International Business Initiatives

International Business Initiatives Corp. aka IBI is an economic development and public financial management consulting firm based in Arlington, Virginia with projects throughout the developing world. It is well-known for its implementation of the Governance and Economic Management Assistance Program (GEMAP) in Liberia from 2005-2010, its implementation of a follow-on project called the Governance and Economic Management Support (GEMS) project, and most recently its recognition as USAID’s 2015 Small Business of the Year. It uses performance improvement methodologies to design and implement Information & Communications Technology solutions adapted to local conditions.

Background
IBI was founded in 1996 by Dr. Lucie Phillipa, an Africa expert and former associate professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and Professional Lecturer at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. IBI provides public financial management expertise to optimize revenue, trade, and economic growth throughout Liberia, Bangladesh, Ukraine, and other countries. IBI is a designated woman-owned small business, board member of the International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management (ICGFM) and member of the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI). In 2016, IBI was ranked in the number three spot in Devex’s list of top women-owned USAID contractors.

Governance and Economic Management Assistance Program (GEMAP)
Between 2005-2010, IBI was a USAID implementer of the Governance and Economic Management Assistance Program (GEMAP) in Liberia. GEMAP was an effort, started September 2005, by the Liberian government and the international community, via the International Contact Group on Liberia (ICGL) to reshape the fundamentally broken system of governance that contributed to 23 years of conflict in Liberia. The program was designed and funded by the IMF, World Bank, the U.S. Treasury Department and USAID. United States Government-funded GEMAP activities were implemented by IBI, Segura, and TRAWOCO. It involved embedding non-Liberian financial controllers within Liberian institutions. These “advisors” had co-signatory authority over major financial transactions.