WEST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB - USAID

Contract No.: AID-624-C-13-00002-00

November 7, 2016

This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development.

It was prepared by Abt Associates for the West Africa Trade and Investment Hub.

WEST AFRICA

TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB

ANNUAL REPORT OCTOBER 2015–SEPTEMBER 2016

Recommended Citation: West Africa Trade and Investment Hub. “Annual Report: October

2015–September 2016.” Prepared for the West Africa Trade and

Investment Hub by Abt Associates, Bethesda MD, November 1,

2016.

Submitted to: Cory O’Hara, COR, Office of Trade and Investment

(+233) 30-274-1317

USAID/West Africa

No. 24 Fourth Circular Road, Cantonments

Accra, Ghana

Abt Associates Inc. 1 4550 Montgomery Avenue 1 Suite 800 North 1

Bethesda, Maryland 20814 1 T. 301.347.5000 1 F. 301.913.9061 1

www.abtassociates.com

With:

Banyan Global Kanava International

J.E. Austin SSG Advisors

http://www.abtassociates.com/

WEST AFRICA

TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB

ANNUAL REPORT OCTOBER 2015–SEPTEMBER 2016

Contract No.: AID-624-C-13-00002-00

DISCLAIMER

The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United

States Agency for International Development (USAID) or the United States Government.

Annual Report FY2016: October 2015–September 2016 i

CONTENTS

Contents ...........................................................................................................................................i

1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1

2. Trade and Transport Enabling Environment ...................................................................... 8

3. Livestock ............................................................................................................................... 23

4. Cereals .................................................................................................................................. 33

5. Mango.................................................................................................................................... 40

6. Apparel ................................................................................................................................. 47

7. Cashew .................................................................................................................................. 55

8. Shea ....................................................................................................................................... 58

9. Market Information Systems .............................................................................................. 61

10. AGOA ................................................................................................................................... 65

11. Finance and Investment ...................................................................................................... 71

12. Capacity Building and Grants ............................................................................................. 86

13. Communications ................................................................................................................ 103

14. Monitoring and Evaluation ................................................................................................ 110

15. Administration and Management .................................................................................... 115

16. Côte d’Ivoire Trade Africa Program ............................................................................... 117

Annex A: Project Performance Indicators .............................................................................. 128

Annex B: Media Coverage, Online Campaigns, and Video Links ......................................... 135

Annex C: Stories of Impact ...................................................................................................... 136

Annex D: Significant Meetings and Trip Reports ................................................................... 141

Annex E: Documents and Presentations ................................................................................ 148

Annex F: Trade Hub Financial Advisors ................................................................................. 150

Annex G: Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan Update ...................................... 152

Annex H: Trade Hub Partners ................................................................................................. 161

Annual Report FY2016: October 2015–September 2016 ii

LIST OF TABLES

Table A 1: Summary of FY16 Targets and Results ................................................................... 6

Table 1: Indicator 14—Number of Reforms/Policies/Regulations/Administrative

Procedures in Each of the Five Stages of Development .......................................................... 20

Table 2: Indicator 25—Numbers of Actions (Audits, Reports, Presentations) or Tools

Developed to Facilitate Compliance of Member States with ETLS ...................................... 21

Table 3: Sales by Cattle Fattening Networks in Burkina Faso and Mali ................................ 24

Table 4: Value of Sales in Côte d’Ivoire Markets During Operation Tabaski 2016 .............. 28

Table 5: Results of FY16 Cereals Exchanges ............................................................................ 35

Table 6: Results of Monitoring of Cereals Contracts, FY16 .................................................... 36

Table 7: Overview of Hub Mango Interventions and Sales ..................................................... 41

Table 8: TOT Programs on Best Harvesting Practices, April–July 2016 ............................... 42

Table 9: Cascade Training on Best Harvesting Practices, July–August 2016 ........................ 43

Table 10: Mango Producers Receiving GLOBALG.A.P. Training and Certification, FY16 .. 44

Table 11: Training for Cashew Processing Factory Managers ................................................ 56

Table 12: Training for Women Shea Warehouse Managers, FY16 ....................................... 59

Table 13: Main Demand-Side Financial Services Activities ..................................................... 73

Table 14: Distribution of Financial Advisors by Country ........................................................ 73

Table 15: Key Constraints Facing Female Entrepreneurs in West Africa ............................ 77

Table 16: Key Supply-Side Financial Services Activities .......................................................... 78

Table 17: Variations between Feed the Future DCAs and Hub-targeted Small and

Medium Enterprises .................................................................................................................... 80

Table 18: Loan Targets for Coris Bank in 2017 and 2018 ($) .................................................. 81

Table 19: Projected Investment Results: Demand and Supply Sides ..................................... 84

Table 20: Potential Shift in Value Chains.................................................................................. 85

Table 21: Mid-term OCA Scores for Hub Partners ................................................................. 89

Table 22: West Africa Trade and Investment Hub Grants in FY16 ..................................... 100

Table 23: FY16 Online newsletter subscription ..................................................................... 106

Annual Report FY2016: October 2015–September 2016 iii

Table 24: FY16 Web site statistics .......................................................................................... 107

Table 25: FY16 Social media statistics .................................................................................... 108

Table 26: Project Activities in Côte d'Ivoire, FY16 ............................................................... 119

Table 27: Finance and Investment Activities, Côte d'Ivoire ................................................. 126

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: West Africa Trade and Investment Hub Target Corridors ...................................... 9

Figure 2: Advocacy Steps for Removal of Certificate of Origin .............................................. 12

Figure 3: F16 Operation Tabaski Markets ................................................................................ 28

Figure 4: EAA Process for Helping West African Apparel Companies Prepare to Export 48

Figure 5: KAD Manufacturing Skirts and Dresses on Sale through Brooklyn Industries ..... 49

Figure 6: INC Business Model .................................................................................................... 75

Figure 7: FY16 Training and Learning Activities, by Quarter ................................................ 87

Figure 8: Mid-term Organizational Capacity Assessment Results for Partner

Organizations .............................................................................................................................. 90

Figure 9: Mid-term OCA Results for Borderless Alliance ....................................................... 90

Figure 10: Mid-term Organizational Capacity Assessment Results for COFENABVI ......... 92

Figure 11: Mid-term Organizational Capacity Assessment Results for WAGN ................... 94

Figure 12: Mid-term Organizational Capacity Assessment Results for RESIMAO .............. 95

Figure 13: Mid-term Organizational Capacity Assessment Results for ACA ....................... 96

Figure 14: Baseline Organizational Capacity Assessment Results for FIKA-CI .................... 98

Figure 15: Examples of Coverage in Print Media ................................................................... 105

Figure 16: Newspaper Clips from Q4 ...................................................................................... 105

Figure 17: Television Coverage Example................................................................................ 105

Figure 18: Trends of New Users and Page Views for Hub Web Site ................................... 107

Figure 19: Publications and Reports ........................................................................................ 107

Figure 20: Examples of Promotional Materials and Presentation Aids ............................... 108

file:///C:/Trade%20Hub/Annual%20Report%20FY16/TradeHub_FY16-Annual-Report_FINAL.docx%23_Toc465843429

Annual Report FY2016: October 2015–September 2016 iv

ACRONYMS

AAFEX Association Afrique Agro-Export

ACA African Cashew Alliance

ACTE Africa Competitiveness and Trade Expansion Initiative

ADI-Prod Agence Deli Internationale Prod

AfDB African Development Bank

AGAM Association of Ghanaian Apparel Manufacturers

AGOA African Growth and Opportunity Act

AGRA Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa

ALCO Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organization

AMC-FC Agriculture Management Company-Food and Commerce

ANC Africa New Confection

ANSI American National Standards Institute

APEMAB Associations Professionnels des Exportateurs des Mangue du Burkina

APEX-CI Agence pour la Promotion des Exportations

AREXMA Association Régionale des Exportateurs de Mangues de Côte d’Ivoire

APROMA-B Association Professionnelle Mangue du Burkina Faso

ASEPEX Agence Sénégalaise de Promotion des Exportations

ATRC AGOA/Trade Resource Center

ATWA Accelerating Trade in West Africa Project

AVI Afrique Verte International

AWEP African Women Entrepreneurship Program

B2B Business to business

BA Borderless Alliance

BDS Business development services

BSIC Banque Sahélo-Saharienne pour l'Investissement et le Commerce

CBC Conseil Burkinabé des Chargeurs

CCIAM Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Mauritania

CCI-B Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie du Benin

CDI Côte d’Ivoire

CFA West African Franc

CFAHS Coopérative Fédérative de L’horticulture de Sénégal

CILSS Comité Inter-Etats de Lutte contre la Sécheresse au Sahel

CNOPG Confédération Nationale des Organisations Paysannes de Guinée

Annual Report FY2016: October 2015–September 2016 v

COFENABVI Confédération des Fédérations Nationales de la Filière Bétail/Viande des Pays de

l’Afrique de l’Ouest

COO Certificate of origin

COP Chief of Party

COR Contracting Officer's Representative

CPC Centrale des Producteurs de Céréales

DAFML Databank Agrifund Manager Limited

DCA Development Credit Authority

DPV Direction de la Protection des Végétaux

DQA Data quality assessment

DRADA Régionale d’Appui au Développement Agricole

DAMFA Dangme West Mango Farmers Associations

EAA Ethical Apparel Africa

ECOAGRIS ECOWAS agricultural information system

ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States

ERC Export-ready company

ETLS ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme

EU European Union

FAA Fixed-amount award

FAO Food and Agriculture Oganization

FEBEVIB Fédération Bétail-Viande du Burkina

FEBEVIM Fédération Bétail-Viande du Mali

FENABEV Fédération Nationale de la Filière Bétail Viande du Bénin

FENACOFCVI-CI Fédération Nationale des Coopératives de la Filière Bétail-Viande de Cote d’Ivoire,

FIKA-CI Filière Karité de Côte d’Ivoire

FUPRO Fédération de l’Union des Producteurs

FY Fiscal Year

GCCI Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry

GDA Global Development Alliance

GEPA Ghana Export Promotion Authority

GHAFLIP Ghana Federation of Livestock Interprofessional Associations

GIZ German Corporation for International Cooperation

GLOBALG.A.P. Global Good Agricultural Practices

GOG Government of Ghana

GSA Global Shea Alliance

HACCP Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points

IFC International Finance Corporation

Annual Report FY2016: October 2015–September 2016 vi

INC Ivoirienne des Noix de Cajou

IPM Integrated pest management

ISDTM Impact Strengthening DevelopmentTM

ISO International Organization for Standardization

ISRT Interstate Road Transit Convention

IT Information Technology

ITC International Trade Centre

JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency

LOC Letter of Collaboration

LPFM II Leadership in Public Financial Management II

LPG Loan portfolio guarantee

M&E Monitoring and evaluation

MFI Microfinance institution

MIS Market information systems

MOTI Ministry of Trade and Industry

MOU Memorandum of understanding

NACC Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce

NEPC Nigerian Export Promotion Council

NEXTT Nigeria Expanded Trade and Transport

NGO Nongovernmental organization

NTB Non-tariff barrier

NTFC National Trade Facilitation Committee

OCA Organizational capacity assessment

OCPV Office de Commercialisation des Produits Vivriers

OPA Observatoire des Pratiques Anormales

OSBP One-stop border post

PAERiz Projet d'Appui aux Etuveuses de Riz du Burkina Faso

PRAPS Projet Régional d’Appui au Pastoralisme au Sahel

PMP Performance Management Plan

ProFAB Food Across Borders Program

PTRAMAB Professionnels des Transformateurs de la Mangue du Burkina

REGIS AG Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel–Accelerated Growth project

RESIMAO Réseau des Systèmes d’Information des Marchés en Afrique de l’Ouest

ROPPA Réseau des Organisations Paysannes et de Producteurs de l'Afrique de l'Ouest

SANTPA Société Africaine de Négoce et de Transformation de Produits Agricole

SGBF Société Générale Burkina Faso

SIBVAO Salon International du Bétail et de la Viande de l’Afrique de l’Ouest

Annual Report FY2016: October 2015–September 2016 vii

SME Small or medium enterprise

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation

SPS Sanitary and phytosanitary

STTA Short-term technical assistance

TFA Trade Facilitation Agreement

TOT Training of trainers

TTEE Trade and transport enabling environment

UEMOA Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa

UKAid United Kingdom Agency for International Development

UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

USAID United States Agency for International Development

USDA United States Department of Agriculture

VC Value chain

WA West Africa

WFP World Food Programme

WAGN West Africa Grains Network

WRAP Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production

WTO World Trade Organization

YKMFA Yilo Krobo Mango Farmers Association

Annual Report FY2016: October 2015–September 2016 1

1. INTRODUCTION

USAID CONTEXT AND KEY PARTNERS 1.1

This report covers the second full year of implementation for the West Africa Trade and Investment

Hub, known in West Africa as the Trade Hub. The project supports USAID/West Africa’s Mission-

wide goal of West African-led advancement of social and economic well-being. This goal is primarily

supported by the development objective “broad-based economic growth and resilience advanced

through West African partners.” The Hub contributes to this objective by achieving two

intermediate results:

Improving the capacity of West Africa’s farmers and firms in targeted regional and global 1.

value chains.

Improving the business enabling environment by addressing transport constraints and trade 2.

barriers affecting the efficiency of the region’s corridors and borders.

The project is also one of USAID’s three trade and investment hubs in Africa. In this larger arena,

the project is known by the acronym WATIH. USAID/Washington’s Africa Bureau supports a

harmonized performance reporting framework for the three trade hubs. Under this harmonized

Trade Africa results framework, the development objective is “expanded trade and investment.”

The project is also part of two complementary Presidential Initiatives:

Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s global food security initiative, launched in 2010.

Under Feed the Future, the Hub’s primary emphasis is to increase regional trade.

Trade Africa, launched in East Africa in 2013 and expanded to parts of West Africa in 2015.

The mandate of Trade Africa is to expand both regional trade within Africa and trade

between Africa, the U.S., and other global markets.

On a day-to-day basis, the Hub works with and through a wide range of partners. For example, for

our value chain work, we engage with a mix of regional private sector associations and alliances,

cooperatives, and individual firms. Our investment work involves individual firms seeking investment

funds, investment brokers, and financial institutions. For the enabling environment, we work with the

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), national government entities, and civil

society organizations. As the Hub works with all of these partners, we are helping them serve as

leaders in promoting reforms, attracting buyers and investors, and adopting improved practices.

The Hub’s major components are:

Regional staple foods development (livestock and grains)

Global value chain development (mango, cashew, shea, and apparel)

Finance and investment

Transport and the trade enabling environment

Capacity building

Communications

Administration and management, including grants administration


FY16 HIGHLIGHTS 1.2

During FY16, the project continued to work with a large number of stakeholders in an ever-changing

environment. We worked in almost all West African countries, with a concentration of activities in

nine: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo.

We used an adaptive management approach to navigate the complex regional and USAID landscape,

learn from experience, and respond to evolving priorities. During FY16, this approach allowed us to

launch our Trade Africa program in Côte d’Ivoire, define how we will support the World Trade

Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, begin to

develop a closer partnership with ECOWAS, continue tailoring activities to the diverse needs of six

value chains in various countries, assist the increasingly capable organizations supporting these value

chains, and diversify the ways we help firms access finance. Performance highlights include:

Côte d’Ivoire Trade Africa program. We opened our office in Abidjan in March,

established good working relationships with public and private sector partners, kicked off

support to the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC), facilitated $8.8 million in

cashew and rice processing investments, and helped the regional livestock association

Confédération des Fédérations Nationales Bétail/Viande de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (COFENABVI)

carry out an ambitious regional livestock fair that drew around 4,000 people and livestock

federations from six countries.

Exports. We facilitated $33.6 million of exports (intra- and extra-regional). Top exports

included $12 million of livestock sold to new markets during Tabaski (a reduction from last

year since we provided more limited support to Côte d’Ivoire only) and $6.5 million of

fattened cattle (a large increase from last year due to expanded support). Mango exports

were almost $4.6 million, substantially less than last year due largely to a poorer harvest

overall. Cereals traders who participated in project-financed cereals exchanges completed

$1.2 million in intra-regional cereals exports, out of total sales of $8.3 million. Given the

inertia in the Ghanaian government’s support for the apparel industry, apparel exports have

not taken off as quickly as we had hoped, but thanks to our support for the country’s top

apparel firm, Hub-assisted exports in this sector reached $9.1 million in FY16. We are

continuing to provide in-depth, customized assistance to the region’s most promising apparel

firms, which should pay off next year.

Investment. The project is responsible for increasing access to finance as measured by the

value of loans and other investments, the number of loans made, and the number of loans

made to women-owned enterprises. We are also responsible for developing a network of

Financial Advisors. During the last year, the Hub has streamlined our network of Financial

Advisors to focus on those who have already delivered results or have the greatest potential

to deliver strong results in the near future. We facilitated $18.1 million in investment

through 31 deals in six countries, in values up to $8.2 million. Our Financial Advisors

facilitated $11.5 million of these deals, and in one case we provided support to help an

impact investment firm make a $3.5 million investment in a large fruit exporter. Thirteen

loans were made to women-owned enterprises under our gender-focused lending strategy,

which we first piloted in Burkina Faso and are now rolling out in Côte d’Ivoire.

