ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

Eight winning stories and four stories worthy of honorable mention were selected among 61 entries submitted by both government authorities and non-governmental organizations from around the world, along the following themes:

• Theme 1 - Supporting resilient and competitive value chains to enable private investment, jobs, and consumer welfare

• Theme 2 - Embedding competition principles in policies to manage state assets: State-owned enterprises, privatization and public-private partnerships

• Theme 3 - Enhancing public procurement and curbing bid rigging for government savings

• Theme 4 - Advancing competition through public-private dialogue

Panelists of the ICN-WBG 2025 Competition Advocacy Contest:

• Eleanor M. Fox, Walter J. Derenberg Professor of Trade Regulation, New York University School of Law

• Mariana Tavares de Araujo, Senior Partner, Levy & Salom?o Advogados

• Mario Guadamillas, Practice Manager; Competitiveness Unit; Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

• Tania Begazo, Senior Economist; Competitiveness Unit; Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

Theme 1 - Supporting resilient and competitive value chains to enable private investment, jobs, and consumer welfare

Well-functioning markets along value chains drive economic growth, create jobs, increase resilience, and improve consumer welfare. Efforts to unlock the potential of value chains in key sectors ¨C such as food, manufacturing, and digital services - often involve fostering competition by removing entry barriers, regulatory constraints, or distortions of the level playing field. Removing these barriers is vital for promoting competition and resilience, and expanding investment, leading to opportunities for more and better jobs. Market access reforms can have significant economic impacts, such as increasing capital investment by 4%, boosting output by 3%, and raising employment by 1.5% (). 

Winners

Egypt

The Egyptian Competition Authority launched a nationwide initiative to embed competition across the education sector¡ªfrom textbook printing to uniform sales¡ªaffecting 20% of the population and 8% of public and 13% of household spending. By tackling practices like exclusive agreements, bundling, and price-fixing, the initiative led to estimated household savings of nearly USD 1 billion over five years, reduced international schoolbook markups by up to 85%, and cut government spending on textbook printing by 21%. Market reforms are expected to double or triple the number of school uniform suppliers, boosting employment in the sector by up to 50%.

Georgia

To address the high prices and limited competition in the pharmaceutical market, where generic medicines are often priced similarly to or even higher than branded products¡ªwith markups reaching 2,000% to 3,000%¡ªthe Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency initiated a comprehensive reform program. The initiative targeted market concentration, excessive markups, and conflicts of interest between doctors and pharmaceutical companies. Key measures included mandating generic prescriptions, introducing a digital monitoring system, enforcing quality standards, and revising pricing policies. These efforts led to average price reductions of 40¨C45%, saving consumers an estimated USD 73 million annually, while also improving access to affordable, high-quality medicines.

Honorable Mentions

COMESA and Kenya

In a coordinated push to improve food security and tackle high consumer prices, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Competition Commission and the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) launched complementary initiatives targeting inefficiencies in agriculture and food markets.

COMESA Competition Commission partnered with a university to study key staples such as maize, soybeans, vegetable oil, and fertilizer, uncovering issues such as high market concentration, policy-induced trade barriers, and excessive mark-ups. The findings informed advocacy and reforms across member states, including market inquiries and amendments to regional regulations. Savings of up to USD 1 million annually and reduced household expenditure on vegetable oil by 50¨C60% are expected.

Complementing these regional efforts, the Competition Authority of Kenya launched a market inquiry into animal feed. This inquiry revealed that regulatory challenges and market concentration had led to high prices¡ª40% higher than other markets such as South Africa, Brazil and Malaysia, hurting poultry and dairy farmers. The proposed reforms aim to lower input costs, support small producers, and advance the government¡¯s broader nutrition and export goals. These reforms could potentially save egg producers USD 23 million over three years.

South Africa

The South Africa Competition Commission conducted an impact assessment of agricultural development funds established as merger remedies between 2015 and 2020 to address market concentration and support SMEs and Historically Disadvantaged Persons (HDPs). The study found that USD 70 billion was disbursed to over 1,000 beneficiaries, resulting in 7,797 jobs, supporting 331 SMEs, while boosting productivity, revenue, and access to inputs and infrastructure. The funds also facilitated greater participation of women and youth in agriculture, reaching 210 young people. Lessons learnt from the impact study improved future decisions in competition policy and enforcement.

