International Trade Centre (ITC) (May 2013 – April 2014)

ITC’s support to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Planning and Coordinating Agency Introduction The focus of The International Trade Centre’s (ITC) work corresponds to a great extent to the New Partnerships for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) strategy and interventions on: 1. Creating an enabling environment for regional co-operation; 2. Fostering partnerships between the private sector, infrastructure agencies and regional economic communities and; 3. Creating regional opportunities for sharing knowledge and networking. 4. Advocating for support of Africa’s development ITCs contribution to Africa's development within the framework of NEPAD goals is guided by the need to accelerate the continent's achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In addition, the two organisations share common goals on partnerships and a range of crosscutting issues including gender and the environment. The synergies between ITC and NEPAD relate to improving enterprise competitiveness so that companies can respond to market demands while ensuring that the business environment enhances the competitiveness of companies and countries alike. Collaboration with other agencies in support of NEPAD ITC has continued to expand its efforts within the UN Chief Executives Board (CEB) Inter Agency Cluster on Trade and Productive Capacity [United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), ITC, International Labour Organization (ILO), and United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)] to align its technical assistance to countries under a nationally driven framework, placing them both individually and collectively on a trajectory for sustainable trade growth and development. In 2013 ITC partnered with other UN agencies under one-UN initiative in Rwanda which include the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNIDO, UNECA and UNWOMEN in developing flagship programmes for the trade-related Development Results Groups (DRGs). Within this framework, ITC will be supporting Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Trade Support Institutions (TSIs) in the areas of ISO quality management and food safety systems, trade intelligence services, facilitating access to finance and strengthening the public-private dialogue in trade negotiations within the context of WTO and regional trade agreements. In Zambia, through the One UN initiative, ITC worked with a group of trade support institutions (TSIs) to develop and implement environmentally friendly financing solutions or ‘green financing’ for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. During the inception phase of this initiative, financial institutions improved their understanding of the principles of green financing through guidelines and training.

In both Lesotho and Tanzania, under the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) coordinated by WTO, trade-related interventions have unleashed better coordinated support to the MDGs in alleviating both poverty and youth unemployment through target projects that also empower women-led businesses. During 2013 ITC has not provided direct financial support to programmes and projects of NEPAD’s Secretariat. Nevertheless, many of ITC’s own programmes and projects in Africa have contributed towards achieving the goals of NEPAD in the following ways: 1.

Creating an enabling environment for regional co-operation

Since 2008, ITC has worked extensively on supporting regional integration in Africa through its Programme for Building African Capacity for Trade (PACT II). The PACT II programme is part of the overall response to the African regional integration challenges and is aligned to the NEPAD’s broad vision of economic growth led by the private sector and rooted in greater regional and inter-regional trade. With the goal to facilitate regional integration, PACT II strategy was to identify sectors with high potential for increasing intra-regional trade, determined gaps and addressed them through focused institutional development for providing region wide services. The programme also entailed support for strengthening the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) level of public-private dialogue on trade policy. PACT II has been jointly implemented with three RECs in Africa – the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) – in support of the regional trade integration agendas. PACT II main achievements1 include targeted capacity-building services for regional and national partner institutions with a view to enhancing the export competitiveness, strengthen market linkages and facilitate export revenues of African SMEs in high-potential sectors. A total of 42 Sub-Saharan countries, of which 30 are LDCs and LLDCs, benefited directly or indirectly from PACT II interventions. 3 High potential sectors (mango, leather, and coffee) were targeted for support to enhance their exports from the ECOWAS, COMESA and ECCAS regions respectively. 3 African RECs reinforced their trade development structures and leadership. 9 Regional TSIs were strengthened and engaged in regional trade support and policy dialogue. 186 African trade experts (including 52 women) gained sustainable skills through training of trainers, coaching, e-learning. 3,157 SMEs and micro-producers (2,668 of which were women) improved their export capacity and access to new markets. A total of 112 technical documents were produced jointly with partner RECs and TSIs. Fostering partnerships between the private sector, infrastructure agencies and regional economic communities ITC also supports regional integration by working with policymakers and the private sector to identify the benefits and challenges of collaboration and providing a platform for businesses to participate in the policymaking process. In 2013, ITC supported the East African Business Council and policymakers to further understand and overcome obstacles to integration. Following ITC-facilitated public-private dialogues, the East African private sector developed 1

