Ethics and compliance

We are committed to ensuring that our funds are used only for the intended purposes and in line with international standards and best practices.

We promote high ethical standards

We are committed to ensuring that our funds are used only for the intended purposes and in line with international standards and best practices. We seek to promote high ethical standards both within Nefco and in all our operations.

To efficiently manage risks related to compliance and integrity, Nefco has an Ethics and Compliance function that leads our work on integrity, ethics and accountability issues. This function supports staff and management in identifying and managing integrity risks as well as leading the development and implementation of policies, rules and procedures related to ethics and integrity.

The Ethics and Compliance function is independent of the operational departments. The Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer reports to the Managing Director and has free access to the Chair of the Board of Directors and the Chair of the Control Committee.

Ethics and Compliance Annual Report 2023

View the annual report of our Ethics and Compliance function.

Anticorruption and compliance

Nefco’s Policy on Anticorruption and Compliance forms the basis of our work on integrity and anticorruption and establishes the principles that we apply in our work against fraud, corruption and other types of wrongdoing.

No form of Prohibited Practices (abuse, coercion, collusion, corruption, fraud, obstruction, money laundering, financing of terrorism) are tolerated in Nefco’s activities. Nefco works proactively to prevent Prohibited Practices by inter alia conducting a thorough integrity due diligence of potential counterparties, promoting transparency and integrity in procurement processes and monitoring and auditing the use of Nefco funding. Read more about Procurement at Nefco and applied principles on our procurement page.

Anyone who suspects a case of misconduct in activities related to Nefco is encouraged to report this to our Ethics and Compliance function by filling in and submitting the form for Reporting misconduct and corruption (link to WhistleB). All reports will be addressed and investigated.

If it is established that Prohibited Practices have taken place, Nefco may, in addition to contractual or judicial measures, impose sanctions on individuals and/or entities.
Read more about Nefco’s sanctions process.

Integrity Due Diligence

As part of our effort to identify and mitigate integrity risks, we conduct comprehensive Integrity Due Diligence (IDD) reviews of potential and existing counterparties by gathering and assessing information and identifying risks related to such counterparties.

We apply relevant rules and principles relating to know-your-customer requirements and expect all potential and existing counterparties to cooperate in this process. Nefco’s Policy on Integrity Due Diligence sets out the main principles to be applied in our IDD process.

Ethics and conduct

We expect anyone working on a Nefco project to adhere to the highest ethical standards.

Nefco’s Code of Conduct for the Staff and Code of Conduct for the Board of Directors and the Managing Director outline instructions and guidance on conduct and on how to exercise good judgement in ethical matters. Our contracts with consultants and contractors include provisions on expected conduct.

We recognise that sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) violate dignity and legal norms and create a hostile working environment. SEAH may also negatively affect and undermine the legitimacy, efficiency and successful implementation of initiatives aimed at financial, social and environmental development.

Nefco does not tolerate SEAH of any kind in its activities and is committed to promoting a culture of respect and high ethical standards. We will take appropriate measures to prevent and detect SEAH and act upon any report of suspected SEAH in our activities.

The Policy on Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Sexual Abuse and Sexual Harassment sets out the principles applied by Nefco for the purpose of preventing and responding to SEAH.

Complaints review

Nefco recognises the importance of addressing complaints and grievances made by individuals or entities who consider that they have been adversely affected by a decision or action by Nefco or by a Nefco funded project. Nefco is committed to addressing such complaints in a fair, transparent and efficient manner. Read more in the Rules for Complaints Review and on the Complaints page.