Theme 2 ¨C Embedding competition principles in policies to manage state assets: SOEs, privatization and public private partnerships

Enterprises with direct and indirect state ownership operate across almost all sectors of the economy, and their revenues are equivalent to 17% of GDP on average (ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ 2023). Ensuring competitive neutrality is essential for creating a level playing field where both private and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) operate under the same market conditions. More stringent fiscal conditions require countries to assess their portfolio of assets, refocusing resources on those essential for public policy objectives and identifying enterprises and assets for divestiture or public-private partnerships. When competition authorities advocate for policies requiring SOEs to follow the same rules as other market players, they help level the playing field and open markets to private sector development.
 

Winner

Paraguay

In 2022, the Comision Nacional de Competencia of Paraguay (CONACOM) successfully advocated for the repeal of a fuel subsidy granted to the state-owned oil company. This subsidy had distorted the market by creating sharp price differences with private retailers. Following the agency¡¯s recommendation, Congress reversed the subsidy within a month. This swift action helped restore fair competition across fuel stations and stabilized the market despite ongoing global price pressures.
 

Theme 3 - Enhancing public procurement and curbing bid rigging for government savings

Public procurement is a key area where competition advocacy can shape market outcomes on a large scale. Internationally, bid-rigging cartels account for 50% of all detected cartels recorded in the WBG Global Cartels Database. Effective pro-competition reforms can lead to substantial cost savings, shorter timelines, and support broader goals like SME development, high-quality standards for public good provision (e.g., health), and green procurement. Bid rigging and collusion in public procurement not only waste public resources but also erode trust in market systems. Competition policy plays a crucial role in promoting integrity in public procurement by preventing collusion, favoritism, and bid-rigging.
 

Winners

Georgia

The Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency dismantled long-standing bid rigging in public tenders for free canteen services, which support socially vulnerable people living below the poverty line. A small group of undertakings had colluded for years by dividing markets, exchanging information, and coordinating bids¡ªpractices that inflated prices and degraded service quality. The Agency¡¯s investigation revealed that unclear tender conditions and high entry barriers enabled this collusion. By analyzing tender patterns, engaging stakeholders, and prompting reforms to make procurement more transparent and competitive, the Agency enabled competition. The reduction in procurement costs led to significant government savings. The initiative also led to better-quality free canteen services, directly improving lives.

Mexico

An ex post assessment conducted in 2024 highlighted the impact of Comisi¨®n Federal de Competencia Econ¨®mica¡¯s (COFECE) enforcement action against bid rigging in public health procurement. The case, originally resolved in 2020, involved sanctions against 11 companies, colluding in tenders for laboratory testing and blood bank services¡ªessential services provided by Mexico¡¯s two largest public health institutions, which serve half the population. The sanctioned firms manipulated outcomes by pre-arranging winners and submitting sham or inflated bids, affecting tenders between 2008 and 2015. Following COFECE¡¯s intervention, prices of blood bank services dropped by nearly 30%, and laboratory testing costs fell by almost 5%, significantly improving access to quality healthcare, particularly for low-income groups. The assessment underscored the economic value of the intervention: the harm prevented and fines imposed together amounted to more than four times the agency¡¯s annual budget, equivalent to the cost of 927 ambulances or nearly 47,000 pacemakers.

Philippines

The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) developed the Bid-Rigging Screening Tool (BiRST) to proactively detect collusive behavior in public procurement. By analyzing available procurement data¡ªpreviously underused for competition enforcement¡ªBiRST identifies suspicious patterns without relying on firms to come forward. PCC adopted a three-pronged strategy of advocacy, partnerships, and technical development. This included launching a public-facing ¡°Bid Rigging is Against the Law!¡± webpage to raise awareness and build trust among procurement entities and the business community. Since its integration into PCC¡¯s investigative process, BiRST has informed the initiation of five active investigations, making competition enforcement more data-driven, efficient, and impactful.
 

Honorable Mention

South Korea

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) significantly expanded its Bid-Rigging Indicator Analysis System (BRIAS), increasing coverage from just 17 to over 720 public institutions, including quasi-governmental bodies and local public enterprises. This upgrade enabled the daily transmission of procurement data to the Commission, streamlining detection and prevention of bid-rigging. Previously, the agency had to request information from each contracting authority individually, slowing down investigations. Now, with automated and timely access to a vastly larger dataset¡ªexpected to reach 60,000 cases annually, KFTC can more efficiently analyze patterns and launch investigations, whether ex officio or via whistleblower reports. The initiative not only deters collusion but also boosts transparency and trust in public procurement, benefiting both contracting entities and public finances. The system has already proven cost-effective, enabling the imposition of fines nearly 40 times higher than its maintenance costs over seven years.