Brochure of PACT II achievements accessible at: http://www.intracen.org/uploadedFiles/intracenorg/Content/About_ITC/Where_are_we_working/Multicountry_programmes/Pact_II/PACT_II_Programme%20achievement%20Brochure_FINAL.pdf

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positions and recommendations on the free movement of workers and service suppliers, calling for further liberalization. ITC is committed to integrating private sector perspectives into the policymaking process as a means to foster a more conducive business environment. In 2013, ITC’s work in this area focused on facilitating public-private dialogue to improve trade policy and incorporate the private sector into the WTO accession process. The programme is under implementation in Ethiopia, where the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association developed a national position on trade in services, with support and mentorship from ITC for consideration of the Government while negotiating their accession to WTO. As part of this programme, ITC also provided training on specific issues, such as, trade facilitation, services and agricultural subsidies. In 2013, this assistance was further extended to the business sector in Sudan, Comoros and Liberia. Public-private collaboration was the hallmark of developing a National Export Strategy for Liberia. The same collaborative strategy was used in Gambia, where ITC brought buyers of groundnut to the table and also addressed quality and safety problems to make these groundnuts exportable. ITC is developing similar strategies to diversify the Gambian economy by targeting sesame and cashew sectors. 2.

Creating regional opportunities for sharing knowledge and networking.

ITC channels its technical assistance by strengthening TSIs which act as multipliers of the capacity building required by SMEs. Thus, ITC depends on a rich network of Trade Support Institutions (TSIs) that are both beneficiaries of ITC’s work and implementing partners that sustain interventions and the positive outcomes of initiatives beyond the limits of time bound projects. As locally based organizations, TSIs provide invaluable insight into the real challenges faced by the private sector and are best placed to jointly identify effective and efficient solutions. ITC’s programmes emphasise networking of TSIs, hence opportunities for sharing knowledge and networking are created at the regional level. This has been a seminal feature of the PACT II. As an example a leather strategy implemented in Zimbabwe as a pilot at the national level to the COMESA regional leather sector strategy (developed under PACT II) provided tailor-made support to SMEs and addressed their needs in the areas of quality control, packaging and manufacturing capacities, enabling them to meet the requirements of importing markets. Another example is the Trade Leaders Programme in 2013, which strengthened the skills of young TRTA professionals from developing country TSIs in the field of business and trade policy. Regional opportunities for sharing knowledge and networking are also created under ITC’s programmes aimed at enhancing South-South cooperation and market access. Recent trade data shows that a joint ITC-Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) project to promote South-South trade has resulted in a sharp rise in trade between 14 African countries and three Mekong countries. , The project began in 2008 and will conclude with an agribusiness forum in Ho Chi Minh City in January 2014.Achievements in 2013 include the conclusion of technology transfer agreements in the cashew nut sector from Viet Nam to Burkina Faso, and the establishment of direct cooperation between banks in the two regions, which will significantly reduce transaction time and costs. In the African countries, the advantages are also clearly evident in terms of business links, investment and banking. For example, recently Viet Nam has made strides in cashew processing technology. Vietnamese firms make 80% of the machinery used by factories in Benin.