Enabling environment. We made progress toward our target for advancing reforms and

policies and exceeded our target for actions to facilitate compliance with the ECOWAS

Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS). Of note, for example, we worked with local officials in

Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso to abolish requirements for Certificates of Origin for

regional exports of raw agricultural products, which were in contravention of the ECOWAS

free trade protocol. (See Table 1 and Table 2 in Chapter 2 for complete lists of reforms and

actions.) In addition, following new agreements between USAID and ECOWAS, we worked


closely with the ECOWAS Infrastructure Department to develop the terms of reference

and finalize contracting for a seminal corridor management study.

Organizational capacity building. The project works with six regional partners: four

focused on value chains, one on market information systems, and one on advocacy and road

governance. The Hub’s mid-term assessments of five of these organizations show that their

organizational capacity scores have increased by an average of 56 percent in the last two

years and that they are generally becoming more effective at offering services to members.

This 56 percent increase is well on the way to our February 2017 target of a 60 percent

increase. Two of the organizations—Borderless Alliance and the African Cashew Alliance—

have expanded their programs, diversified their funding, and are on their way to becoming

sustainable. The West Africa Grains Network (WAGN) showed an overall score increase of

a whopping 289 percent. This partner, which started out in 2014 as a nascent organization,

has made significant strides in developing its networks, management, and executive capacity,

and in building up its membership. The Réseau des Systèmes d’Information des Marchés en

Afrique de l’Ouest (RESIMAO) has achieved a much higher level of management skill and is in

the process of expanding into four new countries. With Hub support, COFENABVI recently

organized a regional livestock fair, bringing together several thousand actors in the livestock

sector, from traders to equipment suppliers to financial institutions and large institutional

buyers.

PROGRAMMATIC TRENDS 1.3

We offer the following observations of how the Hub’s approach in most technical areas has evolved

in the last year in response to our environment, interactions with key stakeholders, and continued

learning.

Trade and transport enabling environment. Two of the project’s five performance

indicators related to the enabling environment measure reductions in the time and cost to

trade. We have come to recognize that the project can catalyze some reductions in the time

and cost to trade, but that significant improvements require either large-scale investments

beyond the scope of the project or significant involvement by corridor management

institutions that have not yet been created in West Africa. In fact, as one of our ECOWAS

counterparts said six weeks ago, “We don’t have transport corridors in West Africa. We

just have a roads network.” With the exception of the Abidjan–Lagos corridor, West Africa

does not have corridors that result from a concerted and collaborative effort by engaged

governments to promote economic development. ECOWAS attempted to promote

corridor development by creating corridor management committees in 2005, but these

structures depended on funding from member states. The committees were never given

enough funding to operate and are largely non-functional. As a result, there is foundational

work that must first be done to create the conditions that will allow significant reductions in

time and cost to trade. During FY17, the Hub will manage, in close collaboration with

ECOWAS, a major corridor management study that will advance this foundational work. In

addition, as national governments show openness for reform, we will address specific

constraints, such as those related to Certificates of Origin or harmonization of sanitary and

phytosanitary requirements.

Livestock. Hub activities have centered on supporting the regional confederation,

COFENABVI; deepening regional marketing, especially but not only to secondary markets

during the Tabaski holiday; and strengthening cattle fattening networks. Responding to

stakeholder demand, the project has helped large numbers of actors offset the risk of selling

in new markets during Tabaski and has helped a smaller number of innovators expand trade

in fattened cattle. Livestock remains a tradition-bound, risk-averse sector, but also one

where gradual innovation is both possible and important, given that the sector is a


foundation of the agricultural economy throughout the region, especially in the Sahel.

Innovations such as using written contracts and scales both prior to and after transport from

buyer to seller are logical and relatively straightforward in theory. However, having both

sellers and buyers put them into practice requires a process of continuous learning and

adaptation by all parties, led by innovators and early adopters, who must themselves be

convinced. The adoption of these new trading practices has the potential to transform the

value chain in the medium term because it would make working with modern supermarket

chains and other wholesalers in the coastal markets that much more feasible.

Cereals. In the last year, most of our work in this sector has focused on supporting cereals

exchanges as a way to both disseminate best contracting practices and expand trade. While

the exchanges have been good venues to expose a large number of players to improved

practices, we are continuing work to increase the volume of cereals actually traded under

improved contracts. As we adapt our approach for the coming work planning period, we aim

to expand the size and likelihood of individual transactions that take place, focusing on larger

end-users and larger suppliers in the grain market. This will include working through WAGN

with the industrial processing industry (both for human consumption and animal feed) and

the beverage industry. We have begun to make some of these connections and found

interest in pursuing medium-term relationships for the provision of grain on a regular basis.

Next, we will make contact with different breweries throughout the region, as they

represent significant market opportunities for the cereals trading sector. These end-users’

largest concern is the quality of product they procure; ongoing Hub efforts to reinforce

quality and grades and standards will help address those concerns.

Mango. In FY16, our work focused on increasing the supply of exportable mangoes in

priority countries, allowing us to reach a large number of beneficiaries and make a broad

impact. Given that quality problems are by far the main constraint to increasing exports, we

carried out quality-enhancement trainings in harvest and post-harvest handling and fruit-fly

control for more than 2,700 people in both classroom and field settings. Now that we have

demonstrated the value of such training on a large scale, the next step will be for the private

sector to take on increased management and financial responsibility for the training,

including full responsibility for participant training expenses and the cost of certifications.

This cascade training has already begun. To help actors understand the importance of

increasing their own investment in quality, we will organize national symposia to share

experiences, best practices, and opportunities to establish new commercial relationships.

Now that we have helped increase the supply of quality mango, some of those mangoes can

be used to produce a more reliable supply for processing, which will receive increased

emphasis in the future, as will efforts to find U.S. buyers. The Hub will begin to support a

wider number of fruits and processed fruit products, including pineapple, for example, where

we facilitated a large investment in FY16. We will develop partnerships with pack houses and

processing facilities whose products can be sold to targeted buyers in foreign markets. In

addition, the project will work with lead firms to identify the areas where we can provide

effective assistance and support efforts to work with large new buyers.

Apparel. In the apparel industry we have successfully partnered with a specialized service

provider, Ethical Apparel Africa, to provide customized support to smaller firms that show

potential to engage in larger-scale production for export. We complemented these efforts

by helping the firm Dignity DTRT Limited advocate for new space to expand operations and

access Ghanaian government-supplied training funds, all of which contributed to $9 million in

exports. This Ghana-based company exemplifies the advantages that can be realized under

the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the spillover impact this preferential

trade agreement can have on the growth of exports and jobs. The need to meet

requirements to obtain Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP)

certification was illustrated when one Hub-supported firm lost a potential order because it


was not WRAP certified. Attention to this issue is high on our priority list for the coming

year. In addition to our focus on apparel, we will also explore possible competitive options

in the region’s textile industry.

AGOA. Over the course of FY16, USAID/Washington has increased its emphasis on

AGOA due to the recent 10-year extension. Accordingly, we are accelerating project efforts

to help countries capture opportunities offered by the extension of AGOA until 2025. We

have hired an additional specialist to support the AGOA Trade Resource Centers (ATRCs)

and strengthen our support to export-ready companies. Hub grants to seven ATRCs helped

these organizations better serve their countries’ private sectors and boost exports. In

addition, project-supported trainings and events provided helpful export and AGOA

information to more than 900 business leaders in seven countries. On the U.S. side, we have

established a platform for specialized technical assistance to help exporting companies

navigate the customs clearance process.

Finance and investment. During FY16, we not only provided more business development

services support to client firms, as envisioned in our work plan, but we also stepped up our

support of financial institutions to give them incentives to work with promising companies

wanting to expand their work in targeted value chains—thus working from the “supply side.”

Now that USAID/West Africa has sponsored two regional Development Credit Authority

(DCA) instruments tailored to the Hub’s particular regional needs, we are quickly ramping

up work with the two recipient banks. Finally, as we have now been able to evaluate the

performance of the Financial Advisors individually, we will retain only the most productive

ones in the network, thereby reducing the number of advisors but improving the quality of

the overall portfolio.

PERFORMANCE IN MEETING TARGETS 1.4

Table A1 on the following provides a summary of FY16 targets and results according to each of our

26 indicators. Cumulative results through FY16 can be found in Annex A, which also provides

baselines and disaggregated results. Some observations regarding the key higher-level indicators:

Exports and new sales. We fell short of the FY16 target for exports (Indicator 1), but

have exceeded the FY14-FY16 cumulative target. We came very close to the FY16 target for

new sales (Indicator 15) and have exceeded the FY14-FY16 target for that indicator.

Investment and loans. In FY16, we fell short of the investment targets (Indicators 2 and

3). We came very close to the target for loans (Indicator 22).

Jobs. We fell short of the FY16 target, but exceeded the FY14-FY16 target for jobs

(Indicator 4).

Time and cost to trade. We came fairly close to meeting these targets, however, we are

reviewing the methodology for these indicators (#12 and #13) to make sure they capture

change attributable to the Trade Hub.

Organizational capacity. We came very close to meeting the Year 3 (February 2017)

target for this indicator (#17).


Table A 1: Summary of FY16 Targets and Results

# INDICATOR AND DISAGGREGATIONS

FY16

TARGET

(Oct 2015 – Sep 2016)

FY16 RESULTS

(Oct 2015 – Sep 2016)

INDICATORS COMMON TO ALL TRADE HUBS

1 Change in value of exports in targeted non-agricultural and agricultural

commodities from Hub-supported firms/associations/entities $42,500,000 $33,567,200

2 Value of new private sector investment in the agricultural sector or food

chain leveraged by USAID implementation (FTF 4.5.5-38) $31,500,000 $18,093,077

3 Value of new private sector investment in non-agricultural targeted sectors

leveraged by USAID implementation $3,500,000 $12,000

4 Number of jobs created with USG assistance 12,000 8,395

5 Number of firms/associations that are more profitable due to USG

assistance (FTF 4.5.2-43) 50 33

6

Number of farmers and other agricultural sector entities who have applied

new technologies or management practices as a result of USG assistance

(FTF 4.5.2-5)

140 851

7 Number of buyer/seller linkages established in targeted agricultural sectors

as a result of Trade Hub assistance 150 1,279

8 Number of assisted agricultural sector firms/farmers meeting international

grades and standards to export 500 692

9 Number of non-agricultural firms who have applied new technologies or

management practices as a result of USG assistance 5 3

10 Number of buyer/seller linkages established in targeted non-agricultural

sectors as a result of Trade Hub assistance 3 101

11 Number of assisted non-agricultural sector firms meeting international

grades and standards to export 5 2

12 Time required to trade goods across borders and along corridors as a result

of Trade Hub assistance (F 4.2.1-1)

-5% Change

(Reduction) Avg. -3.9%1

13 Cost to trade goods across borders and/or along corridors as a result of

Trade Hub assistance

-5% Change

(Reduction) Avg. -4%2

14 Number of reforms/policies/regulations/administrative procedures in each of

the five stages of development (FTF 4.5.1-24) 12 8

INDICATORS SPECIFIC TO THE WEST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB

15 Value of new sales of assisted firms/members of associations due to USG

assistance $50,000,000 $49,168,173

16

Number of private enterprises, producers organizations, water users

associations, women’s groups, trade and business associations receiving USG

assistance

220 498

17

Score in percent of combined key areas of organization capacity amongst

USG direct and indirect local implementing partners (CBLD-5, now

archived)3

60% 56%

18 Number of individuals who have received USG supported short-term

agricultural sector productivity or food security training (FTF 4.5.2-7) 600 1,137

19 Number of participants in Trade Hub-supported capacity building events

related to improving trade or attracting investment 2,500 3,244

20 Number of new dues paying members in private business associations as a

results of USG assistance 300

Will collect

in FY17

21 Total number of users of new MIS services 40,000 11,969

22 Value of new loans made to clients in targeted sectors (FTF 4.5.2-29) $10,000,000 $9,992,406

23 Number of MSMEs receiving business development services from USG

assistance (FTF 4.5.2-37) 40 179

1 Averages have limited meaning for this indicator. See Annex A for disaggregation. 2 Ibid. 3 The PMP does not set a FY16 target for this indicator; it anticipated an assessment only at the end of Year 3 (February

2017). We carried out the assessment six months early so that the results could be used for FY17 work planning.


# INDICATOR AND DISAGGREGATIONS

FY16

TARGET

(Oct 2015 – Sep 2016)

FY16 RESULTS

(Oct 2015 – Sep 2016)

24 Number of firms in targeted sectors receiving loans from partner banks

(FTF 4.5.2-30) 25 25

25

Number of actions (audit, reports, presentations, tools developed, etc.)

taken to facilitate compliance of member states with ECOWAS Trade

Liberalization Scheme

5 8

26 Number of individuals who have received USG trainings on trade and

transport enabling environment 50 347


2. TRADE AND TRANSPORT

ENABLING ENVIRONMENT

The project’s Trade and Transport Enabling Environment component has dual objectives: 1)

increasing the competitiveness of targeted entities and value chains, and 2) improving the regional

trade and investment enabling environment. Other project components are boosting the skills of

West Africa’s private sector and value chain organizations, but to be successful they need more than

strong production and trading skills. They also need fair and transparent trade and investment

rules—an enabling environment for growth in trade and the subsequent increase in transport

activities. If the enabling environment is not addressed, any gains made by the private sector might

not be sustainable, or might reach only a small number of beneficiaries. The Hub is working to

improve this environment.

We collaborate with the private sector, government institutions, and West Africa’s regional

economic communities—ECOWAS and the Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa

(UEMOA)—and other regional organizations to accelerate policy and regulatory reforms to facilitate

trade within the region and with other parts of the world. Our goal is to ensure sustainability by

strengthening capacities of our national and regional partners to continue advocating for and

implementing reforms to promote growth in regional and global trade.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS/RESULTS 2.1

Successfully persuaded the governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso to

remove requirements for Certificates of Origin—a well-known barrier to trade. The Hub

spearheaded a drive to convince governments to remove requirements for traders to

produce Certificates of Origin for exports of raw agricultural products within the ECOWAS

zone. Although these requirements directly contravene ETLS regulations, they continue to

be in place—in policy or in practice—in many West African countries. Our first attempts

and successes were in Côte d’Ivoire (in March) and Burkina Faso (in July). The Government

of Togo is in the process of removing that country’s requirement, and advocacy is underway

in Benin as well.

Launched capacity building program for the National Trade Facilitation

Committees in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. The comprehensive long-term capacity

building program for NTFCs in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire took off in FY16. The Hub

conducted needs assessment missions to four countries (Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and

Mali) to identify areas of potential cooperation between the project and each NTFC. Our

objective is to enhance their capacity to evolve as champions for trade facilitation reforms.

The NTFCs in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal expressed their interest, and the Hub, together

with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the

International Trade Centre (ITC), conducted kick-off workshops in Côte d’Ivoire

(September 7–8, 2016) and Senegal (September 28–29, 2016). The first workshops helped

identify the specific capacity development requirements in each country and bring the

different stakeholders to a common understanding of the purpose and current status of the

NTFC organization in their country. Throughout the process, technical consultants

specialized in NTFC capacity building will undertake missions to the two countries to

provide training and technical advice to the committees. This support mechanism will

encourage countries to take ownership of the process and put them on a sustainable path

towards well-functioning NTFCs.


Guided Côte d’Ivoire in drafting legislation to establish an Interstate Road

Transit Convention (ISRT) Vehicles Approval Committee and reinforced the use

of a single guarantee for transit trade between Côte d’Ivoire and Mali. Successful

implementation of ISRT requires a single guarantee, a system for approving motor vehicles

to convey transit goods under the system, and the means to mutually recognize those

vehicles. Our work with Borderless Alliance and stakeholders in Mali and Côte d’Ivoire this

fiscal year had two important results. First, the two countries agreed on a uniform sticker to

identify trucks carrying transit goods along the corridor, which will remove the need for

frequent checks. Second, Côte d’Ivoire agreed to establish an ISRT Vehicle Approval

Committee, with input from the Malian committee. Draft legislation for this committee has

been submitted for ratification by the Ivorian government. Implementation of these two

aspects of the ISRT, coupled with a single guarantee, will ultimately lead to reductions in

time and costs for trade and improve the overall efficiency of the corridor.

SUMMARY OF MAJOR ACTIVITIES IMPLEMENTED 2.2

THIS YEAR

The Hub developed a roster of FY16 trade and transport enabling environment (TTEE) activities to

tackle five broad issues which, taken together, have the potential to improve the enabling

environment for transport and trade in our target value chains: 1) documentation requirements, 2)

ETLS compliance, 3) time and cost to trade along specified corridors, 4) road and transport

governance, and 5) implementation of the WTO-TFA.

