – company file – self-evaluation). The result was the preparation of the first draft of the corporate governance action plan for each company separately to work on in the stage second of the project.

The activities of the second phase of the project:

1. Ramadan Iftar: The aim was to strengthen the relationship between the project team and the representatives of the companies involved in the project, as 16 companies attended the Iftar and a clear vision of the next phase of the project has emerged.
2. Field visits for companies: a meeting was held with decision makers within companies to evaluate the plans prepared by the companies in the first phase of the project and modify them to suit the environment and needs of each company separately.
3. ToT-Diagnostic Tool Training for the Project Team: Members of the Project Committee joined the training to highlight the main points implemented in the first phase of the project and focus on the objectives and outputs of the second phase. The training added to the project committee a new experience in SME governance and experience In using the diagnostic tool used in the second phase of the project.
4. Diagnostic Tool training for the companies involved in the project: The training was carried out for three days with a total of 24 training hours, after evaluating the results of the first phase of the project and analyzing all the companies’ documents, we used the diagnostic tool that will be applied to the companies as evidence of the efficiency of the governance plan, which is considered a tangible success for the project.
5. Monitoring and Evaluation: Immediately after a week of the Corporate Diagnostic Tool training, we visited the companies to assess the Governance Plan by the project team and make sure it was workable.
6. Final Action Plan: Each company will prepare its final governance plan to start implementing a set of quick reforms within the company with the help of the project committee team.

Companies involved in the project:

1. Yemen Islamic Bank.
2. Al Sidra General Trading.
3. The National Paper Products Company.
4. Al-Kuraimi Islamic Microfinance Bank.
5. Ibdaa Soft.
6. Al-Ruwaishan Group.
7. Alpha Company Limited.
8. Al-Nasser Exchange Company.
9. Al-Numan Exchange Company.
10. Yemeni and international mass transportation company.
11. Jamaan Trading and Investment Company.
12. Raha Transport Company Ltd.
13. Sweid & Sons Exchange Company.
14. Azm for Training and Consultations.
15. Al-Nibras Group.
16. Al Jazeera Model Schools.
17. Manchester Modern Center for Training and Rehabilitation.
18. University of Science and Technology Hospital.
19. Al-Hadaa Corporation for Trade and General Agencies.
20. Yemen Eye Foundation for Export and Consulting Services.
21. Hashem Hammoud Al-Ashmal Foundation J (Hatko).
22. Nate for Information Technology and Media.
23. Professional Engineering.
24. Man Telecom Solutions for Trade, Services, and Contracting.