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As part of ITC’s methodology for promoting South-South trade, it has facilitated the establishment of direct interbank cooperation between the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) and banks in Guinea Bissau, the Republic of Congo and Togo. Inter-bank partnership meetings were held in Hanoi, Viet Nam in January 2013 and in Yaoundé, Cameroon in November 2013. ITC has also supported the development of sustainable South-South business relationships in the cotton sector through its Trade Promotion and Value Addition for African Cotton project, funded by the EU, which commenced in early 2013. Through the Enhancing Arab Capacity for Trade (EnACT) programme, funded by Canada, ITC has worked with local organizations in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia to strengthen the international competitiveness of SMEs and contribute to job creation. In Tunisia and Egypt EnACT has focused directly on promoting South-South trade by identifying high-value sectors with strong export potential, strengthening the skills of business and institutions in those sectors and linking them directly with markets in other developing countries within the Arab region and beyond. After identifying the potential of the halal market in South-East Asia through the EnACT programme, Egyptian businesses have significantly increased their exports of processed foods to Malaysia. The export value rose from 21 million EGP in 2007 to 77 million EGP in 2013. . The programme also increased awareness about the Halal export market and enhanced capacities related to Halal certification. As a result, the number of Egyptian Halal Certified companies reached 41 at the end of 2013 compared to 21 in June 2012. Market analysis of Egyptian engineering exports within Africa identified strong potential for further exports to Kenya and Uganda. Following trade promotion activities, Egyptian engineering exports to Kenya and Uganda have increased significantly and, in the case of Kenya, exports have doubled. 3.

Crosscutting issues

Poverty reduction, gender and environment are cross cutting themes in all ITC programmes. •

Ethical Fashion: As a result of Ethical Fashion West Africa, 20 weaving ateliers started exporting to international markets, with several receiving repeat orders during 2013. In addition, products and fabrics from the weaving communities were featured in the collections of major international designers and labels such as Vivienne Westwood and Stella Jean. The Ethical Fashion Initiative also showcased young and up-and-coming African fashion designers on the international stage to ensure greater value addition within Africa. From this alone, 600 jobs were created in the ateliers supported by the Initiative.

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Informal to the formal sector: Through an ITC pilot project in the East African Community (EAC), some 8,000 women traders are being given the chance to move from the informal to the formal sector, increasing their earnings and personal safety. It is estimated that 70% of informal cross-border trade in sub-Saharan Africa is undertaken by women and youth. As a result of this ITC pilot project 340 informal women traders have been directly trained on official border formalities; 8,000 traders have joined self-help groups and are provided with assistance in complying with formalities at various border crossings; and export times and costs have been reduced thanks to a fast-track clearance system.

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Sustainability issues: In Kenya, ITC partners worked with local TSIs to assist cooperatives and other producers to meet the carbon standards and sustainability requirements of target markets. In 2013, the Chinga Tea Factory, which is supplied by 9,000 smallholder farmers, developed a climate change mitigation strategy using the lessons from ITC-delivered training. Due to these efforts, the Africa Fairtrade Convention selected the Chinga Tea Factory as a good practice example in lowering carbon emissions.

Advocacy work in support of Africa’s development Under the theme of connecting to value chains, ITC participated at the WTO Aid for Trade Global Review held in Geneva in July 2013 with six events that showcased the organization’s innovative approaches in linking SMEs in developing countries, especially in Africa, into global value chains. At the WTO Public Forum held in Geneva in October 2013, ITC co-hosted a panel about the potential of electronic commerce to create jobs, spur innovation and grow the economy in Africa. During the event, visitors joined ITC staff in the Innovation Corner to learn how smallholder farmers can integrate into export-driven supply chains through the use of information and communications technology. At the Conference of African Union Ministers of Trade Addis Ababa, October, ITC’s Executive Director Arancha González outlined the agency’s planned African trade integration programme and at the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC9) held in Bali, in December 2013 ITC held a side event highlighting the significance of trade facilitation for developing country SMEs. A total of 12 Good practices were shared and disseminated via TPO Network Awards, regional trainings, reaching TPOs from African and Asian countries. The biennial TPO Network World Conference and Awards provides an opportunity for outstanding TPO practices to be recognised by peers and shared within the network for adoption by others. The training workshop, delivered in Kampala, Uganda, to senior members of African TPOs, provided an opportunity to share practices around a focused agenda and discuss new ways of doing things. A key result of the workshop was the request for ITC assistance in the establishment of formal TPO African Network enabling members to more effectively collaborate by sharing resources and competencies for improved service delivery. Appendix I Table 1: Financial Resources devoted to Africa, 2013

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S/N

Year

Financial Resources US$

Africa's share US$2

1

2013

19.8m

57%

Sub-Saharan Africa only

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