Corruption Costs $3.6 Trillion Annually, Open Data Can Help

Open data can be one of the strongest tools to prevent corruption, strengthen accountability, and help ensure public resources reach the people they're meant to serve. Read Winnie Kamau's story from #DataFest2026, featuring insights from our colleague Riana Bucceri on why making data visible matters. ⬇️

Open data is the engine of anti-corruption. The development costs and accountability gaps are vast, but data-driven tools such as Beneficial Ownership Transparency registers can help curb illicit financial flows. To learn how, read the latest article by our Open Data Watch-Data2X Media Fellow Winnie Kamau who covered the OGP lightning talk on this topic at #DataFest2026 in partnership with GPSDD: https://lnkd.in/gfx-MuAv

Proud of this work you are doing. Money needs to get to the people and projects for which it is designated. Too often, a lack of a transparency, a culture of corruption, and generations of red tape means that projects designated to help people’s lives in fundamental ways remain unfinished. Important work here.

It was a great honour to write an article for Open Data Watch- Data2X as a Media Fellow. This articles is part of the series of stories from the Global Data Festival and Kenya Space Expo & Conference by journalists in the Open Data Watch-Data2X media fellowship program. The data that deters corruption: closing the accountability gap The Global Data Festival held in Nairobi in June served as a melting pot of conversations on the future of data, where I had the opportunity to attend the lightning talk by Riana Bucceri. As a Data Values Advocate and Assistant on the Data & Analytics team at the Open Government Partnership (OGP) she brought a stark accountability gap to light using a newly showcased tool. Before revealing a single data point from this new transparency tool, she challenged the audience to do something uncomfortable, prompting them with a powerful question: what really breaks a corruption story? https://lnkd.in/eZpkdk3v

Do not miss out! 🤗 Explore our new platform and discover the power of open data in the fight against corruption. 👀

📣 New Launch: Open Data for Anti-Corruption Platform 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gWTibCW8 Open data is a powerful tool for investigating corruption and identifying the actors behind it through a data-driven approach. 🔍 💁♀️That’s why we are part of SEA-ACN, a Southeast Asian regional partnership of civil society organizations, to share knowledge, strengthen collaboration, and empower cross-border action against corruption. As part of this collaboration, #WeVis developed the Open Data for Anti-Corruption Platform, a campaign portal for public use that brings together knowledge, resources, and public datasets to help people explore data, uncover insights, and take action for greater transparency. 👀 [Key Features]  👥 PEPs Guide - Understand how PEPs are defined across Southeast Asia and explore a standardized framework for building PEPs datasets. 📂 Data Catalog - Explore public datasets from across Southeast Asia for investigations, journalism, visualizations, and other projects. 🔍 Related Resources - Access research, reports, news, training materials, and other resources to support anti-corruption work. [Let’s Get Involved Together]  We’d love to hear from you! 🤗  Explore our resources, share your country’s PEPs definitions, datasets, or resources, and help us build a stronger open data community. Get in touch and let’s learn, share, and build together. 👩💻 #seaacn #southeastasia #AntiCorruption #GoodGovernance #OpenData

🚨 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐁𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑 𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐓 🚨 As governments and organizations race to strengthen digital sovereignty, understanding the impact of EU regulations on cross-border data governance has never been more important. Join Mahdi Barkabian Zanjani, 𝐂𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐭𝐲 & 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭, 𝐋𝐞𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬, for an insightful 𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧: "From Reactive to Sovereign: How EU Digital Regulation is Reshaping Cross-Border Data Governance". 📅 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: August 06, 2026 (Thursday) ⏰ 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: 11:00 AM (GMT) Discover how evolving EU digital regulations are transforming data governance, compliance strategies, and international data flows. 👉 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐨𝐰: https://lnkd.in/gdQ3A6ar #WorldLawyersForum #WLF #FreeWebinar #DigitalGovernance #CyberSovereignty #DataGovernance #EUDigitalRegulation #DataPrivacy #CrossBorderData #Compliance #LegalTech #TechnologyLaw #DigitalTransformation #LeidenUniversity #WebinarAlert

Every day, we give away pieces of ourselves without even noticing. We register a SIM card, open a bank account, order food online, use Google Maps or scroll through TikTok. Every click, search, location and purchase leaves behind data. Someone collects it. Someone analyses it. Someone profits from it. People often say data is the new oil. I think the more interesting question is this: who owns the oil? Nigeria’s digital economy now contributes almost 12% of real GDP, while African businesses and citizens generate enormous volumes of data every day. Yet Africa accounts for less than 1% of global data-centre capacity. Much of the storage, processing and commercial value still sits outside the continent. We generate the resource. Others refine it. Others profit from it. If companies and platforms are building billion-naira businesses from data generated by ordinary people, where does the law place the individual? Nigerian law protects our privacy. Section 37 of the Constitution recognises the right to privacy, while the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 requires organisations to have a lawful basis before collecting or using personal data. The law gives individuals important rights over how their information is handled. What it does not answer is a different question altogether: who benefits economically from that data? The law largely treats the individual as a rights-holder rather than an economic stakeholder. It protects me from misuse of my data. It says much less about whether I should share in the value created from it. We already recognise that natural resources can generate economic benefits for host communities. Should the conversation around data eventually move beyond privacy to questions of economic participation? If data is now one of Africa’s most valuable resources, who should benefit from the wealth it creates? Is privacy enough, or is it time to start talking about data ownership and economic rights? Africa once watched others extract value from its natural resources. We cannot afford to repeat the same story with our digital resources.

Regulatory systems that are functioning as intended - and are not captured 👍🏼 ETC - Exposing Tasmanian Corruption 💛 Accountability • Transparency • Integrity

Corruption still involves cash envelopes under the table in many countries, but it is also evolving quickly – and so is our response. Transparency International’s 2025 Annual Report shows how we’re adapting to new threats: from exposing hidden networks to supporting whistleblowers and driving real policy change. Our fight spans law enforcement, business integrity, and closing governance loopholes worldwide. But at the heart of it all is one truth: only fair, accountable power stops corruption. Explore more details here: https://anticorru.pt/3iP