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10:30–12:30
La Coupole
Léman A
Léman B
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Breakout
Series 1: Building Supply-Side Capacities
• Aid for Productive Capacities - What Works, What Does Not
Background:
The call by
developing countries is for improved market access. Paradoxically, the assertion is often made that developing countries have to look inwards to enhance their productive capacities. Whilst many assistance programmes strive to achieve this, too often, these effort shave only a limited impact on export. The reason is that such programmes often have a developmental bias, with
competitiveness given only secondary importance.
Issues for Debate:
- What, specifically, must be done to achieve a better and more sustainable impact on export performance through aid for productive capacities?
- Should such aid be directed to single sectors or should it have a cross-sectoral scope? Can more impact be achieved by focusing on traditional sectors, or should aid target emerging and new sectors? What criteria
should be used to guide decision-makers in this regard?
Speakers:
– Kiichiro Fukasaku, Economist, OECD Development Centre, France
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Josephine Francis, Owner/Manager, Arjay Farm,
Liberia
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Antonio Ruales, Vice Minister of Trade and Integration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ecuador
Moderator:
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Evita Schmieg,
Head, Division
of
Globalization, Trade
and
Investment,
Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development(BMZ), Germany
• Unleashing the Power of Enterprise: Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Background:
Innovation and entrepreneurship are not the sole domain of hi-tech economies. Both the formal and informal
sectors in most developing countries often demonstrate a surprisingly
high level of creativity at generating economic activity. Unfortunately, the volumes are often insufficient, and there is no guarantee that the potential benefits accrue to the entrepreneur and the local community. To have an impact on export performance, a supportive environment is required to enable new entrepreneurs to emerge, existing ones to expand, and to eventually diversify into new sectors and markets.
Issues for Debate:
- What are the impediments to entrepreneurship and innovation in developing countries and economies in transition? How can these impediments be overcome?
- What must be done by policy-makers, trade support institutions and enterprises to foster innovation and entrepreneurship so
as to build supply-side capacities?
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George S. Dragnich, Director, Office of Economic and Development
Affairs,
Bureau
of
International Organization Affairs, Department of State, USA
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Paul Regis,Program Officer, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Switzerland
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Dora Hoan, Group Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, BestWorld International, Singapore
Moderator:
Ron Marchant, former CEO, UK
Patent Office, United Kingdom
• Finding a Place in Today’s Global Value Chains
Background:
To be successful in
international trade, businesses must find their place in the global value chain. Enterprises in many developing countries and economies in transition, however, often find themselves in an
unequal balance of
power, with the bulk of the benefits going to those who dominate the marketing channels. The challenge,
therefore, is for enterprises to make the leap from being
passive participants in the value chain to a position of strength where they can be price-makers instead of price-takers.
Issues for Debate:
- To achieve a better position of strength in the global value chain, should efforts be directed toward obtaining market fit,
or should the focus be on
strengthening supply-side capacities?
- To achieve a better position of strength in the global value chain, should the emphasis be on finding markets that match the supply-side capabilities, or on assisting enterprises meet
stringent market requirements?
- Where do the significant opportunities for developing countries lie – in global value chains or in regional value chains?
- Whilst enterprises in developing
countries
cannot suddenly dominate global value chains, what
realistic options/alternatives can they pursue to strengthen their position?
Speakers:
Stephanie Barrientos, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, United Kingdom
Fiorina Mugione, Chief, Enterprise Development
and Capacity Building Section, UNCTAD, Switzerland
Owen Skae, SeniorAdviser – Export Strategy Design and Management, ITC
Moderator:
Martin Watson, Representative for Global Economic Issues, Quaker UN Office, Switzerland
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