Ghana

<p>In September 2021, The Government of the Netherlands and the International Trade Centre (ITC) signed a four-year partnership agreement aimed at enhancing the trade competitiveness in selected African countries, through the strengthening of digital and agribusiness services and especially the connection between the two.</p><p>As part of the Netherlands Trust Fund (NTF) V Programme, in Ghana, ITC will implement a value chain development project with the objective of improving the competitiveness and livelihood of farmers and agribusiness MSMEs in the cocoa and associated crops sector with a crosscutting focus on digitalization.</p><p>Through the project, ITC aims to promote more efficient and sustainable agribusiness and support services that will lead to increased trade, better incomes and livelihoods opportunities especially for the smallholder cocoa farmers.&nbsp;</p><p>The project will explore digital solutions and related services to overcome the negative effects of agribusiness value chains disruption brought by Covid-19, globally as well as locally, such as lack of agricultural inputs, increase in price of raw material, decrease in international demand (during the lockdown period) and the consequent need of finding alternative markets.&nbsp;</p><p>The main objectives of the action in Ghana are to:</p><p>&bull; Identify market opportunities and new buyers in the domestic, regional and international market <span>&nbsp;</span>for the cocoa sector and associated crops</p><p>&bull;Strengthen Public-Private alliances along the Global Value Chain (GVC) to support the development of more solid ecosystems including through digital applications. Build capacities of support institutions and stakeholders along the cocoa value chain (producers, MSMEs, Social Enterprises (SE)) for more competitive and resilient commercialization and production, with a focus on digital and other support services (market access and market intelligence tools, product development/innovation, compliance with quality standards, sustainability principles, access to finance)</p><p>&bull;Facilitate linkages for SMEs, SEs and Producers Associations with international, regional and domestic partners, business and investment opportunities</p><p>The agribusiness component of NTF V in Ghana will be delivered through the ITC Alliances for Action (A4A) approach that seeks to build resilience and growth for farmers and small and medium enterprises through more mindful and responsible trade, production and consumption systems. A4A works as a network that promotes responsible partnerships for development and better trade, and leverages investments and technical support to achieve measurable impact for smallholder farmers and MSMEs. In the framework of NTF V, A4A will look beyond sustainable production to work on the enabling environment and target all steps of the value chain from bean to bar. Digital applications will be used to increase the overall competitiveness of the agribusiness value chain as well to scale up results and reach more partners and beneficiaries.</p><p><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--></a></p><p><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""></a></p><p><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""></a></p>

<p>ITC and CBI have been cooperating for decades. This cooperation led to a series of sector development programmes under the Netherlands Trust Fund NTF) since 2005. The current project is part of the NTF V programme funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands and implemented in close coordination with the Dutch Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries (CBI).</p><p>The NTF V programme was approved in July 2021 and will run until June 2025. Its ambition is to contribute to building back better in the partner countries with a focus on creating a link between MSMEs in the digital technologies and agribusiness sectors. To this end, agritech start-ups will be supported to improve their understanding of agribusinesses&rsquo; needs, to gain more agribusinesses partners, and, in some instances, to help digitalize agribusinesses. Digitalizing agribusinesses will be done by the agribusiness team, working whenever possible with agritech businesses that are part of NTF V Ghana Tech project, in the cocoa and associated crops sector, which will be the main focus area for both teams.</p><p>In the digital technology sector, activities will <span>foster business-friendly tech ecosystems, strengthen business support organizations such as tech hubs and equip tech start-ups</span> and SMEs with resilient business models, linking them to business, partnership and investment opportunities while contributing to the digitalization of traditional SMEs in other sectors.</p><p>Ghana is part of the targeted countries for NTF V, under both the digital technologies and the agribusiness sectors. The Ghanaian ICT sector has been growing steadily over the recent years &ndash; even during the pandemic, attracting venture capital investment and seen a regular increase in the number of successful small tech businesses able to expand beyond the country&rsquo;s borders. NTF V Ghana Tech aims at contributing to the creation of sustainable jobs in the digital technologies sector.</p>

<p>To investigate the potential of expanding investment (and trade) linkages between India and Africa, capitalizing on the structural changes and resulting opportunities brought forth by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). &nbsp;</p><p>Will assess constraints and opportunities in each of these four areas and provide concrete recommendations for policy action. In addition, several transversal thematic areas will be probed and emphasized upon &ndash; technology and knowledge transfer, south-south cooperation at the institutional level, developing technical capacities, and environmental sustainability. The paper can eventually evolve into a strategic action plan for both policymakers and the private sector in India.</p><p>The objective is to analyze opportunities for enhancing Indian investment in Africa from four perspectives - automotive, pharmaceutical, agro-processing, textile, and renewable energy -with case studies in each to describe working models which may enhance business interest and highlight potential.</p><p>Case studies on investments under Supporting Indian Trade and Investment for Africa (SITA) will also be updated to reflect the current, post-investment operating environment.</p><p><br></p>

<p>The German government initiative &nbsp;&quot;Alliance for Product Quality in Africa&quot;, is a multi-stakeholder initiative, consisting of public and private actors who implement selected projects with the goal to improve product quality in key economic sectors of eight African countries. ITC is contracted by GIZ to &nbsp;implement four project activities related to quality management and food safety in five countries (C&ocirc;te d&apos;Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Rwanda and Tunisia). The four project activities are being implemented to support selected African small and medium sized companies in the targeted focus sectors to meet quality requirements of buyers in Germany and Europe. The ITC contribution relates to the implementation and certification of quality management (ISO 9001) and food safety systems (HACCP), the assessment of persisting SPS and TBT related obstacles for export, the development of national quality and food safety experts as well as the sensitization and training of quality manager in SMEs. The sectors targeted are predominantly agro-food, natural cosmetics and textiles/clothing.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p>

<p>AIM for Results is an intervention approach that strengthens the performance, efficiency and effectiveness of TISIs and builds their capacity to provide more effective support to the internationalisation needs of their clients, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).</p><p>AIM stands for Assess, Improve and Measure. It is a holistic and targeted integrated three-step-approach focusing on measurable results in order to improve the managerial, operational and service delivery performance of TSIs. The three pillars of AIM are offered either as a single module or as a complete performance improvement programme, depending on the needs of the beneficiary institutions.</p><p>&nbsp;In 2017, the project aims to improve the operational and managerial performance of 40 TISIs applying ITC&rsquo;s AIM For Results methodology.</p>

<p>The proposed project &ldquo;Textile and Apparel Network for Africa (TANA)&rdquo; forms part of the BMZ Special Initiative Training and Job Creation initiated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to contribute to the implementation of the Marshall Plan with Africa and the investment partnership G20 Compact with Africa.</p><p>The project aims at strengthening market linkages between European and African textile and apparel companies and consists of two components, which are financed by two different GIZ entities:</p><ul><li>Global component: Strengthened commercial relationships between European retailers and brands and African textile and apparel suppliers through the establishment of the the Textile and Apparel Network for Africa (TANA) - financed by GIZ HQ</li><li>Country component (pilot): Enhanced competitiveness of Ghanaian textile and apparel companies to meet buyer requirements - financed by GIZ Ghana office.</li></ul>