While improving trade policies and regulations is one part of the equation, their proper application

on the ground is equally important. ECOWAS has established a clear set of regional trade protocols

and policies, such as ETLS, but there are often discrepancies between the substance of these

regulations and the actual practices at borders and along corridors. During this fiscal year, the Hub

addressed these challenges by advocating with and training government agencies and private sector

actors to improve implementation of ETLS and other protocols.

Shortly after project

start-up, the Hub

completed a study of the

trade and transport

enabling environment in

West Africa. Based on

that study, we established

an approach that was

both corridor-based, to

remove constraints and

generate visible changes

to foster increased trade

along specific transport

corridors, and regionally

focused, to drive the

wider trade and

transport policy agenda in

West Africa and give

technical support to

regional organizations.

In FY16, we continued this emphasis on multiple transport corridors (see Figure 1). By addressing

issues on four corridors, we are maintaining the project’s regional focus. In addition, working along a

number of corridors helps limit the Hub’s risk. As we have seen several times in recent years,

Figure 1: West Africa Trade and Investment Hub Target

Corridors


changes in the political and security environment have the potential to be deeply disruptive to

project activities. Limiting TTEE activities to fewer corridors would potentially limit our assistance to

trade, if unexpected disruptions were to occur. Lastly, productive interventions present themselves

in multiple places; and we want to be ready to seize opportunities as they occur.

2.2.1 DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS

The Hub intervened in five countries (Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo, and Benin) to help

reduce documentation requirements and improve traders’ and transporters’ understanding of how

to complete and submit proper documentation for their transactions. Since the processing of

documents is one of the impediments to trade, better implementation of documentation-related

interventions leads to improved compliance with ETLS requirements and will ultimately reduce the

time and costs of trading in livestock and cereal value chains.

Produced training materials on documents and fees required for trading cereals and

livestock

Traders’ lack of knowledge about required

procedures, documents, and fees increases time

to cross borders, raises the costs of trading, and

leaves traders susceptible to harassment. In

particular, their widespread lack of knowledge

about rights and responsibilities under ETLS has

led to persistent problems with application and

implementation. For example, many traders do

not know which products are eligible for customs

duty exemption; they may also have

misconceptions about which fees are waived

under the agreement.

From October to December 2015, the Hub

conducted a wide range of consultations with

stakeholders to determine the mandatory

documentation requirements and associated

legitimate costs to export and import cereals and

livestock. We then used that information to

produce easy-to-use training materials and

conducted several training and outreach events in

main centers of commerce and at borders to

sensitize traders, transporters, and border

agencies on the requirements.

The project planned activities in Ghana, Burkina

Faso, Mali, and Côte d’Ivoire, but security

problems in both Burkina Faso and Mali

prevented our staff from travelling to those

countries. Since the documentation challenges are

most acute in exporting countries, and since they

are both livestock exporters, the travel ban meant

that we could not conduct the training for that

value chain. We were able to carry out the

training in Côte d’Ivoire, a major cereals

exporting country, in March and May 2016.

Photo

cre

dit: M

aria

Gw

ira,

Tra

de

Hub

On January 21, 2016, the Hub organized a

workshop at the Kossodo livestock market in

Burkina Faso on ETLS requirements for

documentation for livestock exports. Eight

months later, the project's Transport

Specialist, and Senior Communications

Specialist conducted a follow-up interview of

one of the workshop’s participants, Kouraogo

Moumouni. They caught up with him at

Avenor livestock market in Accra where he

brought rams to sell just before Tabaski. He

told them about the significance of the

workshop on his business: “They told us at

the Kossodo Workshop to never travel

without the paperwork. Those who choose

to travel without it are taking an

unnecessary risk. The police can confiscate

your entire merchandise if you do not have

all of your paperwork on you.”

—Kouraogo Moumouni,

Livestock Trader from

Pouytenga, Burkina Faso


While such education efforts have not, of course, stopped harassment and demands for unnecessary

paperwork, more knowledgeable traders means a lower risk that police will confiscate cargo or

demand illegal payments. The experiences of value chain actors such as Kouraogo Moumouni, a

livestock trader, (see text box on previous page) show that these efforts are making a difference.

2.2.2 ETLS COMPLIANCE

As Hub staff researched documentation requirements and prepared materials, we realized that

traders were being asked to produce Certificates of Origin (COOs). These requirements directly

contravene official ECOWAS regulations, which stipulate that unprocessed agricultural products

traded within the region do not require a COO.

Advocated for removal of Certificate of Origin requirements for raw agricultural

products and livestock

With backing from ECOWAS, the Hub tackled the well-documented problem of border agencies

demanding COOs from intra-regional cereals and livestock exporters. This problem is widely known

and frequently cited as an obstacle, including at the Food Across Borders conference in 2013, the

ECOWAS Citizens’ Forum in 2014 and Borderless Alliance’s 2015 annual conference. It is also an

area where the Hub can make a difference by engaging in targeted, specific advocacy. In addition,

while many of the barriers to full implementation of ETLS require changes in policies and political

will at the highest levels of government, COO requirements are more administrative in nature,

creating an opportunity for project intervention to have a real impact.

Several countries continue to request that traders present a COO. This requires them to obtain the

document, generally from the Chamber of Commerce. In Côte d’Ivoire, traders interviewed by the

Hub staff reported payments of about 3,000 West African Francs (CFA) per document. These

transactions take time for traders and sometimes require more than one process, and those who

cannot present a COO may be required to pay full import duties on their goods.

We started in Côte d’Ivoire, where the COOs were cited as problem by traders we trained on

documentation requirements. In addition, we conducted research and interviews to identify other

countries where the COO requirement still exists, including places where the policy might be

correct but practices at the border are quite different. After this analysis, we visited Burkina Faso

and Togo to engage in advocacy, at times together with Borderless Alliance and other partners. We

urged governments to either revise their official policies (as in Côte d’Ivoire and Togo) or reissue

and sensitize border agencies to respect the rules (as in Burkina Faso). The process seems fairly

straightforward in principle, but in practice required extensive research, meetings, and advocacy, as

shown in Figure 2 on the following page.

Côte d’Ivoire. Our first success was in Côte d’Ivoire. A circular that had been issued by Ivorian

Customs required raw agricultural products exported from Côte d’Ivoire to other countries in the

region to be accompanied by COOs. The circular, Note de Service No. 01 of March 5, 2015, was in

clear violation of ETLS regulations. The Hub joined forces with Borderless Alliance and UEMOA

representatives to press Ivorian Customs to issue a new Note de Service. In November 2015, the

customs agency did so, issuing a new Note de Service and revoking the COO requirement. The

country is now in compliance with ETLS requirements in this area.

Burkina Faso. In this country, the Hub met with authorities to discuss ways that the government

could achieve full ETLS compliance. We suggested reissuing the Burkinabé Note de Service on COO

requirements, to ensure that all customs personnel become aware of the rules. As a result, in July

2016 Burkina Faso reissued the circular—Note de Service No. 2016/068. The circular reminded

border agencies of the regulations for trade of unprocessed agricultural products in the region.


Togo. In August and September, the project’s Transport

Specialist went to Togo to discuss that country’s COO

procedures with the Commission of Customs and Indirect

Taxes. He pointed out the discrepancy between ETLS

rules and Togo’s regulations on COO. He also trained

cereals producers to ensure that they fully understand the

ETLS requirements. The Commissioner of Customs and

Indirect Taxes directed Kwassivi Messan, Acting Director

of Surveys and Legislation, to work on the issue. Messan

agreed to let the officer in charge of COOs in the

Commission work with us during the week of October 3,

2016, to draft a Note de Service that will cancel the COO

requirement.

After meeting with the Hub’s Transport Specialist, Togo’s

Acting Director of Surveys and Legislation, Kwassivi Messan,

said “Trade Hub’s point is right. You’ve my

telephone number and the contacts of the head of

tariff section, work with me.” September 8, 2016

Hosted a “Fair on the Enabling Environment for

ETLS Foods Crops” in the main cereals market in

Côte d’Ivoire

After successfully advocating for the abolishment of COO

requirements in Côte d’Ivoire, the next step was to raise

regional traders’ and producers’ awareness of ETLS rules

and documentation requirements. To do this, we reached

out directly to cereals value chain actors in one of the

region’s main cereals markets in Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire by

hosting a “Fair on the Enabling Environment for ETLS

Foods Crops.” At this event, which took place May 5–7,

2016, we worked in cooperation with local authorities

and border agencies to share information and respond to

participants’ questions. Representatives from Ivorian

customs, the local police force, gendarmes, freight

forwarders, the Office for the Commercialization of

Foodstuffs (Office de Commercialisation des Produits Vivriers,

OCPV), and the Regional Directorate of Support for

Agricultural Development (Régionale d’Appui au

Développement Agricole, DRADA) of Côte d’Ivoire’s

Ministry of Agriculture attended the training to assist

participants and facilitate conversations about improving

the trading environment.

More than 80 traders, 40 of them women, actively

participated in the fair and received information packets

on all documents required for exports. The Hub’s

Transport Specialist, Trade and Transport Facilitation

Specialist, and Abidjan-based Communications Specialist

addressed questions from traders and transporters

related to the purpose of each document, the agency or

institution responsible for processing it, the costs

Figure 2: Advocacy Steps for

Removal of Certificate of Origin


associated with various procedures, and specific

instructions on how to properly fill out the

paperwork. Traders and transporters expressed

their appreciation, saying that learning more

about proper export documentation will help

them avoid unnecessary delays when crossing

borders and reduce the time and cost of

conducting business in the region. The traders

especially appreciated the Ministry of

Agriculture’s presentation on the importance of

sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) certificates,

since authorities often do not properly apply

these certificates. In fact, several participants

reported that they had obtained the certificates

without any testing or inspections—contrary to

international and regional regulations and

recommendations.

Building producers’ and traders’ knowledge

about document requirements for cereal

exports and imports and training them to

properly complete documents for transactions

before exporting helps limit unnecessary delays

and reduces excuses for officials to demand

illegal payments at the border. Ultimately, the

trainings will lower time and cost to trade

across the border and along the corridor.

Trained women cereals processors on ECOWAS trade policies and protocols

As described more fully in Chapter 4, the Hub organized a workshop on “Improved Agribusiness

Management Practices and Entrepreneurship for Women in Cereals Processing” in Ouagadougou

from March 30 through April 1. At this event, the Hub’s Transport Specialist conducted an

interactive training session to help participants (almost all of whom were women) better understand

regional ECOWAS trade policies and protocols. Our goal was to help boost their participation in

regional trade. Our Transport Specialist also discussed and provided advice on the practical issues

facing small women-owned businesses looking to export, such as the need to obtain proper

documentation and identify reliable transporters.

Educated livestock traders about ETLS regulations for exporting and importing live

animals during the first regional livestock trade show

Helping livestock traders to comply with ETLS export/import documents. During the first regional livestock

trade show, the Salon International du Bétail et de la Viande de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (SIBVAO) in Abidjan

from August 31 to September 4, the Hub delivered a training presentation on the requirements for

export and import of live animals within the ECOWAS zone. Participants included the presidents

and other executives of national federation members of COFENABVI who were attending the trade

show, representatives of the Comité Inter-Etats de Lutte contre la Sécheresse au Sahel (CILSS) and the

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and livestock traders and producers. “Trade Hub did a

good job. The Projet Régional d’Appui au Pastoralisme au Sahel (PRAPS) of CILSS will buiId upon the

Trade Hub’s achievement,” said Tankari Issa, the PRAPS Access to Markets Expert. The presidents

of the federations of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, and Togo, along with the

Permanent Secretary of COFENABVI, each received a flipchart of all required documents for trading

livestock in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Togo. Despite publicized support for the

event from public sector officials, especially the Ministries of

While in Togo to discuss removal of COO

requirements, the Hub’s Transport Specialist held

a training program in Tsévié for 22 executives of

the Centrale des Producteurs de Céréales (CPC).

This activity, funded entirely by CPC, focused on

the documents traders need to export and

import cereals products under the terms of

ETLS. Yakoubou Nagnago, the Executive

Secretary of CPC, noted “It's marvelous, now

we're skilled to export; CPC can now

export thousands of cereals in the region,

thanks Trade Hub!”


Livestock from Burkina Faso, Côte

d’Ivoire, and Niger, transporters

faced significant delays and the death

and theft of some animals (see text

box on the following page).

Provided technical support for

the ETLS Task Force

The decision to implement and

comply with the terms of ETLS rests

with national governments. The Hub

has supported ECOWAS in its effort

to increase pressure on non-

complying members. On November

25, the ECOWAS Commission

formed a seven-person, high-level

task force—led by the former

president of Niger—to spearhead

efforts to improve implementation.

At the request of the Director of

Customs in the Department of Trade and Free Movement of Persons of the ECOWAS Commission,

we participated in the first Technical Meeting of the ETLS Task Force. The meeting was held in

Ouagadougou on June 30 and July 1, 2016, to identify the key areas of focus for the task force, which

aims to improve ECOWAS member-states’ compliance with ETLS. The meeting brought together

experts from regional organizations involved in ETLS implementation. The experts produced country

files (country fact sheets on ETLS implementation) that reflect each country’s ETLS implementation

and delineate areas where they are not in compliance. The Hub provided input on issues that we

have identified as impeding effective ETLS implementation in our focus countries. Our contributions

were integrated into the country files that now serve as the basis for the task force’s country-level

interventions as they embark on high-level advocacy. We also contributed to the development of the

preliminary road map and action plan for task force activities for the period July–December 2016.

As a follow on to the technical work, the Director of Customs, through USAID/West Africa, asked

the project to host the first meeting of the ETLS Task Force in Accra, Ghana. The meeting, held

August 11–13, 2016, brought together the members of the Task Force and the technical experts

who produced the country files to agree on and adopt a final road map and action plan for the Task

Force. The meeting was opened by the Director of USAID/West Africa, Mr. Alex Deprez, and the

President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. Marcel A. de Souza. Other participants in this high-

level meeting included the President of the Task Force, the former Head of State of Niger, and

Lieutenant General H.E. Salou Djibo; members of Task Force; USAID/West Africa representatives;

and representatives of regional organizations (including the Hub) involved in preparing the country

files. (See photo on following page.) The meeting participants agreed on a final road map and work

plan, which the ETLS Task Force is following between July and December 2016. It was also agreed

that the task force will give quarterly feedback to technical experts through the ECOWAS

Commission.

In addition to supporting the initial ECOWAS ETLS Task Force meeting, we agreed on FY17

activities to help develop an ETLS score card that will be used to monitor ETLS implementation.

The livestock federation of Niger transported more than 1,000

animals to the regional livestock trade show in Abidjan, including

those in the photo above. Unfortunately, they encountered

significant delays, in part because the transporters were not

familiar with documentation rules. After spending five days along

the corridor, they finally arrived in Abidjan—four days late. The

president of the Nigerien federation noted, “If we had been

aware of the documentation requirements, the team

would have avoided the troubles on the Niamey–

Abidjan corridor and the death of cattle and several

rams. They might not have spent five days in transit.”


Photo

cre

dit: Y

vett

e K

uw

orn

u, T

rade H

ub

Participants in the first meeting of the ETLS Task Force in Accra, including the President of the ECOWAS

Commission, H.E. Marcel A. de Souza (front row, center) and the Director of USAID/West Africa, Mr. Alex Deprez

(front row, right).

2.2.3 TIME AND COST TO TRADE ALONG SPECIFIED CORRIDORS

The Hub’s 2015 analysis of time and cost to trade on selected corridors recommended that the

project conduct training at border points to strengthen the professionalism of both police officials

and traders and transporters. Because of security problems in Burkina Faso and Mali, we were not

able to travel to those countries early in the fiscal year, so we began our efforts in Ghana. As the

year progressed, we were later able to travel to Ouagadougou and the Dakola/Paga border, so we

ultimately did complete some professionalization training in those localities.

Supported advocacy to reduce checkpoints and harassment by authorities along the

Tema–Ouagadougou corridor

In April 2015, the Ghana Police issued a directive to stop checks on trucks carrying transit goods

along the Tema–Ouagadougou corridor, thanks to collaboration among the Hub, Borderless

Alliance, the Ghana Shippers Authority, and the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority. The project

and Borderless had also organized a caravan along the corridor in FY15 to check on enforcement of

the directive and sensitize stakeholders on the directive and the need to reduce harassment.

In December 2015, as part of a work plan adopted by stakeholders aimed at improving the corridor

and as a follow up to the caravan, the Hub supported Borderless’ efforts to convene a regional

police commanders’ forum in Kumasi, Ghana. This meeting brought together all 11 regional police

commanders in Ghana for the first time to discuss the problem of excessive road blocks and other

impediments to trade along the roads. Project staff highlighted to the assembled police commanders

the particular vulnerability of livestock transporters. Delays during transport can lead to more sick


animals and to fatalities. The police commanders pointed out that the problem has two facets:

although there might be harassment by some police officers, livestock traders and transporters were

often not in compliance with transport and trade regulations. The police requested that we train the

livestock actors, as well.

