Stories

Annual Report reveals wealth of detail on the value of ITC’s work

2 July 2020
ITC News
ITC unveils key performance indicators in its new Annual Report 2019, including an estimated $1 billion in exports and investments resulting from its interventions

Each dollar received by the International Trade Centre (ITC) in "extra-budgetary" funding translated into $11's worth of exports and investments in 2019, according to the organization's 2019 annual report, released on 1 July.

Furthermore, in 2019 exports and investments equal to an estimated $1 billion were generated by ITC's work providing free market intelligence, arranging business connections and supporting trade and investment support institutions, the report says.

'ITC's targeted interventions in 2019 remained effective in setting the conditions for "good trade" to occur,' ITC acting Executive Director Dorothy Tembo said.

'This was true in Afghanistan, where we worked with the government on a new National Export Strategy and opening a new standards laboratory, in Central America where we helped empower dozens of women-led handicraft firms to trade online, or in The Gambia, where we facilitated a new network of angel investors to identify and invest in innovative start-ups,' Ms. Tembo said.

While the Annual Report showcases ITC's work in 2019 before the COVID-19 crisis hit, a broader thematic analysis revealed that the organization's approach continued to demonstrate resilience in the face of this new threat, Ms. Tembo added.

The Annual Report 2019 contains stories from the field showing how trade-related interventions can lead to better incomes, more efficiencies, and more significant opportunities. It also includes overviews of the organization's governance, finances, human resources, communications and other corporate matters, as well as detailed appendices on programmes, projects, funding and more.

Extra-budgetary funding is given by governments and other funders directly for ITC's work on top of the organization's regular budget derived from the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.

ITC estimates the value of international business transactions generated by its interventions by analyzing feedback from users of its market intelligence tools, documented business leads and deals and additional exports generated by the operational efficiency gains made by trade and investment support institutions as a result of support from the organization.