WTO Director-general, ustr ambassador to wto visit trade hub

World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Michael Punke and USTR Director for African Affairs Patrick Coleman discussed issues affecting trade in West Africa during a visit to the USAID Trade Hub. “The World Trade Organization supports the USAID Trade Hub’s work to increase trade within West Africa and to the world,” Lamy said at the close of the meeting. “I was very pleased to discuss trade issues with the Trade Hub.”

cheick diallo works with ghanaian artisans

Internationally renowned architect-designer Cheick Diallo designed 20 new products with Ghanaian exporters, which will be introduced at Ambiente, the world’s largest home décor show in Frankfurt, Germany in February 2012. An American home décor buyer reviewed textile products in Mali during visits to producers facilitated by the USAID Trade Hub. The Trade Hub arranges at least a dozen buyer tours for home décor company representatives each year. www.africa-now.org

shea alliance president named to ghana's shea board steering committee

The president of the Global Shea Alliance, Eugenia Akuete, participated in the inauguration of the Ghana Shea Steering Committee, which is now establishing a National Shea Board to guide the industry in the country. Notably, the president was the only woman participant in the inauguration and the only woman member of the new committee. The new shea board must help build the industry, the Alliance stated in a press release following the meeting. The Alliance is a broad coalition of industry stakeholders, including exporters, traders, international brands, civil society and development agencies from across West Africa and around the world. More than 4 million women across West Africa collect shea nuts for export. www.globalshea.com

enhanced agoa resource center opens in burkina faso

U.S. Ambassador Thomas Dougherty and Burkina Faso’s Minister of Industry, Commerce and Handcrafts Arthur P. Kafando officially opened the enhanced AGOA Resource Center in Burkina Faso. More than 100 stakeholders, including representatives of exporting companies in the handcrafts and food sectors, transport companies and other private sector firms participated in the event.  www.agoatoolkit.com

exporters' perspectives aired at ecowas forum

The Trade Hub presented challenges to exporters in its six targeted value chains to stakeholders at the ECOWAS Export Actors Forum in Cotonou, Benin. Participants included high-level public and private sector stakeholders from each of ECOWAS’ 15 Member States. The Global Shea Alliance and the African Cashew Alliance also participated. www.globalshea.com www.africancashewalliance.com

improvements on the roads in cote d'ivoire

Transport stakeholders in Cote d’Ivoire reported significant improvements in the levels of road harassment in the country during a Trade Hub visit to the Port of Abidjan. But work remains, they said: drivers said they are forced to pay a fee to a non-uniformed service at the Cote d’Ivoire-Mali border and an escort fee to the Ivoirian Shippers’ Council despite that the fee was reportedly canceled in March. 114 transport industry stakeholders, including 13 women, participated in a Borderless roadshow in Cote d’Ivoire. Drivers, Transporters, Shippers, Police, Customs, Gendarmerie, FRCI, the ministries of Transport, Trade, and the Interior and representatives of the Abidjan Port, the Consumers’ Association, and traders’ associations participated in the workshop, which focused on the Borderless Alliance and the latest report on bribes and delays published jointly by the USAID Trade Hub and UEMOA. The meeting also featured presentations on road governance issues by the shippers’ council, the port of Abidjan, the fund for road maintenance (Fonds d’Entretien Routier), the army (FRCI), and a CSO. Discussion focused on the economic impact of delays on the road, the impacts of violence and harassment on drivers, traffic and activity at the port, government measures to eliminate corruption, hotlines, and axle load weight control. The Trade Hub also participated in an hour-long radio show on road governance during the visit. The Borderless website now includes full summaries of issues discussed at roadshows. www.borderlesswa.com

food industry stakeholders connect to west african specialty foods

The Trade Hub established more than 40 solid contacts with European food industry stakeholders during the Food Ingredient Europe show in Paris, France. The buyers expressed interest in sourcing from West Africa, a proposition that was made more attractive when they learned of potential support from the Trade Hub in meeting producers. www.globalshea.com

new truck drivers guide clarifies trucking in mali

85 transport stakeholders in Mali – including drivers, transporters, shippers, Police, Customs, Gendarmerie, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Trade, Consumers’ Association, and traders – participated in the launch of the Mali Truck Drivers Guide and discussed the most recent data published in the 16th report on road governance, which presents summary information on the numbers of checkpoints and the bribes and delays along interstate corridors. The USAID Agribusiness and Trade Promotion and USAID Integrated Initiatives for Economic Growth in Mali co-sponsored the event. The Mali Truck Drivers Guide was researched and designed by the Trade Hub in close collaboration with stakeholders and the National Transport and Facilitation Committee in Mali. Meanwhile, a Trade Hub team met with transport stakeholders in Burkina Faso to collect information that will become the Truck Drivers Guide to Burkina Faso. The Guide promotes professionalism in trucking. Truck drivers who follow the laws and drive trucks that are roadworthy are much less likely to be harassed at checkpoints along primary trade corridors in West Africa.  www.borderlesswa.com

uneca meeting features info on borderless

The Trade Hub presented the Borderless Alliance and its road governance work to 60 high-level officials from the ministries of Trade, Transport and Customs of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo during a United Nations Economic Commission for Africa meeting on transport and trade facilitation in Bamako, Mali. The meeting included representatives of the ECOWAS Commission, African Development Bank, World Bank, Walvis Bay Corridor Group, Ghana Ports Authority, Organization of Road Transporters of Burkina Faso (OTRAF) and ECA office for West Africa. www.borderlesswa.com

ecowas member states discuss etls approval process

The Trade Hub facilitated training & working sessions for nine ECOWAS Member States, including Burkina Faso, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Niger, Cote d’Ivoire and the Gambia, on the ETLS Approval Process. Members of the ETLS National Approval Committees (NACs) shared lessons learned and developed recommendations for a more efficient ETLS Preferred Trader Criteria and Approval Process in Ouagadougou.  The group also made recommendations to the ECOWAS Commission to improve the capacity of the NACs to disseminate their mandate and the ETLS benefits. www.borderlesswa.com

fidak event features news on borderless

More than 170 stakeholders at the 20th annual International Trade Fair of Dakar (FIDAK) learned about the Borderless initiative to increase trade across West Africa. The Trade Hub presented its gap analysis studies of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme and its road governance reports published jointly with UEMOA. www.borderlesswa.com

cashew stakeholders see opportunity thanks to finance scheme

200 cashew stakeholders, including bankers and cashew processors, in Nigeria learned about the Nigerian Cashew Cluster Finance Scheme during the Nigerian Cashew Summit in Lagos. Finance Consultant Judson Welsh presented the plan at the event, which was sponsored by the African Cashew Alliance and the Government of Nigeria. www.africancashewalliance.com

aca works with stakeholders in guinea-bissau

The African Cashew Alliance visited with stakeholders in Guinea Bissau, to set up an information service for its members, which will leverage members’ knowledge and relationships across the region. www.africancashewalliance.com

agoa information presented to stakeholders in cote d'ivoire

The Trade Hub presented an overview of its services during visits to key stakeholders in Cote d’Ivoire. In meetings with APEX-CI, the export promotion agency of Cote d’Ivoire, and the Ministry of Commerce, an AGOA Resource Center (ARC) and the re-actualization of the textile visa arrangement for textile exports under AGOA were discussed. 17 fashion designers were also trained in export readiness. www.agoatoolkit.com