ITC provides a wealth of information and resources on trade for businesses in developing countries. The tools below (some of them joint projects with other organisations, such as the WTO, UNCTAD, World Bank Group, are intended to explore and facilitate trade with other countries.
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We provide tailored support, aligned with national objectives, to grow trade opportunities for micro, small and medium businesses in developing countries.
<p>The SADC regional component of the Africa Trade Competitiveness and Market Access (ATCMA) programme, funded by the European Union, aims to enhance livelihoods, employment, and economic growth by increasing sustainable intra-African and EU-Africa trade. Implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) in close partnership with the SADC Secretariat, this ATCMA component focuses on boosting African SMEs' trade competitiveness and expanding their market access.</p><p>The Programme will facilitate intra-African trade, strengthen regional quality infrastructure, and support a green transition through a holistic value chain approach. The initiative will benefit export-oriented SMEs, with a focus on women and youth-led businesses, ensuring value addition, regulatory improvements, and enhanced trade competitiveness. The programme will align with existing ATCMA components including EAC, COMESA, ECCAS, and ECOWAS and other regional initiatives to maximize impact.</p>
<p>The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Trade Competitiveness and Market Access (ATCMA) Programme<span> </span>is part of a broader initiative under the ATCMA <span> </span>Programme, with other regional components such as the ECCAS ATCMA<span> </span>, the SADC ATCMA<span> </span> and the ECOWAS ATCMA<span> </span>. It is funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The programme aims to enhance trade competitiveness and market access in Eastern and Southern Africa. In line with the AfCFTA, the programme focuses on improving regional competitiveness, integrating economies into continental and global value chains, and promoting sustainable trade between Africa and the EU.</p><p>Key objectives include supporting African countries in meeting international trade standards through improved testing, certification, and accreditation, while maximizing MSMEs' export potential by addressing market access barriers, enhancing value addition, and promoting sustainability and technology transfer. The programme contributes to several Sustainable Development Goals, including economic growth, sustainable industrialization, responsible production, and gender equality. </p>
<p>The project entails the undertaking of an analytical study to understand the reasons for the sharp decline of the exports of Vanilla and ylang-ylang from The Comoros with the onset of the COVID19 pandemic. The report will also provide recommendations on measures to overcome the problems in exporting/selling these products.</p><p><br>ITC proposes to carry out its technical assistance work on the following axes:<br>1. Analysis of regional and global market developments for vanilla and ylang ylang;<br>2. Survey of economic players to illustrate the evolution of the market for vanilla and ylang ylang, the reasons for this development and the stakeholders' suggestions to boost exports in the sectors concerned.<br>3. Provide recommendations for the revitalization of exports including in relation to the strengthening of sectors through professional organizations and dedicated public institutions.</p>
<p>The project will strengthen ICDT services on trade intelligence to support the public and private sector from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to make better informed decisions and, in the long term, to contribute to an increase of trade between OIC Member States through the embedding of Market Analysis Tools, the development of an online Trade Helpdesk and the development of trade-related studies.</p>
<p>The ITC’ Trade Negotiations and Policy Reform Programme aims to strengthen the capacity of public and private sector stakeholders to engage in trade negotiations and formulate policies and regulations on emerging issues. These include investment facilitation, green trade, e-commerce/digitalization, including artificial intelligence, inclusive trade, sustainable and resilient value chains, industrialization, and multilateral and regional integration.</p><p><span style="color: rgb(44, 130, 201);">This project seeks to (a) bridge information asymmetries through knowledge-sharing activities that are made available, as global public goods; (b) pilot new and innovative approaches on emerging issues such as digital and sustainable trade; (c) increase visibility among beneficiary countries/donors and strengthen credibility as a leading technical partner for UN agencies and WTO; and (d) deliver small projects based on requests received by clients as a means to ensure ITC's relevance on the topics, maintain visibility, and serve as proof of concept to leverage funding opportunities under Window 2.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(44, 130, 201);">In 2024, the project focused primarily on digital and sustainable trade trends, with targeted interventions in the area of inclusive trade (i.e. youth), competition policy and investment facilitation. In 2025, with an allocation of only USD 100,000, the project will focus on a few low-cost, high-Impact initiatives. Digital trade, including artificial intelligence, green trade, and sustainable and resilient value chains will be prioritised. Proposed technical interventions include capacity-building, advisory support and dialogues on these critical issues, and some targeted support to strengthen domestic policy frameworks in response to developments in these areas.</span></p><!--[if !supportAnnotations]--><!--[endif]--><!--[if !supportAnnotations]--><!--[endif]--><!--[if !supportAnnotations]--><!--[endif]--><p><a href="#_msoanchor_1"></a></p><!--[if !supportAnnotations]--><!--[endif]--><!--[if !supportAnnotations]--><!--[endif]--><!--[if !supportAnnotations]--><p><a href="#_msoanchor_1"></a></p><p data-end="1488" data-start="1154">In designing and implementing this support, ITC draws on existing multilateral, regional, and bilateral trading frameworks to ensure a coherent and coordinated approach to domestic trade and investment policy reforms. This approach ensures that measures implemented are aligned with trade commitments and international best practices.</p><p data-end="1599" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="" data-start="1490">Activities under this project will be carried out based on requests received from countries and institutions.</p>
<p>Further to the ratification of the Economic Partnerships agreements in January 2019 by the Comoros, this initiative which is supported financially by the European Union, and technically by ITC, aims to 1) advance the industrialization of The Comoros by improving the business environment and 2) improving the capacity to conform to higher product standards. The initiative will build on the ongoing work on strengthening public-private dialogue platforms as well as efforts to consolidate the attractiveness of the Comorian origin. The technical cooperation will focus not only on trainings and advisory services, but also on putting these into use during the life of the project. UNIDO will in parallel provide technical support to existing business incubators serving Comorian SMEs. </p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US">ITC through UK Trade Partnerships Programme has identified potential growth along the entire value chain in the vanilla and clove industries in Comoros. Increasing trade volumes will bring higher export earnings and new agri-business jobs.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="none">ITC’s trade and market intelligence interventions in the 24 UK Trade Partnerships Programme countries will consist of several interrelated components</span><span data-contrast="none"> </span><span data-contrast="none">to foster transparency and enhanced access</span><span data-contrast="none"> to information on trade opportunities and market access requirements <span data-contrast="none">for small and medium</span><span data-contrast="none">-</span><span data-contrast="none">sized e</span><span data-contrast="none">nterprises</span></span><span data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US">. This will be done</span><span data-contrast="none"> through</span><span data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US"> data</span><span data-contrast="none"> sharing, capacity building, and</span><span data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US"> the</span><span data-contrast="none"> setting up of </span><span data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US">trade </span><span data-contrast="none">obstacle alert mechanisms.</span></p>