Trained livestock traders and transporters on compliance with transport regulations in

Ghana (Ouagadougou and Paga border)

The next step was to work with our partners—Borderless, the Ghana Federation of Livestock Inter-

Professionals (GHAFLIP), and CILSS—to train almost 100 livestock traders and transporters on

Ghana’s existing security, transport, and import rules and regulations. We sought to reduce the

transporters’ infringements against the rules and help reduce time lost due to police stops and

controls by arming the livestock actors with better knowledge of existing rules and regulations and

an awareness of the main concerns of the Ghana police. We pointed out that better compliance

reduces opportunities for police and other border officials to demand illegal payments.

Contributed to further harmonization of transit procedures along the Abidjan–Bamako

corridor, in collaboration with Borderless Alliance

The Hub collaborated with Borderless Alliance during the fiscal year to support harmonization of

transit procedures between Côte d’Ivoire and Mali and advocate for full implementation of the ISRT.

In December 2015, under its grant from the project, Borderless Alliance hosted a follow-up meeting

in Bamako. Although the project team was unable to attend the meeting because of security

concerns, we advised on technical issues and helped ensure that the meeting focused on

implementing reforms to reduce time and cost spent on documentation and frequent checks along

the corridor. The meeting participants generated an action plan to establish committees in both

countries that would approve vehicles transporting goods under ISRT. They also approved a uniform

sticker for ISRT-approved transit vehicles along the Abidjan–Bamako corridor, which will allow

vehicles to pass road barriers without being stopped. The sticker, to be approved by the Ivoirian and

Malian participants, must be submitted to the vehicle certificate committee of both countries. In

Côte d’Ivoire, this means creating a vehicle certificate committee; a scope of work for the

committee has been submitted to the ministries in charge of transport, trade, and finance.

In addition, the Hub facilitated a meeting between the Chambers of Commerce in both Mali and

Côte d’Ivoire, where the two parties reiterated their commitment to the single guarantee that had

already been put into effect. At this point, the process is working smoothly, with the two countries

now using a uniform guarantee for transit goods traveling from the port of Abidjan to Mali. They

have also removed requirements for a new bond to be issued each time transit goods leave Ivorian

territory, reducing costs and time spent on documentation.

In addition to tackling the ISRT, the project also worked with Borderless and other partners to

permanently remove road blocks for transit goods. In this area, we are trying to build on initial

success along the Tema–Ouagadougou corridor, when the overall number of roadblocks was

reduced (as reported in FY15), but sustaining these gains remains a challenge. Ongoing advocacy is

needed. Our approach to pursuing changes in this area had three elements:

Analysis of official policies and their application at the borders. 1.

Advocacy, in some cases with Borderless and other partners, to respect trade and 2.

transportation requirements and to sensitize border agencies about the need to respect

ECOWAS rules.

Outreach and training with government agencies and private sector traders, transporters, 3.

and producers.


For sustainability, the Hub has advocated for reforms on two levels: local—with government

agencies and the private sector at the borders—and national and regional, including through

cooperation with ECOWAS and UEMOA.

Promoted mutual recognition of SPS certificates in the region

During this fiscal year, Hub staff collected information on requirements for and barriers to mutual

recognition of SPS certificates in priority countries. ECOWAS regulations state that all member

countries are to recognize SPS certificates issued by any other member country. The intent is to

facilitate trade in cereals products throughout the region. Despite this regional agreement, however,

mutual recognition is not universal. Traders and transporters are often asked to obtain and pay for

additional certificates at border crossings, a practice that leads to higher trade costs. In March, June,

and August, the Hub’s Transport Specialist visited respectively Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Togo

to gather information on SPS recognition (or non-recognition) practices. He also identified areas

where the project could provide useful interventions. We will finalize plans in this area during the

first quarter of FY17.

2.2.4 ROAD GOVERNANCE

Supported outreach in Ghana and Burkina Faso to promote e-platform reporting on

barriers to trade

In an effort to both reduce harassment and improve compliance with ETLS, the Hub supported

Borderless Alliance in its efforts to implement an e-platform for reporting non-tariff barriers (NTBs)

along the Tema-Ouagadougou corridor. The e-platform creates a venue for reporting on and resolving

such barriers, which are established by countries or individuals that infringe on international and

regional trade conventions. By generating statistics on the occurrence and resolution of NTBs, the

expectation was that the e-platform would contribute to effective monitoring of NTBs and provide

evidence for those advocating for improvements in intra-regional trade. The ultimate objective was to

streamline trade and reduce time and costs along the Tema–Ouagadougou corridor.

At the beginning of this fiscal year, on November 24, Borderless organized a training workshop in

Burkina Faso for 26 government officials who are expected to serve as focal points. These officials,

mostly senior personnel with sufficient authority to resolve NTBs, will act as contact points for

government agencies. On December 8, Borderless held a similar workshop in Accra, with 22

Ghanaian officials. The two workshops have created a pool of focal points in Burkina Faso and

Ghana. The e-platform is operational, but not as widely used as had been anticipated.

2.2.5 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION’S

TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT

While ETLS is designed to facilitate trade in the West African region, the WTO’s Trade Facilitation

Agreement has a global focus. The WTO-TFA aims to improve the economic competitiveness of

enterprises in developing countries, which will in turn contribute to their deeper integration into the

broader global economy. As part of the U.S. Government’s effort to support ratification and

implementation of the WTO-TFA, USAID asked the Hub to help strengthen the capacities of pivotal

NTFCs in priority countries.

Began to strengthen National Trade Facilitation Committees’ capacity to implement the

WTO-TFA

With strong international competition from other regions in Africa and around the world to supply

the markets in the U.S. and Europe, West Africa has to be faster with internal reforms to compete

in global value chains such as mangoes and apparel. This work enables us to contribute to the U.S.

Government’s overall Trade Africa Program, cooperating closely with other partners, such as


USAID’s Leadership in Public Financial Management II (LPFM II) project, managed by Nathan

Associates.

Article 23.2 of the WTO-TFA requires all WTO members to establish an NTFC or designate an

already existing mechanism “to facilitate both domestic coordination and implementation of the

provisions of this Agreement.” NTFCs are generally composed of representatives of several

government agencies and ministries, as well as private sector entities; effective committees are

critical to successful implementation of the WTO-TFA. NTFCs already exist in some West African

countries, and in some cases have been instrumental in advising governments on various aspects of

trade facilitation. However, in the context of seeking more effective WTO-TFA implementation,

there is need to evaluate the effectiveness of existing committees and provide technical support

where needed to help them meet the demands of overseeing implementation of the agreement.

During this fiscal year, the Hub completed needs assessment missions in cooperation with Nathan

Associates and the LPFM II project. LPFM II has been tasked by USAID to assist the region’s three

Trade Africa countries—Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Senegal—with the implementation of Category C

measures.4 We will continue to work with LPFM II in these three countries on implementation of

specific articles of the WTO-TFA that have a cross-border or regional dimension. We will also

address specific measures in some countries not covered by the Trade Africa program.

Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. These two countries have already ratified the agreement and agreed

to cooperate with the Hub to conduct capacity development programs for their NTFCs. In

collaboration with UNCTAD and the ITC, we conducted kick-off workshops in Côte d’Ivoire

(September 7–8) and Senegal (September 28–29). These events helped us identify the specific

capacity development needs of each country’s NTFC. As this process moves forward, technical

consultants specializing in NTFC capacity building will make frequent trips to both countries to guide

the committees and help them further evolve as champions for trade facilitation reforms. This

support mechanism will encourage countries to take ownership of the process and put them on a

sustainable path towards well-functioning NTFCs.

Ghana. Ghana’s NTFC is led by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) and includes various

public and private sector stakeholders. USAID/Ghana will oversee implementation of WTO-TFA

activities, as outlined in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the U.S. Government and

the Government of Ghana under the Trade Africa Initiative. We conducted a needs assessment of

the country’s NTFC, in collaboration with the bilateral mission and MOTI. The project’s TTEE

Specialist has also consulted extensively with Mr. Anthony Nyame-Baafi, NTFC Chairperson and

MOTI Director of Multilateral Trade, who initially requested support for the committee. We are

now developing a program of support to strengthen the NTFC’s capacity to operate effectively and

to ensure it has adequate private sector representation. We drafted a terms of reference for

technical assistance to the committee and submitted it to MOTI, but as of the end of FY16, we are

awaiting a response.

2.2.6 LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT OF TRADE CORRIDORS

Began work with ECOWAS on a study that will lead to a strategy for the long-term

development of regional trade corridors

The ECOWAS Commission has demonstrated renewed impetus to improve implementation of

regional trade and transport policies. This is evidenced by the formation of the ETLS Task Force and

ECOWAS’ desire to take a strategic approach and long-term perspective for management and

development of transport corridors.

4 Category C is composed of provisions that the WTO member is to implement on a date after a transitional period after

the agreement enters into force; these provisions require technical assistance and capacity building support.


ECOWAS has requested support from the Hub to address the problem of interventions aimed at

improving corridor efficiency in the region having essentially focused on performance monitoring.

This relies on observatories and donor-funded initiatives to identify abnormal or illegal practices and

advocate for their removal. These include the Observatoire des Pratiques Anormales (OPA) initiated by

the former West Africa Trade Hub and Abidjan-

Lagos Corridor Organization (ALCO). Corridor

initiatives from ALCO and the Trade Hub

concentrated mostly on corridor performance

monitoring, measuring compliance levels against

acceptable regional and international standards,

protocols, and conventions. The work did little with

regard to the area of corridor development and

management.

Almost 90 percent of intra-regional transport in

West Africa is done by road. Roads carry most

international trade as well, and link the most vibrant

seaports in the region to the hinterlands. An efficient

network of road corridors, therefore, could

substantially facilitate international trade and free

movement of persons, goods, and services within

West Africa—but only if it operates efficiently.

Recent findings, however, suggest that despite the

elaborate institutional framework put in place to

eliminate obstacles to free movement in the region, road transport is still fraught with inefficiencies,

which are manifested through multiple police checkpoints, harassment, and informal demands for

payment. The work of the existing road corridor committees has been very limited. This is primarily

due to a lack of funding and limited availability of committee members, most of whom work full time

at other jobs within their various organizations.

ECOWAS requested assistance from the Hub to carry out a study to investigate irregularities in the

region and model a workable strategy to guide the development and management of efficient road

corridors across the region. This will be a step toward full implementation of the ISRT and Transit

Facilitation Programme.

The project and the ECOWAS Infrastructure Department jointly evaluated and selected a consulting

company to conduct the “Study for the Development of an ECOWAS Corridor Development and

Management Strategy and Action Plan.” The study’s objective is to create a holistic regional strategy

and action plan for transforming West Africa’s transport corridors into economic and development

corridors that will support internal and external trade in West Africa. The study’s findings will

facilitate ECOWAS’ strategic decision-making in areas that will improve corridor efficiency and

expand trade. The study will also add to the repertoire of regional knowledge on ways to improve

and accelerate regional integration and contribute to long-term improvements in the transport and

trade enabling environment. After the Hub received USAID approval for the subcontract in

September, a kick-off meeting took place in Accra in September 2016. Field work will begin during

the first quarter of FY17.

Best practices in corridor management

and development

Current international best practices for

corridor management and development involve

permanent structures designed to ensure

reliable, cost-effective, safe, and time-efficient

corridors. Corridor development has been

taken beyond the scope of ad hoc committees

and placed under permanent, full-time

structures whose sole aim is to ensure

corridor efficiency. These structures have

technical experts in trade, customs, transit, and

transport—specialists who are able to diagnose

corridor problems and offer solutions. They

are usually supported by higher committees

and boards of directors made up of high-level

officials from concerned countries, providing

political backing to implement solutions.


Table 1: Indicator 14—Number of Reforms/Policies/Regulations/Administrative

Procedures in Each of the Five Stages of Development

# Policy/Regulation/Administrative

Procedure

Stage of

Development

Means of

Verification

Objective

1 Export/import requirements for livestock

and cereals trade within the region

(subset Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire,

Ghana).

Analyzed List of

documents and

training

materials;

flipcharts with

all required

documents

Reduce time and costs to

trade due to better

understanding of

document requirements.

2 Implementation of ISRT by Côte d’Ivoire

and Mali. Agreement on establishing

vehicle approval committees in both

countries for ISRT and on a uniform

sticker for ISRT-approved transit vehicles

on Abidjan–Bamako corridor (to allow

vehicles to pass road barriers without

being stopped).

Passed;

implementation

has begun

Conference

report from

Borderless

Alliance from

Dec. 2015

meeting in

Bamako

Implement ISRT between

the two countries to

promote the free flow of

transit trade.

3 Issuance of circular (Note de Service) on

COO in Côte d’Ivoire.

Passed;

implementation

has begun

Copy of Note

de Service

Improve compliance with

ETLS regulations to

reduce time and cost of

trading along Abidjan–

Bamako corridor.

4 Issuance of circular (Note de Service) on

COO in Burkina Faso.

Passed;

implementation

has begun

Copy of Note

de Service

Improve compliance with

ETLS regulations to

reduce time and cost of

trading.

5 Revision and validation of One-Stop

Border Post Sourcebook (OSBP).

Passed/

approved

Trip report and

validated OSBP

sourcebook

Improve border

procedures to reduce

time and costs to trade

and contribute to growth

of regional trade and

continental integration.

6 Analysis of options for mixed-use

transport trailers (animals and other

products) for the region’s trucking sector.

Analyzed Final draft of

the report

Review of economic

options for production of

a mixed-use trailer.

7 Analysis of regional customs

interconnection challenges and plans.

Analyzed Analytical note Analyze status quo and

identify opportunities for

USAID interventions.

8 AGOA export opportunities for seven

West African countries.

Analyzed Report Identify easy

opportunities for seven

West African countries

to take advantage of

AGOA by applying

existing regulations.

9 Implementation of WTO-TFA; needs

assessments of NTFCs in Côte d’Ivoire,

Ghana, Mali, and Senegal.

Analyzed Trip reports

and TORs

Identify gaps in NTFC

capacities in four priority

countries.

10 Status report on mutual recognition of

SPS certificates.

Analyzed Report Identify barriers to

mutual recognition of SPS

certificates in the region.


Table 2: Indicator 25—Numbers of Actions (Audits, Reports, Presentations) or Tools

Developed to Facilitate Compliance of Member States with ETLS

# Actions Description

1 AGOA/ETLS Training

Accra, Ghana, Oct. 2015

The Hub and the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry

(GCCI) organized and conducted customs documentation

training workshop on ETLS and AGOA.

2 Advocacy for compliance with

ETLS

Côte d’Ivoire, Nov. 2015

The Hub gave a presentation to Ivoirian customs officials in

Côte d’Ivoire on ETLS rules; highlighted Note de Service No. 1,

which states that COO requirements for trade in unprocessed

agricultural products is inconsistent with ETLS rules. The Hub

successfully advocated for removal of COO.

3 ETLS Trade Fair

Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire, May 2016

The Hub organized an information fair in the main regional

market in Bouaké. The Hub developed and produced new

training materials and trained traders and transporters on

compliance with ETLS documents requirements. Event

conducted in cooperation with Côte d’Ivoire customs, local

police (gendarmes), freight forwarders, OCPV, DRADA of Côte

d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Agriculture.

4 ETLS Task Force preparatory

workshop

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, June

30–July 1, 2016

Hub technical experts contributed to development of country

files on levels of ETLS implementation in all 15 ECOWAS

countries and to draft action plan for new ETLS Task Force.

Country files being used for Task Force’s direct advocacy with

national governments.

5 First ETLS Task Force meeting

Accra, Ghana, Aug. 11–12, 2016

The Hub organized and provided technical input for first official

ETLS Task Force meeting, which had high-level political

participation (including Head of ECOWAS Commission). During

the meeting, Task Force validated country files and agreed on 2-

year action plan.

6 Presentation/outreach at SIBVAO

on ETLS document requirements

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, Sept. 2016

During SIBVAO, Hub prepared informational materials, set up

booth, and made presentations on ETLS documentation

requirements for trading livestock in the region during SIBVAO.

7 Advocacy and presentations on

ETLS document requirements

Togo, Aug.–Sept. 2016

The Hub gave presentation and informed government officials

about ETLS rules; provided training to cereals producers. Hub

advocated in Togo for removal of COO requirements for

unprocessed agricultural goods.

8 Concept note on ETLS scorecard The Hub drafted a concept note that includes options for

developing a scorecard that could be used to monitor ETLS

implementation in ECOWAS countries.

ADJUSTMENTS TO OUR APPROACH 2.3

Adapt time and cost to trade approach. In the coming period, we will modify the Hub’s

approach, moving away from looking at whole corridor improvement targets to identifying specific

areas where we can make a difference and impact the time and cost it takes traders to undertake

their activities. The key to this is focusing on three specific documentary obstacles that have been

noted in many forums around the region over the years: (1) the need for governments to re-confirm

that the COO is not required for trade between West African countries for unprocessed or raw

agricultural products unless they are being exported out of the region; (2) the mutual recognition of

SPS certificates between countries, and (3) the mutual recognition of zoo-sanitary (also known as

veterinary) certificates between countries. By correcting and advertising these documentary

problems in regional trade in as many countries as possible, traders will avoid the costs of paying for

unnecessary documentation and the time (i.e., cost) involved in seeking the certificates—or paying


bribes when they do not have them or to purchase fake ones. As described above, several countries

have already re-ratified these regulatory realities, and publicity has begun to alert the private sector

and public officials about appropriate enforcement of these harmonized regulations. In the coming

year, the Hub and relevant stakeholders will target additional countries to correct these issues,

publicly ratify the correct application of the regulations, and publicize this information. This is not a

departure from a global objective of decreasing time and cost to trade along corridors; rather, it is a

focus on several particular documentary targets that, when corrected, will have a positive effect on

large numbers of traders of both unprocessed agricultural commodities and livestock.

