Côte d'Ivoire

<p>The German government initiative &quot;Alliance for Product Quality in Africa II (AfPQ II)&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 African countries and builds on the success of the &quot;AfPQ I&quot; project, under which more than 40 companies were certified to standards that are required to access high value markets in Europe and groups of quality and food safety experts were trained to provide business support services in the long term. ITC is contracted by GIZ to &nbsp;implement three project activities related to quality management and food safety in four countries, namely C&ocirc;te d&apos;Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana and Rwanda. The three 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 Europe and other important export markets. The ITC contribution relates to the implementation and certification of quality management, food safety and related standard based compliance systems, the improved coordination of standard setting bodies and the private sector in the focus countries, and 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 agri-food, natural cosmetics and textiles/clothing.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The intervention will equip selected existing and new members of the ECOWAS Regional Trade Facilitation Committee and trade facilitation focal points of National AfCFTA Implementation Committees (both target committees) as well as other identified target groups with necessary knowledge, methodologies, tools, and skills to effectively design and mobilize funds for regional trade facilitation reforms, coordinate their implementation at community and national levels and monitor/evaluate results for Member States and their business communities in line with evolving priorities and international or regional best practices.</p>

<p>ITC is currently implementing the micro-level pillar of the EU-ACP Business-friendly programme, which aims to support value chains through inclusive policies, investment promotion, and alliances. The program focuses on strengthening value chain governance and investment, as well as increasing the competitiveness of small farmers and MSMEs. A recently signed top-up agreement extends the implementation duration of the existing EU-ACP Business Friendly programme (B807) by 48 months, integrating additional funding and outputs into the existing initiative. The top-up aligns with the programme&apos;s objectives and will enhance access to value chain finance and sustainable investment. Three new outputs include enhancing access to agribusiness Value Chain finance and a Capacity Building Mechanism to support Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence, CSR &nbsp;and accompanying measure implementation, tailored to OACPS Member States. An initial six-month inception phase define the scope of intervention in the rum/sugar sector and advanced the selection of additional countries that will be included in the ongoing project across all value chains, namely coffee, cocoa, coconuts, cotton/fashion, kava, and rum/sugar sectors.</p>