The African Development Bank Group concluded the 2026 Private Sector Integrity (PSI) Meeting in Cape Town, South Africa last month, bringing together integrity and compliance professionals from 27 multilateral development banks and development finance institutions (DFIs).
Held under the theme “Integrity in Transformation: Shaping the Future of Development Finance,” the three-day programme, the event saw the strongest representation of African development finance institutions in PSI’s history, with six African DFIs participating alongside the African Development Bank as host, reflecting the growing importance of integrity risk management across the Continent. The meeting took place from 30 March to 1 April 2026.
In opening remarks, Dr Kennedy Mbekeani, Director General for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery for Southern Africa, underscored the link between integrity and the Bank’s development ambitions:
“Integrity is what makes our development mandate credible. You cannot mobilise private capital at scale if the due diligence behind your operations is not trusted.”
The workshop covered a broad range of topics including integrity risk measurement, sovereign operations, organisational models for integrity functions, the role of AI and digitalisation in compliance, and collaboration in the fight against illicit financial flows. The workshop combined plenary sessions, interactive exercises, panel discussions and a guest speaker from the South Africa Financial Intelligence Centre.
Paula Santos-Da Costa, Director of the Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption, highlighted the value of sustained peer collaboration: “The integrity challenges we face are not unique to one institution — they are systemic, they cross borders, and they demand collective responses,” she noted.
The African Development Bank Group remains committed to strengthening its integrity frameworks and to playing an active role in global and regional integrity cooperation.