Enhance collaboration with ECOWAS. The Hub will take advantage of new opportunities to

provide technical support and increase collaboration with the ECOWAS Commission. Together

with other technical partners, notably the Food Across Borders program (ProFAB), we will help

develop a score card for monitoring ETLS implementation. We will also support ECOWAS in

developing a regional strategy and 10-year action plan for managing and developing transport

corridors. These efforts will contribute to long-term improvements to the trade and transport

enabling environment.

Engage in higher-level advocacy. The Hub’s advocacy work with Borderless Alliance yielded

some positive results, but more lasting improvements will require higher-level engagement with

governments. The project will join forces with other partners to support the efforts of the ETLS

Task Force, whose role is to persuade member states to comply with ETLS protocols and improve

the trade and transport environment to promote intra-regional trade.


3. LIVESTOCK

As a 2015 World Bank report on trade in West Africa noted, in terms of local food products,

“livestock exports are by far the most important traded product in the ECOWAS space.”5 Hub’s

work during the first half of the project implementation period pointed out important entry points

where we can add value in this important and very tradition-bound

value chain. Strong partnerships in supply countries, especially Mali

and Burkina Faso, and new working relationships with important

commercial importers in Côte d’Ivoire have enabled us to achieve

significant results this year. We also concentrated in FY16 on

working collaboratively with not only the regional livestock

confederation, COFENABVI, but also with national federations in

countries where the sector is most active.


Facilitated more than $12 million in sales in Côte

d’Ivoire for the Tabaski holiday. The Hub worked closely with the livestock federations

of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Côte d’Ivoire to establish new points of sale for sheep and cattle

during the run-up to this year’s holiday. We helped establish new commercial relationships

to foster direct transportation and marketing of animals, so that sellers would not have to

go through Abidjan and sell to local on-sellers, and would thereby reap more profits

themselves. From September 1–12, 2016, Sahelian traders moved more than 53,000 animals

from Mali and Burkina Faso to Côte d’Ivoire.

Delivered support to the Malian and Burkinabé networks of cattle fattening

enterprises, resulting in $11.1 million in sales, including $6.5 million in exports.

After helping establish these two networks in FY15, we delivered assistance this fiscal year

to upgrade their data-gathering capacity. As a result, the owners of the fattening enterprises

are maintaining clearer, more comprehensive business records. They are profiting from

demographic trends, including rising incomes in cities in the Sahel, which are increasing

demand for their more expensive, value-added products.

Collaborated with COFENABVI to host the first regional livestock trade show in

Abidjan. The Salon International Bétail-Viande de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (SIBVAO) brought 4,000

visitors together to foster value chain linkages and greater visibility for the sector. The Hub

was a key backer of the trade show, along with COFENABVI and the Ivorian Ministry of

Animal and Fishery Resources. With livestock federations from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte

d’Ivoire, Mali, and Niger bringing in thousands of animals, there were ample opportunities

for buyers and sellers to make connections and establish market relationships.

Created momentum for more professional trading practices which, if widely

adopted, have the potential to help transform buyer-seller relationships in West

Africa’s livestock sector. Sales in this tradition-bound industry are historically completed

in an informal manner, using visual inspection to set a price for each animal. The project

facilitated two test contracts between Malian and Ivorian traders that relied on written

contracts and used scales at loading and discharge to determine actual prices for the

5 “Connecting Food Staples and Input Markets in West Africa: a Regional Trade Agenda for ECOWAS Countries,” Jean-

Christophe Maur and Ben Shepherd, 2015, p. 14.

Facilitated

$18.6

million in

exports


transaction. This type of behavior change is vitally important if Sahelian traders are to enter

into larger, longer-term buyer-seller relationships.

MAJOR ACTIVITIES IMPLEMENTED THIS YEAR 3.2

Assisted cattle fattening enterprises in Mali and Burkina Faso to become more cost-

competitive and link to coastal buyers

The Fédération Bétail-Viande du Mali (FEBEVIM) and the Fédération Bétail-Viande du Burkina (FEBEVIB)

created networks of cattle fattening enterprises in FY15, with support from the project. As these

networks expanded and consolidated their operations during FY16, they—and we—realized that

gathering information about transactions in a useful, accurate format was more challenging than had

been anticipated. Each network had selected focal points responsible for collecting data in different

parts of the country, but we realized that the Hub could help them provide more interesting data.

Over the course of the year, project staff worked with the supervisors of each network to improve

the quality of data and level of detail of the data collected each quarter. This included identifying the

buyer and seller for each transaction, recording the amount and type of animals sold, and

documenting the value of each sale. One outcome of the Hub’s support for this data collection

activity is that owners of these enterprises are now maintaining clearer, more comprehensive

business records.

Table 3 below shows the value of sales recorded by the two networks during each quarter of FY16.

Sales are broken down to show the value of sales within each country’s national market and sales to

neighboring countries. The table does not include sales made during the September 2016 Tabaski

holiday, which are listed separately in Table 4.

Table 3: Sales by Cattle Fattening Networks in Burkina Faso and Mali

Quarter Burkina Faso

Network ($)

% Quarterly/

Yearly Sales

Mali

Network ($)

% Quarterly/

Yearly Sales

Totals ($)

Q1: Oct–Dec 2015 1,456,964 35% 24,816 0% 1,481,780

Regional 1,232,079 24,816 1,256,895

National 224,885 224,885

Q2: Jan–Mar 2016 1,318,220 32% 1,730,570 25% 3,048,790

Regional 1,114,941 621,672 1,736,613

National 203,279 1,108,898 1,312,177

Q3: Apr–June 2016 927,297 22% 4,194,480 60% 5,121,777

Regional 553,311 2,103,099 2,656,410

National 373,986 2,091,381 2,465,367

Q4: July–Aug 2016 448,735 11% 1,011,422 15% 1,460,157

Regional 300,538 549,284 849,822

National 148,197 462,138 610,335

Regional Totals 3,200,869 77% 3,298,871 47% 6,499,740

National Totals 950,347 23% 3,662,417 53% 4,612,764

Grand Totals $ 4,151,216 $ 6,961,288 $ 11,112,504

The networks’ primary export markets were Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. As shown in the table,

approximately 58 percent of total sales recorded in FY16 were traded regionally, while 42 percent

were sold in-country. The significant percentage of fattened animals that were sold in national

markets reflects a trend identified in previous project analyses: rising incomes in urban markets in

Sahelian countries that are positively influencing demand for this more expensive value-added

product.


Trained the livestock federation of Niger on creation of a network of fattening

enterprises

During the third quarter of FY16, a project team worked with the livestock federation of Niger to

create a similar network of fattening enterprises in that country. The federation established a

national coordinator with focal points in each region, but the network has not yet started to

function. Early in FY16, the project convened a one-week training workshop to share the Burkinabé

and Malian networks’ experiences with the fatteners in Niger, to stimulate intra-regional

communications and encourage other networks to begin data collection. Although the workshop

went well, and the Nigeriens were eager to get started, they lacked resources for data collection. At

a follow-up meeting early in FY17, the Hub and COFENABVI will work with other partners to try to

identify financial resources to help the network in Niger move forward.

Stimulated formal cattle fattening businesses by promoting the use of written contracts

The Hub and COFENABVI carried out research along the Bamako–Abidjan corridor which showed

that demand for fattened beef is growing and that larger wholesale establishments in Abidjan are

increasingly willing to enter into medium-term commercial commitments. To capitalize on these

trends, and in keeping with the Hub’s efforts to help West African enterprises become stronger and

more professional private sector players, the project worked with key livestock traders from Mali

and Côte d’Ivoire to promote the use of written contracts and weighing scales in their cross-border

transactions. Our goal was to create momentum for new behaviors and practices that would enable

the sellers to enter into longer-term contracts for regular sale of their fattened animals. Without a

willingness to use contracts, and an understanding of how to do so, larger and more formal

transactions are simply not going to be possible for the Sahelian traders. To support this initiative, in

FY16, the Hub and our livestock value chain partners completed the following series of activities:

Trade mission. A group of three Malian traders travelled to Abidjan to meet with 1.

prospective wholesalers. (December 2015)

Preliminary test contract. A Malian trader and an Ivorian butcher’s cooperative signed and 2.

executed a test contract for 40 head of fattened cattle. The contract included a written price

but did not establish the actual weight of the cattle to be transported or a mechanism to

confirm their weight at the time of payment. The parties to the transaction used two

different methods for establishing the price for each animal. For some, they based the value

on the traditional visual method of inspection. For others, they estimated a value but did not

finalize a price until the animals had been butchered and the meat weighed and sold.

(December 2015–January 2016)

Workshop and business-to-business session. Once the transaction was complete, the Hub 3.

organized a lessons learned workshop with the participating Malian and Ivorian traders to

review their experiences with this test contract. The most significant lesson learned at this

event was that the buyer insisted that any new test contracts must be based on weight

determined by using scales. The workshop was followed by a business-to-business (B2B)

session to negotiate new sales. The two parties agreed to complete another test contract,

with terms that explicitly included the use of scales to weigh the animals at loading and again

at discharge. These weights would serve as the principle method for determining the price

for this second transaction. (February 2016)

Second test contract. After some delay while waiting for scales to be installed in both 4.

countries, this test contract was completed. Each animal lost approximately 1 kg of weight

during the transport from Mali to Abidjan. The final price for the cattle took into account

this difference in pre-shipment and post-shipment weights. Both buyer and seller were able


to make a reasonable profit on this transaction. More

importantly, this process reinforced the value of using a

scale to determine the final price (June 2016).

Because the use of scales in this transaction represents

an important step toward more formalized practices in

this value chain, the Hub will continue to promote this

methodology for establishing prices and linking Sahelian

traders with commercial wholesalers in the Abidjan

market.

Expanded markets for livestock trade during

Operation Tabaski 2016

In 2015, the Hub successfully supported Malian livestock sellers to establish new markets in Senegal

and Côte d’Ivoire for sheep and cattle for Tabaski. Because this important Islamic holiday provides

livestock traders with their biggest single market of the year, it is important to their livelihoods and

can play a significant role in helping them expand sales opportunities. In Côte d’Ivoire, livestock sold

for Tabaski have traditionally been either sold in Abidjan or have passed through Abidjan on their

way to secondary markets. This requires both buyers and sellers to travel long distances at

considerable expense. Theft is common and animals are sometimes damaged or killed during transit.

Entering new markets, however, is risky for sellers, especially during the short window before

Tabaski.

P

hoto

cre

dit: Je

an D

idie

r N

acoulm

a, T

rade H

ub

Burkinabé exporters travelled to major livestock market centers in Côte d’Ivoire to prospect for buyers ahead of

Hub-supported sales events during Operation Tabaski 2016.

To help mitigate these risks, in both FY15 and FY16 the Hub helped create new commercial

relationships to foster direct transportation and marketing of animals to various points of sale with

Côte d’Ivoire, so that sellers would not have to pass through Abidjan. Our support has resulted in

modified, more efficient sale of a significant portion of livestock during this period of peak demand,

with more of the profit going to originating traders rather than middle-men.

While last year we worked only with FEBEVIM, this year we assisted the Burkinabé network,

FEBEVIB, as well. In collaboration with the Ivoirian livestock federation (Fédération Nationale des

Coopératives de la Filière Bétail-Viande de Côte d’Ivoire, FENACOFCVI-CI) we added 11 new markets in

One of the scales used to weigh animals for

the second test contract in June 2016.


Côte d’Ivoire outside of Abidjan: Abengourou, Abobo, Bassam, Dabakala, Divo, Duekoue, Gagnoa,

Man, Mankono, Soubre, and Williamsville. We also continued to maintain points of sale in three

“old” markets where we had worked in FY15: Bouaké, Daloa, and San Pedro. In the months before

Tabaski, which fell on September 12 this year, the Hub completed the following activities:

1. Project staff and FENACOFCVI-CI representatives decided on promising locations for new

points of sale and then traveled to these markets to meet with commercial traders and

political and municipal authorities. During these meetings, we explained how such markets

would function and secured the traders’ and authorities’ agreement to establish and manage

Tabaski markets in their locations. (June 2016)

2. The Hub’s Livestock Sector Specialist and representatives of FENACOFCVI-CI traveled to

the new points of sale to meet with commercial traders and political and municipal

authorities to present the program and secure their agreement to establish and manage

points of sale in their localities. (June 2016)

3. The project’s Capacity Building Lead accompanied a delegation of traders from Burkina Faso

to visit three of the markets that had been established in 2015 and the 11 new markets for

2016. He introduced the Burkinabé traders to local Ivoirian traders and municipal authorities

to begin discussions for targeted Tabaski sales. (July 2016)

4. Representatives of FEBEVIM, FEBEVIB, and the FENACOFCVI-CI met to review the

discussions that had been held up to that point

and to make tentative plans for shipment of

animals to the new points of sale. (August 2016)

5. Hub staff completed a workshop in Abidjan with

40 data collectors (members of FENACOFBVI-

CI) based at the points of sale within Côte

d’Ivoire to review the process for collection of

sales data during the week prior to Tabaski.

(August 2016)

6. Project staff fanned out across the 14 Tabaski

markets to monitor sales activities at the new

markets during the week prior to the holiday

(see text box). (September 2016)

In late September, we calculated and analyzed the

transaction data gathered by various livestock actors and observed by Hub staff. The baseline was 0

for the 11 new markets. For the three old markets (where we also worked last year), the baseline

was either (1) 0 for new traders entering that market for the first time in 2016, or (2) the value of

2015 sales for traders who also sold in that market in 2015. (September 2016) Table 4 and Figure 3

present sales data from these markets. Although sheep are traditionally purchased for Tabaski in

most parts of West Africa, there is a significant demand for cattle in Côte d’Ivoire. As shown in the

table, of the total sales recorded, approximately 74 percent was for small ruminants and 26 percent

for cattle.

During the week prior to Tabaski, the

Hub and COFENABVI trained 40

enumerators on our rigorous data

collection process. The enumerators

were given tools to prepare a database of

traders, classified by point of sale, country

of provenance, and type of animal sold.

During the data collection process, the

enumerators also completed a daily

questionnaire and a weekly summary

table, supervised by Hub and

COFENABVI staff. This process ensured

that we captured all new sales at both the

old and new Tabaski markets.


Table 4: Value of Sales in Côte d’Ivoire Markets During Operation Tabaski 2016

Market Cattle Small Ruminants Total

Number Value ($) Number Value ($) Number Value ($)

New Markets

Abengourou 434 194,993 548 56,896 982 251,888

Abobo - - 452 124,493 452 124,493

Bassam - - 989 177,235 989 177,235

Dabakala - - 299 44,020 299 44,020

Divo 1,857 789,650 9,487 1,010,573 11,344 1,800,222

Duekoue 6 2,858 534 80,586 540 83,443

Gagnoa 2,460 1,174,898 3,416 447,923 5,876 1,622,821

Man 690 248,616 1,176 172,532 1,866 421,148

Mankono - - 388 46,743 388 76,160

Soubre 675 463,984 14,289 4,608,261 14,964 5,072,245

Williamsville - - 1,429 322,196 1,429 322,196

Total New Markets 6,122 2,874,998 33,007 7,091,457 39,129 9,995,872

Old Markets

Bouaké 327 112,788 9,754 1,383,167 10,081 1,495,954

Bouaké additional sales* 39,016

San Pedro - - 160 17,724 160 17,724

Daloa 238 91,603 3,549 422,167 3,787 513,770

Total Old Markets 565 204,390 13,463 1,823,057 14,028 2,066,463

TOTAL SALES 6,687 $3,079,388 46,470 $8,914,514 53,157 12,062,335

*Figure represents marginal sales (over 2015 baseline) by 2015 traders.

Figure 3: F16 Operation Tabaski Markets


Built the capacity of COFENABVI

Since project start-up, the Hub has been building COFENABVI’s organizational capacity, although

implementation of our grant did not commence until the beginning of FY16. The confederation’s

overall OCA score has increased by 13 percent over the past two years, but scores have increased

tremendously for human resource management and governance—both areas where the Hub has

provided significant support. In addition, the five-year action plan drafted with financial and technical

support from the project and the learning experience from the regional trade show has contributed

to an increase in the OCA score for administration. Chapter 9 addresses our work with

COFENABVI to support a livestock market information system (MIS), and Chapter 12 contains

details about specific capacity building activities.

