Following the launch of International Capability Building Programme (ICBP), country-teams from Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia embarked on an action-learning programme aimed at tackling complex problems related to Illicit Financial Flow (IFFs), which deprive countries of much-needed revenue to support their development objectives.

The project places local officials from various agencies - tax administrations, financial investigation centers, ministries, and other relevant bodies - at the forefront of reforms aimed at combating IFFs using the problem driven iterative adaptation (PDIA) approach. By employing a structured, problem-focused methodology, the initiative fosters local ownership and empowers teams to forge local coalitions and collaborative frameworks, enabling them to identify tailored solutions that align with the local political economy and context. This initiative is backed by Expertise France, Civipol, GiZ, FIAP, and the Swedish Tax Agency (STA), in partnership with CABRI. Additionally, four regional hubs across Western, Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa will facilitate targeted training sessions, seminars, and workshops (download Secfin poster below).

In February, the country-teams participated in a framing workshop where they started identifying deep-rooted causes of their IFF problems, as well as entry points where they have political support and broad acceptance for change and actionable steps going forward.

From 18-21 March, STA invited the authorisers of the six participating countries to a Study Visit in Sweden. The goal was to convene for presentations and discussions, at the outset of the project for the authorisers, who play a crucial role in the reform process. Participants exchanged valuable information and experiences. Various Swedish agencies, including the Swedish Police, the Financial Supervisory Authority, the Economic Crime Authority, and the National Bank, contributed by engaging in presentations and discussions with the authorisers and ways in which they can support teams leading reforms on IFFs in their countries.

Coalitions between different country agencies is a crucial aspect of this programme, to ensure participants can leverage diverse expertise, perspectives and collaboration in the fight against IFFs. However, it is equally important to facilitate both regional and international exchanges of experiences to share ideas, best practices, and crucial information. This collaboration is essential for monitoring and enforcement agencies to effectively track and combat IFFs, even more so, considering the cross-border nature of this issue. In addition to the authorisers’ visit to Sweden, different local country-teams will meet twice during the year – once in Sweden and once at a Regional workshop in Africa.

Throughout this process, each country-team will be supported by a coach from STA.