Djibouti

<p>The overall objective of the proposed project is to attract investment and promote trade and sustainable industrial and business development at continental level, concretely supporting the AfCFTA Secretariat and the African Union and delivering on the Africa-EU partnership for sustainable growth and jobs.&nbsp;</p><p>The project contributes to this objective by</p><ul><li>identifying trade and investment opportunities along regional value chains with potential at continental scale in Africa, including potential for investment by EU economic operators;</li><li>Strengthening the EU-Africa dialogue on trade and economic integration, informing high-level events such as the upcoming AU-EU Summit and European- African Business Forum (EABF)</li><li>identifying pilot/selected continental value chains that could be targeted for support in the EU 2021-27 aid programming exercise.</li></ul><p>It supports the implementation of the AfCFTA and ITC&apos;s One Trade Africa Initiative.</p>

<p><span lang="EN-AU">The project <span lang="EN-AU">&nbsp;</span> seeks to provide the Ministry of Commerce, Handicraft and Consumption <strong><u>a detailed feasibility report </u></strong>to consider the establishment of a&nbsp;</span>Handicrafts Village. The project will assist with the <span lang="EN-AU">analysis of required legal and regulatory settings as well as institutional infrastructure to establish the handicraft village.</span></p>

<p>The project aims to respond to the COVID crisis and the recent increase in demand for e-commerce due to the lockdowns in most MENA countries and the social distancing requirements that should last longer than the lockdowns. &nbsp;Retail businesses are struggling to find a way to reach customers and retain sales during this crisis.</p><p>The project will aim to support this challenge by offering women-led SMEs in MENA an opportunity to learn, in English, French and Arabic, about the fundamentals of doing business via e-commerce, managing logistics and utilizing digital marketing channels. These e-learnings will be delivered through a short series of webinars and facilitated, interactive online deep dive clinics.</p>