Supported SIBVAO, the first West African regional livestock trade show

Photo

: Je

ssie

Laf

ourc

ade, T

rade H

ub

Dr. Abouba Saidou, Deputy General Secretary at the Ministry of Livestock in Niger (at microphone), who headed

the Niger delegation, welcoming guests to SIBVAO 2016. He is accompanied by Dr. Salifou Boulkassim (far right),

Technical Advisor of the Nigerien Ministry of Livestock, and other officials.

Since its inception, one of COFENABVI’s objectives has been to organize a regional livestock trade

show to promote the value chain within the region. Previous efforts to organize such an event,

however, were unsuccessful. The Hub agreed to provide direct support for a regional trade show,

including significant technical assistance in planning the event.

COFENABVI decided to hold the first show, SIBVAO, in Abidjan, where COFENABVI is based and

where the Hub opened a new office in March 2016. All parties agreed to hold SIBVAO over a five-

day period from August 31 to September 4, 2016. Part of the rationale for this timing was that

holding the event one week prior to Tabaski would contribute to the success of the trade show,

since more livestock would be transported to Côte d’Ivoire during this period.

Planning and organization. The project and COFENABVI worked together to solicit bids and

hire a service provider to handle communications, marketing, and logistics for SIBVAO. Each partner

entered into a separate contract with the service provider. The Hub covered 43 percent of the

SIBVAO budget, including the initial press conference several months before the event, the

marketing and communications efforts at the regional level for the three months prior to the salon,

and the service provider’s professional fees. COFENABVI provided 57 percent of the budget,

including the actual costs of the event venues. The government of Côte d’Ivoire was a strong

supporter in planning the trade show, and staff from the Ministry of Animal and Fishery Resources

worked closely with COFENABVI and project staff throughout.


The salon took place at the Palais de Culture, which

provided sufficient space to secure the animals that

had been transported from supply countries.

Ceremonies and technical sessions were held in a

large auditorium, and another two buildings provided

space for rental of booths.

Program and activities. Different value chain

businesses rented a total of 18 booths to promote

their products and services during the event. The

program also included artistic and musical

performances. The delegations from Burkina Faso

and Niger transported cattle and sheep to the salon

site. Some animals from the Ivorian delegation were

also present. The livestock federations from Mali,

Benin, and Togo also attended. The Nigerien

delegation gave a detailed presentation about the

role livestock plays in their economy and discussed

ongoing initiatives to expand the sector. The final day of the event included a presentation of best-in-

class animals by breed and category, judged by a committee of technical experts. Prizes and trophies

were presented during the closing ceremony. Unofficial attendance figures show that about 4,000

people came to SIBVAO over the five days.

A number of SIBVAO activities were linked directly to Hub objectives, including a series of technical

panels about key issues within the livestock value chain. Project technical staff served as presenters

for three of these panels:

Access to finance (Economic and Financial Sector Advisor)

Capacity building within the value chain (Capacity Building Lead)

Expanded international cooperation within the value chain (Livestock Sector Specialist)

At the request of the Ministry, the program included a fourth panel on the role of transhumance in

the value chain. Ministry staff managed and delivered this presentation. These panels provided a

forum for continued discussion about important issues that present both challenges and

opportunities for the sector. The SIBVAO final report includes the conclusions and

recommendations from each panel.

In addition to the panels, several B2B sessions were organized during SIBVAO, with Hub staff

supporting negotiations at those sessions. A number of those negotiations resulted in “intentions to

buy” some of the animals that had been transported to Abidjan, primarily linked to the Tabaski

holiday that took place one week after the event.

With the support from the USAID-funded Resilience

and Economic Growth in the Sahel–Accelerated

Growth (REGIS AG) program, the federation from

Niger transported more than 1,000 animals.

Unfortunately, as explained in Chapter 12, problems at

the border and with checkpoints created significant

delays during this trip that led to the death of a

number of animals, theft of others, and caused the

Nigeriens to arrive four days late.

COFENABVI’s objectives for SIBVAO included

promoting its own role as the regional representative

of the livestock value chain in West Africa and

Société Internationale de Charcuterie et de

Salaisons has a chain of butchers under the trade

name Le Terroir. The company, a major meat

producer in Côte d’Ivoire, was one of 23 exhibitors

at SIBVAO.

“The U.S. Government, through projects

like the West Africa Trade and

Investment Hub, partners with

COFENABVI and its national member

federations to improve the quantity and

quality of locally grown and traded

animals and meat,” said Mr. Andrew

Haviland, Deputy Chief of Mission at the

U.S. Embassy in Côte d’Ivoire. “Better

quality, regionally produced meat for

growing market demand is the driving

force behind this Salon.”


providing a significant source of revenue to support the confederation’s operations and the next

trade show in 2018. Both of these objectives were achieved, although not to the degree initially

envisioned. Since this was the first experience organizing such a trade show, these results are not

surprising. However, COFENABVI’s leadership is enthusiastic about the program and firm in its

intention to organize a second salon in two years. Various countries are vying to be the site of the

next event. See the text box for some of the main lessons discussed during post-event meetings.

Key Lessons Learned from SIBVAO

SIBVAO, the first-ever regional livestock trade show in West Africa, was organized by the regional livestock

confederation COFENABVI. Trade Hub and COFENABVI discussed lessons learned after the event.

What went well:

Attendance by high-level officials, including the Ivorian Prime Minister, other ministers, and ambassadors.

Successful B2B events and panel discussions with strong turn-out and high-quality panelists.

Very strong attendance.

Presence of many booths and livestock products from five federations (Benin, Burkina, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali,

Niger).

“Country day” presentation by Niger in the presence of a large public audience.

What did not go so well:

Delays in sending out mail and information about the event; insufficient public awareness of SIBVAO.

Lack of compliance with all terms of contract by the communications service provider.

Delays and absence of strategies for mobilizing resources by some countries.

Lack of cohesion and communication among stakeholders.

Absence of strategies for supporting participants.

Lack of openness about management of financial resources and budget.

Recommended improvements for the next regional livestock trade show:

Begin work much earlier—at least one year in advance.

Establish a strong system for internal and external communications about the trade show, with some up-

front payments, to ensure that adequate materials are provided.

Develop better records to help mobilize participants; improve follow up with participants and

stakeholders.

Establish better coordination and follow-up among the national federations and COFENABVI.

Involve the national federations more in organizing activities.

Coordinate and harmonize the actions of various national and regional bodies.


The Hub has provided support to different actors in targeted countries during FY16—both

countries that supply livestock and others that have high demand for livestock products. This

support included trainings, trade facilitation, and capacity building initiatives that were well-received.

Our experience since the beginning of the project has illustrated the slow nature of change in the

very traditional livestock sector, where stakeholders have been operating in the same manner for

many generations.

Our FY17 work plan outlines general modifications in our relationships with key partners, especially

with regard to sharing of costs and management responsibilities of key activities. We will continue to

collaborate with COFENABVI to complete the ongoing grant, and will also deliver more targeted

capacity building support to the confederation (see more details in Chapter 12).

More targeted support for national livestock federations. Our work in this value chain so far

has illustrated not only the benefits of working at the regional level (with COFENABVI), but also the

importance of working at the country level, with national federations. One important adjustment to


our approach for the coming year will be to expand our activities with key national organizations. As

the primary actors active in their own countries, they will be better able to support activities in the

medium term; we will rely on them not only to handle much of the on-the-ground implementation,

but also to shoulder more of the costs for various activities as has been discussed and agreed with

COFENABVI. A large thrust will also be helping COFENABVI and member federations to identify

member services they can provide that will increasingly attract new members and will provide some

sources of additional income through service and event fees.

As we seek to foster behavior change and help the federations offer relevant services to their

members, we will engage with them in a number of ways. This will include supporting the national

federations’ export promotion initiatives and providing targeted training to their members. The

Hub’s livestock sector program will also include advocating for changes in export regulations within

and between countries on specific corridors. At the beginning of FY17, we will review these actions

with COFENABVI and its board, which is composed of the presidents of the national livestock

federations.


4. CEREALS

During FY16, in line with our mandate to increase the competitiveness of the cereals value chain, the

Hub continued building the capacity of traders, encouraging them to adopt formalized trading

practices and better understand the importance of adhering to quality standards. Through regional

workshops and cereals exchanges, organized in conjunction with Afrique Verte and WAGN, our goal

has been to demonstrate how more formal regional trade can contribute to improvements in

efficiency and competitiveness. Although (as with many behavior

change efforts) the use of contracts has been slow to take hold,

some traders have adopted the new practices and are setting an

example for others. In addition, the cereals exchanges have

helped WAGN, which is still emerging as a nascent organization,

better understand how it can provide useful services to its

members by building their skills and encouraging

professionalization.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS/ 4.1

RESULTS

Facilitated $8.3 million in executed transactions

from contracts signed during Hub-supported

regional cereals exchanges, including $1.2 million in exports. Working in close

collaboration with Afrique Verte and WAGN, the project organized three cereals exchanges

in FY16 to bring together sellers and buyers and encourage more formal trading in this

sector. The exchanges—one in Burkina Faso in December 2015, one in Senegal in March

2016, and the third in Côte d’Ivoire in July 2016—included both time to discuss common

issues and challenges, and time for cereals actors to negotiate contracts. We also delivered

training on grades and standards. The three events together resulted in 208 signed contracts

for more than 185,000 metric tons of produce.

Encouraged more widespread use of formal contracting processes and improved

business practices for cereals transactions. The Hub joined forces with the WAGN

secretariat to host two regional training workshops on cereals contracting. The first event, a

stand-alone training in Togo, attracted 59 participants, while the second, in Senegal just

before the March 2015 exchange, drew 60. Both trainings delivered detailed information on

the advantages and intricacies of using written contracts for transactions.

Strengthened WAGN’s capacity to deliver services to its members. While

working with WAGN on the cereals exchanges and cereals contracting workshops, the Hub

was simultaneously building the network’s capacity to host events and provide member

services. We discussed future cereals exchanges with WAGN and Afrique Verte and helped

the two organizations develop plans for WAGN to serve as the host in FY17. We also

sponsored a training-of-trainers (TOT) workshop on cereals contracting for 18 dynamic

cereals actors—two from each of WAGN’s nine member countries—to give them the skills

and tools they need to share their knowledge with their colleagues back home.

Facilitated

$1.2 million

in exports



Organized regional cereals exchanges to encourage more formal contracting and

transactions

Photo

cre

dit : Jess

ie L

afourc

ade, T

rade H

ub

Nafissatou Diagne, President of POPAS, and Alimata Coulibaly, Director of Les Précuits GLP, in the middle of a

negotiation during the cereals exchange in Abidjan.

There is already a significant amount of cereals trading in West Africa, but most of it is done

informally. There is typically not a great deal of attention to quality, and prices are imposed by

buyers without sellers and buyers having much awareness of each other’s’ requirements and

priorities. The exchanges were designed to help address this situation.

After holding the first cereals exchange in July 2015, we expanded this initiative by holding three

exchanges in FY16: one in Burkina Faso on December 9-10, 2015, one in Senegal on March 10-11,

2016, and one in Côte d’Ivoire on July 17-18, 2016. These two-day events offered opportunities for

cereals buyers and sellers to interact and conduct more formalized business. Attendees included

cereals value chain actors from nine countries, ranging from large-scale industrial processors to

smaller women-managed processors, as well as representatives of the public sector and the donor

community. Both WAGN and Afrique Verte played important roles in organizing, implementing, and

following up after each exchange, as we work to move ownership and management of these events

and services to local organizations.

Each exchange included technical sessions focused on key issues and challenges facing the value

chain. One common theme throughout all three events was the high cost of transportation and ways

to reduce or eliminate road harassment charges. In addition to the technical sessions, participants

had ample opportunities for meetings and discussions about related subjects such as aflatoxin and

different grain varieties that are traded. More than 50 percent of the “contact time” among

participants at each exchange was devoted to actual negotiation. In most cases, negotiations

continued into the evening since all participants were lodged in the same location. Once a

transaction agreement had been reached in principle, the exchange participant had access to a

contract template that was a modified version of one Afrique Verte had developed at previous

exchanges. The template includes additions drawn from the Hub-sponsored regional workshops on

cereals contracting (discussed below).

The Hub deliberately encouraged participants to attend multiple exchanges, as our intent was to

create a series of opportunities for multiple actors to have repeated opportunities to interact. By


increasing the regularity of business negotiation opportunities, our expectation has been that further

contacts will be made and transactions negotiated as part of regular commerce outside of the

cereals exchanges. Indeed, approximately 80 percent of the participants at the final exchange in Côte

d’Ivoire in July 2016 had attended all the previous exchanges. The Hub’s ultimate goal was to

stimulate behavior change that will eventually enable traders to sell larger and larger amounts of

produce to major commercial buyers, such as large industrial processors for related sectors such as

animal feed, infant foods and milling operations. Seen in this light, the impact of one exchange as a

stand-alone event would be smaller than the impact of multiple events over time.

The three FY16 events resulted in 208 signed contracts for a total of 185,682 metric tons of

produce. In addition to cereals and cereal byproducts, exchange participants signed contracts for

dried mangoes, raw cashew nuts, and shea nuts. Table 5 below shows the number of participants at

each exchange and the number of contracts signed.

Table 5: Results of FY16 Cereals Exchanges

Exchange # Participants Contracts Signed Metric Tons Dates

Burkina Faso 80 60 73,934 December 9–10,

2015

Senegal 99 44 18,326 March 7–11, 2016

Côte d’Ivoire 107 104 93,422 July 27–28, 2016

Totals N/A* 208 185,682

*Since most participants attended more than one exchange, a total would not accurately represent the number of

individuals reached through these events.

In addition to cereals traders, the exchanges attract regional and international organizations. The

ECOWAS Food Security Reserve attended the Senegal exchange to discuss planned tenders for

cereals to stock future food reserve warehouses.6 A representative from the EU’s Technical Centre

for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation attended the Côte d’Ivoire exchange to observe and learn so

that our approach can be replicated elsewhere. The Confédération Nationale des Organisations

Paysannes de Guinée (CNOPG), the cereals inter-professional association of Guinea, the site of one

of Afrique Verte’s four West African offices, participated in all three exchanges, although it was not a

WAGN member. Thanks to its experience at the events, however, CNOPG formally joined WAGN

in December 2015 as its ninth member. In another positive development, these exchanges helped

WAGN and Afrique Verte establish a working relationship that will enable Afrique Verte to help

transfer future exchanges to WAGN’s management during the next fiscal year.

One of the key lessons learned from the Hub-organized cereals exchanges is that traders in this

value chain are quite willing to negotiate and sign “intentions to transact,” which in essence describes

the contracts signed during these events. The real challenge, however, is completing the transactions

and ensuring that the individual actors follow through on the contracts by providing the requested

good with the minimally acceptable quality and within the stipulated time period. The Hub, WAGN,

and Afrique Verte worked together to track contracts signed at the exchanges and monitor the

completion rate, as described below.

6 ECOWAS plans to establish a regional food security reserve system, with warehouses stocked with grains to supply

West Africa’s population if there is a major food crisis. ECOWAS’s intention is to source all the grains from within

member countries. This would offer significant opportunities to regional cereals traders who can reliably supply quality

products in a timely manner.


Completed monthly monitoring of contracts from cereals exchanges

Prior to the first cereals exchange in July 2015, Afrique Verte shared its experiences with similar

exchanges in the Sahel during the previous 10 years. One key lesson was that many planned

transactions were never actually executed, or were executed informally with no confirming

documentation. For this reason, the Hub and Afrique Verte developed a plan to follow up with the

companies that signed contracts during the exchanges. In August 2015, the month after that first

event, we jointly began monitoring contracts signed at each exchange by regularly contacting the

parties to each transaction. We checked on the status of the deal and provided additional

information or technical support needed to ensure that the transaction could be completed.

The initial results from this effort were limited. In planning the December 2015 exchange in Burkina

Faso, we agreed to adopt a more formal approach to monitoring. The Hub and WAGN jointly

coordinated follow up in other countries. Table 6 presents the results of our FY16 monitoring of

signed contracts.

Table 6: Results of Monitoring of Cereals Contracts, FY16

Period Exports Local Sales Total

Volume (mt) Value ($) Volume (mt) Value ($) Volume (mt) Value ($)

Quarter 1 495 129,142 4,184 954,081 4,679 1,083,223

Quarter 2 492 198,935 1,520 385,773 2,012 584,709

Quarter 3 1,564 160,789 1,247,121 2,687,218 1,248,685 2,848,007

Quarter 4 1,765 662,037 6,173 3,182,803 7,938 3,844,840

Total 4,316 1,150,904 1,258,998 7,209,875 1,263,314 8,360,779

Note: The figures contained in this table represent only finalized contracts for which formal documentation has been

submitted. We have evidence that many other deals were finalized, but no paperwork has been submitted—these deals

remain unaccounted-for.

*As of the date of submission of this report, no data are yet available for September 2016.

