For small and medium enterprises (SMEs), compliance feels like a lonely climb up a steep mountain. Costs are high, rules are constantly evolving, and there is pressure to cut corners to keep pace. Standing alone, an ethical SME can lose when competing with actors who ignore the rules.

Strong corporate governance, business ethics and robust compliance, underpinned by clear laws and effective enforcement, are critical to combat corruption. However, in its seminal 2008 Fighting Corruption through Collective Action: A Guide for Business, the World Bank Institute documented “a third area”: tools “that allow companies to come together collectively and voluntarily to raise practice standards and to reduce corruption,” including “integrity pacts…