Theme 4 - Raising awareness of competition by communicating on impact and results

Engaging with businesses, trade associations, and consumer groups helps competition authorities gain critical market insights, anticipate regulatory impacts, and shape effective advocacy strategies. Public-private dialogue fosters a pro-competition culture, encourages voluntary compliance, and identifies unnecessary regulatory barriers¡ªespecially in emerging markets facing unique challenges like rapid technological change, informal sector competition, and limited regulatory capacity. More than 80% of the entries in the ICN-WBG Competition Advocacy contest since 2013 use media and communications as key tools in their advocacy strategies.
 

Winners

Brazil

In December 2024, Brazil¡¯s Ministry of Finance launched a revamped initiative inviting stakeholders to flag potentially anti-competitive regulations through a structured and periodic review process. Building on an earlier framework, the initiative streamlines stakeholder engagement, enhances transparency, and strengthens institutional coordination. It allows individuals and organizations to submit regulations they believe harm competition, which the Ministry evaluates using clear criteria such as economic relevance and potential impact. Based on these assessments, the Ministry may recommend regulatory improvements, engage sector regulators, or propose legislative changes. With regular public calls¡ªstarting in February 2025¡ªthis proactive approach aims to turn insights from affected market participants into concrete reforms, promoting a more open, competitive, and efficient regulatory environment.

Spain

Over two decades, the Comisi¨®n Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) has actively supported the liberalization of the rail sector, providing guidance and analysis that helped deliver lower prices, better service, and increased frequency. CNMC¡¯s recommendations in passenger rail¡ªranging from ensuring access to infrastructure and rolling stock to preventing the incumbent from distorting competition¡ªwere instrumental in making the liberalization process a success story. The liberalization of high-speed rail led to a 40% price drop, a 60% increase in seat availability, and a 55% rise in train frequency. As a result, demand surged, market share shifted from air to rail, and the infrastructure manager¡¯s revenue grew by over 50%, making the reform a clear win for both consumers and the broader economy. During the period 2019-2023, consumers saved USD 390 million by traveling more and at lower costs due to increased competition.
 

Honorable Mention

Ukraine

Through its Energy Transparency Index, Ukraine¡¯s think tank DIXI Group promoted clearer information for consumers and stronger competition in energy markets. The Index, applied annually for over six years, provides a comprehensive assessment of transparency in the energy sector and includes targeted recommendations for both public authorities and market players. By empowering consumers with better access to information, it strengthens their ability to make informed choices¡ªan essential foundation for effective competition in emerging markets. Collaboration with major oil companies, including consultations with Ukrnafta, helped boost transparency significantly. The initiative also engaged the wider public and expert communities through media campaigns, stakeholder presentations, and policy advocacy. As a result, Ukraine¡¯s transparency score rose from 43 to 63 out of 100 between 2018 and 2021. The Index has been officially included in Ukraine¡¯s UN SDG7 monitoring framework and is now recognized as a tool for self-assessment by government agencies.

As defined by the ICN, competition advocacy refers to activities that promote a competitive environment through non-enforcement mechanisms, such as building relationships with government entities, increasing public awareness of competition¡¯s benefits and identifying and removing anticompetitive policies and regulations.

We are looking for success stories from competition agencies, other public bodies or civil society that demonstrate the tangible results of competition advocacy under four themes:

1. Supporting resilient and competitive value chains to enable private investment, jobs, and consumer welfare

Well-functioning markets along value chains drive economic growth, create jobs, increase resilience and improve consumer welfare. Efforts to unlock the potential of value chains in key sectors ¨C such as food, manufacturing, and digital services - often involve fostering competition by removing entry barriers, regulatory constraints or distortions of level playing field. Removing these barriers is vital for promoting competition and resilience, and expanding investment, leading to opportunities for more and better jobs. Market access reforms can have significant economic impacts, such as increasing capital investment by 4%, boosting output by 3%, and raising employment by 1.5% (). Value chains for exporting goods and services create economic opportunities for economies, while those supplying essential products to domestic consumers provide direct benefits to households. For example, competition policy can address market failures in the food supply chain, by promoting transparency, open markets, and reducing anti-competitive practices that drive up food prices.

Initiatives in this theme focus on identifying and dismantling barriers to entry and competition to support value chain development, through targeted market studies, policy advice, and advocacy for pro-competition reforms. It also encompasses pro-competitive reforms, successful regulatory strategies, and collaborative approaches that illustrate how stakeholders are harnessing the benefits of global markets while reinforcing local resilience, secure access to products, and economic stability.

