Indonesia Business Links (IBL) is a not-for-profit foundation and it was established in the wake of the Indonesian economic crisis.  A major aim of the organization is to contribute towards the creation of sound and ethical business practices in the country.  The organization is an affiliate of the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum (known also as PW-IBLF or IBLF).

Major sponsors

Founders of IBL are business leaders of Rio Tinto, Accenture and Ernst &Young.  Corporate main sponsors now include global companies such as BP, B&M Consultant (HHP), Coca Cola, DHL, ERM Indonesia, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Shell, Standard Chartered, McKinsey, Unilever, as well as Indonesian companies including Bogasari Flour Mills, PPM Institute of Management, and Rajawali Group.

Major international donors have been supportive of the IBL.  Initial sponsors include UNDP, Department for International Development (DfID) of UK and Ford Foundation.

Historical background

The organization is an offshoot of a multi-stakeholder discussion held during the Annual Worldbank Conference in October 1998 in Washington DC.  This meeting led to a consensus on the need to establish a private organization with the aim to help improve the state of corporate governance in Indonesia.  The discussion was facilitated by representatives from the World Bank, ADB, UNDP and PW-IBLF as well as non-government agencies and organizations.  Subsequent discussions held in Indonesia, initiated by PW-IBLF and participated by multinational companies, multilateral agencies and local non-government agencies, gave rise to the establishment of IBL.  Its first programme was inaugurated at a reception hosted by the British Ambassador on 9th December 1999 in Jakarta. 

The legal status of IBL as a foundation was enacted by a notarial deed in August 2001 in Jakarta.  To date, twenty companies, largely multinationals, from diverse industries have become its members.

Since 1999, IBL has been actively promoting ethical business practices in Indonesia through its two major types of activities, namely, workshops on business ethics and capacity building of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).  Initial funding for its activities was provided by its founding member companies as well as UNDP and DfID.  Funding from the latter was arranged through PW-IBLF which is the international partner of IBL.

In response to the growing support from its members and international donors as well as increasing awareness and the felt need within the local business community for good corporate governance, IBL plans to expand its programme to include good corporate citizenship or known also as corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues.  New programmes recently undertaken by IBL such as the youth entrepreneur development (YES) programme, and Partnership for Sustainable Development initiatives are examples of this transformation.