Held regional workshops to promote use of contracts and adherence to quality

standards

The Hub organized two regional workshops in FY16 to promote the use of written contracts within

the cereals value chain. These activities built off the first workshop in this series, which was

completed in July 2015. One workshop, with 59 participants from eight countries, was a stand-alone

event in Togo. The second was linked to the regional cereals exchange in Senegal in March 2016 and

drew 60 participants from nine countries, including 15 women. A multi-disciplinary Hub team (value

chain, finance and investment, and capacity building staff) collaborated with WAGN’s Executive

Secretariat to organize and deliver the workshops. The events included technical presentations on

pre-inspection and post-inspection services, and guided discussions of aflatoxin.

We targeted the same cereals actors for attendance at the workshops and the regional cereals

exchanges, in the hopes that they would apply what they learned at the workshops when negotiating

contracts at the exchanges. Both sets of events were designed to contribute to our overall goal of

fostering increasingly formalized cereals trade and increasing participants’ understanding of the

negative impacts of noncompliance with quality standards and delivery deadlines, and of the

problems caused by miscommunication between contracted buyers and sellers. We also aimed to

help WAGN cement its role and increase its visibility as the face of the cereals value chain in West

Africa.


Originally, we sought to create a definitive West

African “model contract” that could be used by all

traders in the value chain to formalize and improve the

efficiency of their transactions. Over the course of the

FY15 and FY16 workshops and cereals exchanges,

however, we learned that no single template works for

all transactions. At each workshop, participants

modified and improved the base document, based on

active participation of the different traders at each

event.

One important lesson learned from these workshops is

that simply increasing cereals value chain actors’

awareness of the need to adhere to contractual terms

provides an important benefit. This is in essence a

change in behavior that should be encouraged. We also

learned that when working with contracts, the actual

terms of the document itself are less important than the

parties’ willingness to adhere to agreed-upon terms for

quality, price, and timing. Most importantly, both sides

must maintain regular and full communication.

Sponsored a TOT workshop on cereals

contracting for WAGN members

After collaborating with the Hub and Afrique Verte on

the cereals exchanges and contracting workshops,

WAGN asked for help to strengthen its member

services by disseminating the knowledge and practices

more widely in its member countries. The project hired

a specialist to develop a TOT program, prepare a

training manual, and deliver training to 18 cereals

actors—two from each of WAGN’s nine members. The

trainers were active traders with a certain level of

education and a sense of enthusiasm for sharing their

knowledge. During the TOT workshop in Abidjan from August 16–18, 2016, the participants

received the written tools and concepts they will need to organize cascade trainings in their home

countries for their own association members. The Hub will provide limited support for the follow-

on national-level cascade workshops by covering the cost of the venue for the training and of any

training materials needed. The association members will pay for their own meals and per diem.

Trained women cereals processors on expansion to new markets

While women make up the majority of small-scale cereals traders, they are underrepresented as

producers and large-scale traders. To foster greater female participation in value-added activities, the

Hub organized a workshop in Ouagadougou from March 30 through April 1: “Improved Agribusiness

Management Practices and Entrepreneurship for Women in Cereals Processing.” The 23 participants

(22 women and one man) all hailed from SMEs engaged in cereals processing or value-addition

activities in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo. Our objectives for this workshop were

three-fold: 1) help the participants acquire the tools they need to improve their business

management skills, 2) sharpen participants’ ability to identify and seize business opportunities in local

and international markets, and 3) promote networking with other stakeholders. Although

individually, women-owned businesses are often unable to take advantage of existing opportunities in

regional cereals markets, operating in a regional network—as highlighted during the training—would

open doors to new markets.

P

hoto

: M

aria

Gw

ira,

Tra

de H

ub

In Benin, Lionel Guezodje, a cereals

producer for 21 years and President

of the Fédération de l’Union des

Producteurs (FUPRO) attended the

Hub’s contracting workshop and

cereals exchange in Senegal in March.

Afterwards he stated: “We studied

the model contract elaborated

during the training and adapted

it to our environment. This

training deserves to be

duplicated to other actors

operating in the cereals value

chain.” Mr. Guezodje has started

using formal contracts for business,

including with FUPRO’s primary

client, who supplies maize grits to

Benin’s breweries. He noted that a

buyer advance means that FUPRO no

longer has to take out a loan for all its

financing needs. Overall, he feels that

a formal contract provides an extra

layer of security and boosts the

confidence of both buyer and seller.


Provided institutional strengthening assistance to WAGN while collaborating on

project activities

The Hub worked closely with WAGN when planning and carrying out the cereals exchanges and

contracting workshops. WAGN’s roles included identifying participants, developing the technical

programs, and participating in the actual events. In addition, as pointed about above, WAGN

brought the cereals inter-professional association from Guinea to all three cereals exchanges and

negotiated its entry into WAGN’s regional platform. Throughout these events, the Hub provided

capacity building support to strengthen the network’s ability to organize similar events on its own in

the future. Chapter 12 contains more information about our capacity building support for WAGN.

Delivered finance and investment support to companies in the cereals value chain

As described in much more detail in Chapter 11, the Hub assisted a number of cereals value chain

companies in their efforts to access finance for growth and expansion. We delivered support to the

largest rice miller in Côte d’Ivoire, enabling it to obtain a $603,100 equipment lease to support a

new line of rice milling operations. In Burkina Faso, we provided substantial assistance to help a

major cereals processing business raise $3 million for expansion and worked through our Gender

Access to Finance strategy to facilitate $225,437 in loans for 13 small, women-owned rice and

cereals processing enterprises. The project signed partnerships in Senegal with a Financial Advisor

and a leasing firm to support small, information service providers seeking to purchase or lease

agricultural equipment and machinery that they can rent to rice farmers for a fee. Ultimately, we

hope to facilitate $4 million in leasing to these rice sector firms.


The FY17 work plan outlines a general adjustment in the Hub’s relationships with key partners, both

with regard to (1) sharing of costs and management responsibilities of key activities and (2) working

on bigger, more innovative individual transactions. This adjustment translates into two main changes

in our approach to the cereals value chain.

Step back to let partners assume more responsibility. Following our considerable efforts

during the first half of the implementation period to directly support activities that give buyers and

sellers opportunities to conduct more formal commerce, we will move into the coming year by

adjusting the level of our involvement. In the case of WAGN, we will provide minimal support to the

One woman who attended the workshop was able to

use the skills she learned to win a $3,800 grant from

the United Kingdom Agency for International

Development (UKAid) to purchase equipment to grow

her business. Princess Nelson is a Ghanaian cereal

processor and owner of Wealthy Place Ventures, a

small enterprise that processes brown rice into flour

and packages brown rice for sale. One of only 30

business owners chosen from among 1,300 applicants

to receive a UKAid grant, an elated Mrs. Nelson

ascribed her success to the training she received at the

Hub workshop. “Thanks to the Trade Hub training,

I have been able to win a grant to purchase

equipment. This equipment will enable me to

process more rice. I will need to hire someone to

help me, creating more jobs.”


regional exchanges and cascade contracts trainings, generally paying for the venue only. These events

will be of a more modest scope, focus, and more regionally clustered, to allow WAGN to assume

responsibility for their organization and take on a lead role in driving the process of behavior change.

We will mentor and provide ongoing technical support to WAGN and key stakeholders within each

of the cereals inter-professional organizations.

Promote larger transactions in cereals sector. We will also aim to expand the number and

size of individual transactions that take place, focusing on the larger end-buyers in the grain market.

This ramping up will include working with the industrial processing industry (both for human

consumption and animal feed) and the beverage industry.


5. MANGO

In FY16, the Hub’s mango program expanded technical support to a fourth country (Côte d’Ivoire),

while helping a growing number of mango actors address a variety of quality issues, which represent

the main constraint to increasing trade in this sector. This year’s

work helping mango actors grow, harvest, transport, and pack

quality mangoes benefited thousands of farmers, offering important

opportunities for increased income since mangoes destined for the

export market can bring up to three times more than mangoes for

the domestic market. Not only did improved quality lead to

increased exports, it also increased the supply of mangoes suitable

for processing.


Generated $8.1 million in sales, including $4.6 million in exports outside the

region during the 2016 mango season. As shown in Table 7 below, support from the

Hub enabled thousands of West African mango stakeholders acquire the skills and

positioning they need to access global market opportunities, mainly in the European Union

(EU), Middle East, North Africa, and South Africa.

Boosted production of quality mangoes in four West African countries by

delivering training on best production and harvesting techniques to 2,325

growers. We delivered training on harvesting best practices, post-harvest handling, orchard

management, fruit fly control and other phytosanitary issues, and proper hygiene in packing

and handling, all of which are vitally important for producing export-quality fruit. Using a

TOT and cascade training model, we worked with exporter-producers and producer

associations in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Senegal.

Bolstered quality and reduced post-harvest losses by training 251 pack house

staff in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. Pack houses play a vital role in the mango value

chain, by washing, grading, calibrating, packing, palletizing, and pre-cooling the fruit. Without

strong standards and operations in these facilities, even high-quality mangoes may never

make it to export markets. The Hub’s training on proper packaging techniques for pack

house technicians helped ensure the process, timing, and systems needed for export-quality

fresh and dried mangoes.

Helped open global export markets to West African mango farmers by enabling

them to obtain international certifications. Exporting mangoes to the EU and other

parts of the world requires producers and exporters to meet stringent standards for quality

and food safety. For consumers and retailers, meeting these standards offers reassurance

that food meets accepted levels of safety and quality and has been produced sustainably,

respecting the health, safety, and welfare of workers and the environment. Without such

reassurance, farmers may be denied access to markets. The Hub helped a mango processors

association in Burkina Faso meet Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) and

organic quality certifications. As a result, the processors sold 182.7 metric tons of dried

mangos, worth $1.01 million, to the EU. We also assisted 141 producers and Ghanaian and

Burkinabé exporters in obtaining Global Good Agricultural Practices (GLOBALG.A.P.)

certification for the 2016 season.

Facilitated

$4.6 million

in exports


Facilitated a technical working group on creating a regional mango alliance, as

part of a broader four-day Mango Week Conference in Senegal. The Hub provided

technical guidance and support for the working group, which established an action plan and

identified national focal points for a West African mango alliance. The conference drew

around 200 value chain actors from Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana,

Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and Senegal. It laid the groundwork for a regional alliance that

will represent the interests of the mango sector, develop synergy on important areas of

shared interest, and help improve the global competitiveness of West Africa’s mango sector.


Table 7 below shows the total number of individuals who received training in FY16, in both TOT

and cascade trainings. Because quality remains the largest impediment to exports of West African

mangoes, the bulk of the training this year focused on good harvesting practices, which have a direct

impact on the amount of mangoes that are of high enough quality to export.

The export figures for Burkina Faso reflect sales of both dried and fresh mangoes to Europe and the

Middle East. In Ghana, climatic conditions had a strong negative effect on export sales: rainfall levels

damaged the quality of the fruit and the timing of the harvest limited growers’ access to overseas

markets. In the case of Senegal, because changing climatic conditions have extended the harvest

through October 2016, the mango sector has not yet completed sales for the year.

Table 7: Overview of Hub Mango Interventions and Sales

Country

Number of Individuals Trained Value of Increased Sales

HACCP &

GLOBALG.A.P. Certifications

Good

Harvesting

Techniques

Pack House

Procedures

Domestic

Markets

Export

Markets

Total Sales

Burkina Faso 26 983 – 390,253 2,291,587 2,681,840

Côte d’Ivoire – 135 65 334,500 890,200 1,224,700

Ghana 115 816 – 1,547,854 477,580 2,025,434

Senegal N/A 391 186 1,269,317 913,016 2,182,333

Totals 141 2,325 251 3,541,924 4,572,383 8,114,307

Many participants in our mango activities were women. As a 2011 export factsheet for mangoes by

the International Trade Commission stated, “In most countries of the region, women are important

players at the different levels of the value chain. In Ghana, women are not just providers of labour,

but owners of most of the plantations. The role of women in providing the labour force in planting,

maintenance, harvesting, sorting and other processes in the chain cannot be overemphasised.”

Carried out scoping mission in Mali

To assess opportunities for the project to work with the mango value chain in Mali, the Hub’s

Mango Sector Specialists spent one week in that country in November 2015 meeting with potential

partners. Many Malian mango producers are located in the southern part of the country, which

borders Burkina Faso and faces similar constraints, especially as both are land-locked countries. Mali

has two organized inter-professional mango associations; both would like to work with the Hub.

During the scoping mission, the Hub team identified export markets for Malian producers and found

strong potential to increase the volume of mangoes exported through existing channels. As in other

mango-producing West African countries, quality poses the primary challenge for potential

exporters in Mali. For this reason, the project team felt that the country’s mango sector could

benefit from the Hub approach of delivering training on improved harvesting and handling techniques

to both producer associations and key export companies.


Following this initial mission, a delegation of Malian producers visited the Hub’s office in Ghana to

re-affirm their interest in working together. Unfortunately however, the worsening security situation

in Mali delayed a decision about proceeding with the partnership. As of the end of the fiscal year,

security in Mali had further deteriorated, and there are currently no plans to initiate mango activities

in FY17.

Carried out scoping mission in Côte d’Ivoire

In January 2016, as we prepared to open a project office

in Abidjan, we held discussions with key Ivoirian value

chain actors to develop interventions to promote mango

trade within Côte d’Ivoire, in the region and for global

markets. The Hub team identified one large exporter,

Nembel Invest SA, a producer/exporter, and an

association of smaller exporter associations, the

Association Régionale des Exportateurs de Mangues de Côte

d’Ivoire (AREXMA), as potential partners. These

organizations are based in and around Korhogo in the northern part of the country. In February and

March 2016, the project’s mango sector team developed a training plan to take place during the short

mango export season in Côte d’Ivoire (see text box). As the training coincided with the opening of

the Hub’s office in Abidjan in March 2016, our Abidjan-based staff were closely involved.

Delivered training on best harvesting practices for producers and harvesters in Burkina

Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Senegal

The Hub’s TOT programs on best harvesting practices taught participants effective methods for

cascading the training down to other producers in their regions, so they could share the knowledge

they had gained. As shown in Table 8, we trained 1,086 individuals (including 431 women) in all four

countries on fruit fly control, best harvesting techniques, and proper methods for packaging mangoes

for export. We collaborated on this activity with producer associations and private companies.

Table 8: TOT Programs on Best Harvesting Practices, April–July 2016

Country/Harvest Period Activity Number of Producers

Trained

Ghana

(harvest from April–July)

Improve harvesting techniques and

implement integrated pest

management (IPM) for fruit flies

for producers working with

export companies

593 producers trained (suppliers

of Bomarts and HPW)

Completed October–December

and June–July

Burkina Faso

(harvest from May–July)


implement IPM for fruit flies for

producers working with

processing company and export

companies.

157 harvesters trained

(DAFANI)

135 producers trained

Association Professionnelle Mangue

du Burkina Faso (APROMA-B)

Completed April–May

Senegal

(harvest from June–August)


implement IPM for fruit flies for

producers working with export

companies

71 producers trained

Completed June

Côte d’Ivoire

(harvest from April–June)

Training topics included how to

avoid contamination, mitigation of

fruit flies, sorting, and grading and

transport to pack houses

130 harvesters trained

Completed April 2016

Côte d’Ivoire’s mango sector is marked

by the shortest harvesting season in the

region (April to June) and an even shorter

export season that is regulated by the

Ministry of Agriculture. The purpose of

the Ministry’s regulations is to limit the

risk of fruit fly proliferation into mangoes

exported to international markets. These

restrictions create logistical constraints

for the Ivorian mango value chain.


West Africa’s mango industry produces an estimated 1

million metric tons of fruit and employs 1.5 million people.

But although exports are rising, potential for trade revenues

and value addition is still undermined by fruit flies and other

phytosanitary issues, post-harvest losses, access to finance

barriers, and high transport costs. The Hub’s trainings

addressed these constraints head on, with lessons in

harvesting best practices, orchard management, and proper

hygiene in packing and handling—all designed to prepare

West African mango producers to attain export-quality

standards.

Training of trainers. Ghana is the only country in the

region with two mango harvests. In preparation for this short

minor season (December 2015–February 2016), the Hub

delivered training to more than 455 farmers (primarily

suppliers for processing companies) in 10 districts from October through December 2015.

Then, from April to July 2016, prior to the general mango season (called the “major season” in

Ghana), the project carried out country-specific TOT initiatives in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire,

Ghana, and Senegal, with the goal of increasing the volume of regional and export trade of quality

West African mangoes. In Côte d’Ivoire, we trained 75 producers for Nembel Invest and 60 growers

supplying 13 export enterprises affiliated with AREXMA.

Cascade training. As shown in Table 9, during July and August, 1,086 farmer-trainers in Burkina

Faso, Ghana, and Senegal trained another 1,234 farmers through practical demonstrations on

methods for controlling fruit flies, harvesting, assessing fruit maturity indices, pruning, inducing

flowers to increase yields, and ensuring high-quality mangoes. All of these trainings were designed to

increase the quantity of high-quality mangoes, to ultimately increase exports. Cascade training in

Côte d’Ivoire did not take place for the 2016 season, but is expected prior to the 2017 mango

season. Table 9 summarizes this information.

