Stories

Story: Contributing to business continuity and national COVID-19 responses in the African continent

15 June 2020
ITC News

Ensuring a steady flow of investments in Mozambique and Kenya will help manage the crisis.

Helping Mozambique in the crisis

Operating under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC), The Agency for the Promotion of Investments and Exports (APIEX) is an institution that created an ad-hoc commission to respond and lead all efforts in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic within the Ministry and in collaboration with other government institutions.

The institution received IT support including hardware, software and connectivity resources, from the Partnership for Investment and Growth in Africa (PIGA) project.

"We thank the partners of the PIGA program and the International Trade Centre, who are committed to the Government of the Republic of Mozambique in making an increased effort, so that APIEX can continue to mobilize resources with several national cooperation partners. The computer will help us in continuing our work in a redoubled way", said the vice-minister Ludovina Bernardo.

The equipment to be allocated to APIEX staff, will enable them to work remotely and to ensure continued services to potential and existing investors. Using this equipment staff can attend capacity-building webinars organized by ITC to strengthen their investment promotion and facilitation services. This includes the deployment of a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) tracking tool that will enable APIEX to adequately track, monitor and better serve the needs of foreign investors in Mozambique.

Facilitating investors in Kenya

The Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest) also received IT equipment support from PIGA.

"This equipment will enhance our capacity to serve investors effectively from home as we wrestle the COVID-19 pandemic. KenInvest will be able to ensure business continuity and keep serving and attracting investors during the Covid19 crisis, which will greatly contribute to the country recovery" said Dr. Ikiara, KenInvest Managing Director.

In addition, the support will enable KenInvest to identify and fast track investment projects critical for managing COVID-19. This includes investments for production of Personal Protective Equipment for Kenyan front line health workers and the wider Kenyan population.

KenInvest is part of coordinating these efforts through the One Stop Centre. This Centre aims to streamline and simplify investing in Kenya by providing unique access to all relevant bodies involved in the investment process, such as Business Registration Services, the Department of Immigration, the Kenya Revenue Authority and the National Environmental Management Authority.

Through its Managing Director, KenInvest is also part of the National Emergency Response Committee (NERC) for COVID-19.

Two other investment promotion agencies collaborating with PIGA in Ethiopia and Zambia are also receiving support to help ensure businesses keep running and contributing to their country's COVID-19 response.

About PIGA

PIGA is part of Manufacturing Africa, a flagship programme of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's Department for International Development (DFID) facilitating foreign direct investment with high development impact into selected African countries.
Under Manufacturing Africa, PIGA aims to contribute to job creation and sustainable growth in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia by supporting these countries to attract sustainable and high development impact foreign direct investment, specifically Chinese investment, in the agro-processing and light manufacturing sectors. PIGA is also designed to enhance the capacity of these countries for effective investment promotion.
The International Trade Centre (ITC) in cooperation with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the China-Africa Development Fund (CADFund) is implementing PIGA.