2. Embedding competition principles in policies to manage state assets: SOEs, privatization and public private partnerships  

Enterprises with direct and indirect state ownership operate across almost all sectors of the economy and their revenues are equivalent to 17% of GDP on average (ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ 2023). Ensuring competitive neutrality is essential for creating a level playing field where both private and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) operate under the same market conditions. More stringent fiscal conditions require countries to assess their portfolio of assets, refocusing resources on those essential for public policy objectives and identifying enterprises and assets for divestiture or public-private partnerships. Designing partnerships and divestiture packages that support competition and ensuring appropriate pro-competition rules are in place is essential to develop competitive markets. When competition authorities advocate for policies requiring SOEs to follow the same rules as other market players, they help level the playing field and open markets to private sector development. This theme also explores how competition policy can enhance the effectiveness of policies to crowd in investments into sectors where SOEs operate.

Participants can highlight case studies where competitive neutrality reforms have helped reduce market distortions, increased transparency, and promoted a more balanced economic environment; and where pro-competition policy advice has contributed to divestitures and public-private partnerships that resulted in increased consumer welfare, efficiency and investment.

3. Enhancing public procurement and curbing bid rigging for government savings

Public procurement is a key area where competition advocacy can shape market outcomes on a large scale. Internationally, bid-rigging cartels account for 50% of all detected cartels recorded in the WBG Global Cartels Database. Effective pro-competition reforms can lead to substantial cost savings, shorter timelines, and support broader goals like SME development, high quality standard for public good provision (e.g., health), and green procurement. Bid rigging and collusion in public procurement not only waste public resources but also erode trust in market systems. Competition policy plays a crucial role in promoting integrity in public procurement by preventing collusion, favoritism, and bid-rigging. This theme focuses on how competition advocacy and enforcement can make procurement processes more transparent and accessible to all qualified bidders, reducing opportunities for corruption and bid rigging, and ensuring that public resources are allocated efficiently and effectively.

Participants are invited to share examples of successful initiatives in procurement, including the implementation of pro-competitive bidding rules, monitoring mechanisms, data analytics, collaborative efforts between competition authorities and government agencies, and measures that have promoted accountability and driven down costs in public projects.

4. Advancing competition through public-private dialogue

Engaging with businesses, trade associations, and consumer groups helps competition authorities gain critical market insights, anticipate regulatory impacts, and shape effective advocacy strategies. Public-private dialogue fosters a pro-competition culture, encourages voluntary compliance, and identifies unnecessary regulatory barriers¡ªespecially in emerging markets facing unique challenges like rapid technological change, informal sector competition, and limited regulatory capacity. Evidence-based engagements to highlight competition¡¯s benefits, including increased innovation, better prices, and consumer choice, builds support for pro-competition reforms. Indeed, more than 80% of the entries in the ICN-WBG Competition Advocacy contest since 2013 use media and communications as key tools in their advocacy strategies.

Initiatives in this theme cover examples of successful public consultations, partnerships that have led to pro-competitive reforms, multi-stakeholder initiatives that have contributed to market liberalization, and innovative approaches for engaging stakeholders with feedback mechanisms for continuous improvement.

Please contact Alex Ciborowska with any questions at aciborowska@worldbank.org.

The deadline for submissions is January 24, 2025.

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Competition agencies, sector regulators and other government bodies and non-governmental organizations promoting competition policy are welcome to apply.

If you are not a member of the ICN, you should reach out to the ICN member in your jurisdiction to inform about your intention to participate in the contest. A list of all ICN members is available here. Joint submissions from ICN members and government bodies or non-governmental organizations are encouraged.

In order to participate, candidates must complete the online survey. Key information required to apply includes: 

Stories submitted to previous editions of the contest that were not awarded are eligible for resubmission.

The online survey is the only valid application method. Applications through email messages or that fail to provide the required information in compliance with indicated character limits and blind review standards will not be considered.

Please contact Alex Ciborowska with any questions at aciborowska@worldbank.org.

The deadline for submissions is January 24, 2025.

>>  <<

Submissions will undergo a rigorous assessment of the following criteria:

• Relevance of the competition issue tackled by the initiative;
• Success of the advocacy activity - results achieved;
• Impact and effects on markets, spillover effects and lessons learned;
• Advocacy strategy - creativity and originality, cooperation mechanisms deployed.

An independent panel will review the submissions and select the top stories. Winning applicants will be invited to present their stories at a joint ICN-ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Group event.

Winners and honorable mentions will be announced in advance of the 2025 ICN Annual Conference.