Table 9: Cascade Training on Best Harvesting Practices, July–August 2016

Country # of Farmer-

Trainers

No. of Additional farmers trained

Male Female Total

Burkina Faso 292 556 135 691

Ghana 593 188 35 223

Senegal 71 266 54 320

Côte d'Ivoire 135 0 0 0

TOTAL 1,091 1,010 224 1,234

Percentage of Total (%) 81.8% 18.2%

Trained pack house staff in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal

As part of efforts to improve the quality of fresh and dried mangos, the project trained pack house

staff in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire during FY16. We completed a program on proper packaging

techniques for pack house technicians in Senegal during an intensive period in late May and June

2016. In Côte d’Ivoire, the Hub delivered training to 65 pack house employees working for Nembel

and AREXMA. The sessions took place in Sinematiali, Korhogo, and Ferkessedougou. These activities

led to total sales of $889,200 in exports during the 2016 mango season.

Farmers certified to GLOBALG.A.P.

standards are required to have locked

storerooms where chemicals can be

safely kept. Emergency contact details

must also be visible.


Supported the certification process for producers and processors in Burkina Faso and

Ghana

Meeting global standards opens export markets to

West African mango farmers. International food

safety standards such as Organic, HACCP, and

GLOBALG.A.P certification

provide growers with a substantial price differential

for their produce and broaden their access to

international markets.

HACCP and organic quality certification:

Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso’s vibrant mango value

chain includes a large number of companies that

export dried mangos within West Africa and to

markets in the EU. A few members of the Burkinabé

mango processors’ association, Professionnels des

Transformateurs de la Mangue du Burkina (PTRAMAB)

already had HACCP certification and were exporting

to Europe, but most did not. PTRAMAB asked for

project assistance to help many more of its producers

obtain HACCP and organic quality certifications. We

collaborated with the Netherlands Development

Organisation (SNV) to organize certification training

for 33 PTRAMAB members. The December 2015

sessions covered improved drying techniques,

HACCP requirements for dried mangoes, and organic

standards. As a result of these trainings, PTRAMAB

members were able to export 182.7 metric tons of dried mangoes to EU markets during Burkina

Faso’s mango season, with a total value of $1.01 million.

GLOBALG.A.P.: Burkina Faso and Ghana. The Hub developed training programs to help

producers and exporters in Ghana and Burkina Faso obtain GLOBALG.A.P. certification prior to the

2016 mango season, as shown in Table 10. GLOBALG.A.P certification is a prerequisite for retail

chains in the EU, the largest export market for West African mangoes. When farmers meet these

standards and their products meet certain quality targets mandated by GLOBALG.A.P., they can

earn twice as much as they would in local markets. We delivered GLOBALG.A.P. certification

training to 124 producer-members of two mango associations in Ghana—Yilo Krobo Mango

Farmers Association (YKMFA) and Dangme West Mango Association (DAMFA) and also to two key

exporters who are members of the Mango Exporters Association (APEMAB) in Burkina Faso and

100 producers. Field training began in December in Ghana and in March in Burkina Faso.

Table 10: Mango Producers Receiving GLOBALG.A.P. Training and Certification, FY16

Country # Producers Trained

to Obtain GLOBALG.A.P.

Certification

# Producers Achieving

GLOBALG.A.P. Certification

Burkina Faso

Sanle Séchage Exports 50 26

Ranch du Koba 50 -

Ghana

YKMFA 82 80

DAMFA 42 35

Totals 224 141

Photo

: R

ebecc

a W

eav

er,

Tra

de

Hub

Increased pruning, part of GLOBALG.A.P.

best practices, ensures that each mango

receives adequate light and air. John

Sackey, a mango farmer who received his

GLOBALG.A.P. certification just this year

attested “The quality of this year’s crop

is high. I can already see a difference in

the way the mangoes are growing

because of the changes I’ve made. I

was expecting my investment to pay

off in five years, but if this increase in

yield continues, I should be able to see

a return in three years.”


The Hub supported this multi-step process by

recruiting certified GLOBALG.A.P. trainers and

accredited external certification bodies (AfriCert in

Ghana and ECOCERT in Burkina Faso). The

certification process included theoretical and practical

trainings, as well as internal inspections and audits by

the trainers during the first phase of the growing

season. The certification bodies conducted initial

external audits of a sample of the producers to

determine quality of the practices completed midway

through the growing season and developed a correction

plan to address non-compliance. The certification

bodies completed a final external audit after they

confirmed that all necessary corrective actions had

been successfully implemented.

After a final field audit prior to harvest, 115 producers

in Ghana from the YKMFA and DAMFA and 26

producers who supply Sanle Séchage Exports in Burkina

Faso received GLOBALG.A.P. certification for the rest

of the year. As of the end of FY16, the process of final

issuance of GLOBALG.A.P. certification for Ranch Du

Koba in Burkina Faso is ongoing.

Supported a conference on creating a regional

mango alliance

The Hub supported a technical working group that met

in conjunction with a four-day Mango Week

Conference organized by the Senegalese Ministry of

Trade with funding from USAID/Senegal. The

conference, held May 30–June 3, 2016, brought together approximately 200 value chain actors from

eight countries: Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and

Senegal.

Around 35 representatives of the private and public sectors in these eight countries attended the

technical working group meeting, separate from the plenary sessions. With technical assistance from

the Hub, the working group addressed the details of creating a regional alliance.

The project carried out the following tasks:

Developed a program for the two and one-half days of technical working group meetings.

Delivered two presentations about the technical working group meeting’s overall objectives

and key commonalities about regional alliances, taken from the experiences of other West

African value chains.

Prepared and managed three small group exercises to stimulate discussion about key aspects

of an alliance and the building blocks necessary for an alliance to have a viable vision and

mission statement. The final exercise proposed an organizational structure for the regional

platform.

Ensured that three products were finalized: a 12-month action plan, a “Dakar Declaration”

confirming strong regional support for the initiative, and identification of key individuals in

Yilo Krobo Mango Farmers Association

(YKMFA) is the only Ghanaian producers’

association certified this year under the new

version 5 of GLOBALG.A.P. Within YKMFA, 51

farmers renewed their certifications under the

new version, while the rest are new farmers

certified for the first time. Major fresh fruit

exporters in Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso

also export under GLOBALG.A.P.


the different countries who will be involved in implementation of the action plan. The overall

objective of the action plan is to secure substantial support from the private sectors and

governments of the member countries while the objectives of the alliance are disseminated

and discussed in detail.

Supported a plenary presentation for the final conference session that summarized the

results of the technical working group’s findings for an audience that included the Senegalese

Minister of Trade, representatives of USAID/Senegal, and more than 200 value chain

stakeholders.

Participants agreed to create a Provisional Office for the mango alliance, composed of five members

of the private sector from different countries. In addition, each country identified a focal point who

will be available to support specific actions during the coming year. The final step will be to organize

a General Assembly, which will formally establish the alliance as a legal entity, with a structure yet to

be confirmed. The Hub will provide limited technical assistance to this process as it evolves during

the next fiscal year.

Provided in-kind grants for seven mango actors

As described more fully in Chapter 12, in FY16 the Hub reviewed and approved seven in-kind grants

to support key mango value chain partners in Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Senegal. Most of the tools,

equipment, and computers provided by the grants were procured by the end of the fiscal year. The

grants are designed to improve these partners’ business operations and strengthen their ability to

more effectively process and export quality mangos.


FY15 activities demonstrated that there are large, unmet market opportunities for West African

mangoes and that exporters and processors are able to increase their volumes of global-quality

mangoes. FY16 activities proved the effectiveness of the project’s strategies in enabling harvesters to

deliver greater quantities of quality mangoes and improve the quality of handling, packing, and

processing at pack houses and processing facilities. Drawing on what we have learned over the last

two and one-half years, as we move into FY17, the Hub will adjust our approach in two main ways.

Transfer increasing levels of responsibility to our partners. We will continue to support

stakeholders in scaling up efforts to boost quality and ensure that those efforts are sustainable, while

beginning to transfer responsibility for the training programs to our partner lead firms and

associations. As we work to strengthen our partners, they will bear many of the costs and increase

their capacity to both organize the trainings and assure adherence to rigorous quality management

programs throughout the season. Our intention is to increase the percentage of the harvest that

meets international standards and can be exported while simultaneously building local capacity and

promoting local ownership of quality control activities. Going forward, the Hub will adopt an

enhanced cost-sharing approach for our work with mango sector partners, just as we will do in

other value chains. The project will negotiate agreements with multiple partners in this value chain

that specifies where project financial resources will be used and those areas where the partner is

expected to contribute.

Develop direct partnerships with lead firms whose products, especially value-added

products, can be sold to targeted buyers. We will work with firms such as HPW, Bomarts, and

Blue Skies to help them expand their markets, especially in dried and fresh-cut mangoes. In addition,

we will work to identify international buyers (including possibly the U.S.) looking to increase

sourcing of mangoes from West Africa. On the supply side, the project will support the efforts of

producers and producer associations to work with large new buyers.


6. APPAREL

In the past year and early in this fiscal year, the Hub assessed and sought to work with a number of

apparel companies that at first investigation showed promise and whose management expressed

interest in working towards exporting. However, over the course of the year, as more in-depth

work with individual companies took place, it became clear that some of these companies were

either not ready for exports (thanks to quality, timeliness, and quantity constraints) or were not

interested in investing the amount of time and funds needed to

truly get over the export hump. Following these more in-depth

analyses and work with individual companies, Hub support

during the fiscal year focused on providing targeted support to

five companies in Ghana and Benin in partnership with

subcontractor Ethical Apparel Africa (EAA). We also worked to

identify additional companies that are expanding their exports

or are export-ready.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS/ 6.1

RESULTS

Supported the best-in-class Ghanaian apparel firm Dignity DTRT Limited,

contributing to $9 million in exports. DTRT is the largest and most successful apparel

exporter in West Africa. The project has provided ongoing advocacy and technical

assistance to the firm throughout our implementation period, helping DTRT mobilize

funding from the Government of Ghana, which has allowed the company to expand and

increase exports to the U.S. market.

Facilitated sales to new buyers by one of our primary apparel partners, KAD

Manufacturing in Ghana. Through the Hub’s subcontract with EAA, we delivered

extensive technical factory-level production line lay-out, floor management, and skills-

training support in sewing, cutting, quality control and other aspects of the industry to KAD,

ultimately enabling the firm to successfully ship samples and test orders to the U.K., the U.S.,

and Australia.

Raised the visibility of our West African apparel partners through attendance at

international trade shows in the U.S. and Africa. During FY16, the Hub—in

collaboration with our partner EAA—helped apparel companies who were either exporting

or were export-ready attend four major events: Sourcing at MAGIC in Las Vegas, Nevada (the

world’s largest garment tradeshow in the world), Côterie in New York, Origin Africa in

Ethiopia, and Source Africa in South Africa. An EAA representative also attended the Uniform

Retailers Association trade show in September 2016 in Palm Beach, Florida. These efforts

raised the visibility of West Africa’s apparel industry, enabled the firms and EAA to make

valuable contacts and “close” deals for samples, and keep abreast of new developments in

the dynamic, ever-changing global apparel industry.

Facilitated an AGOA shipment to the U.S. by KAD Manufacturing, resolving

customs difficulties that would have resulted in return of the order to Ghana.

KAD, one of our key Ghanaian apparel company partners, sent its first test order to a new

U.S. buyer under AGOA. Soon, however, KAD learned that the garments were being held in

U.S. Customs because of errors in the paperwork. The firm contacted the Hub for

assistance to ensure that the order could be completed. Our expertise did the trick; KAD’s

dresses are now for sale in American retail outlets.

Facilitated

$9.1 million in

exports



Linked apparel companies with EAA’s Fair Trade, niche, and mass production export

programs

We continued the Hub’s collaboration with EAA in FY16 to enhance the competitiveness of the

apparel sector in West Africa. During this fiscal year, we provided technical training and support to

four targeted companies: KAD Manufacturing, Anowah Afrique, and Studio 189 in Ghana, and Africa

New Confection (ANC) in Benin. EAA hired short- and medium-term specialists and relied on its

own in-house experts to deliver specialized training on setting up production lines; pattern-making,

cutting, and sampling; grades and standards; and social and environmental compliance. The training

was reinforced by technical assistance from experts with significant experience in mature,

sophisticated apparel-producing countries such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Supporting a company

to be export-ready is a long and complicated process, as illustrated in Figure 4 below.

Figure 4: EAA Process for Helping West African Apparel Companies Prepare to Export

Figure courtesy of Ethical Apparel Africa

During FY16, project support enabled the targeted firms to prepare and ship a number of samples

and test shipments to international clients such as Arvin, Tales of Thread (UK), Brooklyn Industries,

A Cut Above, Hurleys Religious Goods, Iguanamed, and Berne (U.S.). KAD Manufacturing shipped a

test shipment of ladies’ pajamas to Tales of Thread in the UK and a test shipment of ladies’ skirts and

blouses to Brooklyn Industries in the U.S. (see Figure 5). Both clients expressed satisfaction with the

product lines. Brooklyn Industries has indicated that it plans to order more garments from KAD,

both expanding existing product lines and adding new ones. KAD is now in the process of

developing other product lines for sample production and approval. EAA also facilitated an order for

KAD from an Australian client at the end of the fiscal year, and production has begun.

KAD was able to take advantage of AGOA for its shipments to Brooklyn Industries and Osei-Duro,

a U.S. firm with a workshop in Accra, thanks in part to the Hub’s direct facilitation. Additional

interventions from the Hub enabled KAD to receive free-zone status so it can import raw materials

duty-free.


During the last quarter of FY16, we negotiated a significant expansion in our subcontract with EAA,

to facilitate more direct support to the four companies. The additional assistance will allow these

firms to provide more samples for brands and buyers that have expressed an interest in sourcing

from West Africa.

Figure 5: KAD Manufacturing Skirts and Dresses on Sale through Brooklyn Industries

Photo

: Bro

okly

nIn

dust

ries.

com

and E

thic

al A

ppar

el A

fric

a

Over the past year, the Hub—through EAA—has helped KAD establish ethical production practices, improve

production standards, and follow-up on contacts made at MAGIC. EAA also assisted KAD in linking

successfully with international brands, including Brooklyn Industries, a New York-based design company with

16 retail stores. After first receiving inquiries from Brooklyn in late 2015, KAD worked closely with EAA to

prepare the retailer’s order of skirts and dresses using West African-styled fabrics. In July 2016, Brooklyn

launched its “Made in Africa” line produced by KAD.

Supported attendance at apparel industry trade shows

Trade shows are crucial to apparel producers in West Africa. To start with, the region has a low

profile in this industry and is not traditionally known for apparel production and export.

Companies—and the Hub and EAA—use trade shows first and foremost to gain visibility and

showcase the West African industry’s potential. These platforms also allow producers to meet with

potential buyers, brands, and suppliers of quality fabric, trims, and accessories: these initial contacts

are crucial for garment manufacturers trying to expand lines of business and export.

Trends in the global apparel industry are dynamic, requiring producers to be ready to change and

innovate to meet industry requirements and the expectations of buyers and brands. Trade shows

give West African apparel companies a chance to learn more about global trends and what their

counterparts in Eastern and Southern Africa (and other parts of the world) are doing to be

competitive, especially under AGOA. During this fiscal year, we sent our apparel industry partners

to the following trade shows:

Origin Africa (Ethiopia, October 2015). The Hub collaborated with EAA to attend and 1.

represent West African apparel firms at the Origin Africa 2015 trade show in Addis Ababa.

Three Ghanaian firms were part of the Trade Hub/EAA delegation: KAD Manufacturing,

Nallem Clothing, and Precious Textiles. One of the challenges facing West African

companies trying to produce for export is a dearth of high-quality raw materials. Origin

Africa provided ample opportunities for our partner firms to overcome this difficulty; they

identified and made initial contacts with suppliers of fabric, trims, and accessories so they

will be able to successfully source the raw materials needed to complete samples and test

shipments for potential buyers. The Hub/EAA booth provided visibility to the three firms


that attended the show and showcased the potential of West African apparel manufacturing

to buyers and visitors, including the global retailer H&M and the apparel investor C&H.

Photo

: Em

man

uel O

donkor,

Tra

de

Hub

Linda Ampah (right), owner of KAD Manufacturing, meets and answers questions during the Sourcing at MAGIC

2016 trade show in Las Vegas in February 2016.

Sourcing at MAGIC (Las Vegas, February 2016). A joint collaboration between the 2.

three USAID Trade Hubs to attend the MAGIC trade show in February 2016 resulted in an

impressive Africa representation. The West Africa stand welcomed many visitors and

responded to enquiries about the region’s garment industry. Both KAD Manufacturing and

ANC attended. To prepare for this event, the project and EAA provided technical assistance

and guidance to help KAD and ANC prepare the samples they exhibited at MAGIC. The

West African delegation made more than 60 contacts with suppliers of fabric and

accessories and with brands and buyers such as A Cut Above and Hurleys Religious Goods.

Since then, ANC (Benin) has developed samples for these clients and is in negotiations about

sending test shipments.

Source Africa (South Africa, June 2016). The 3.

Hub’s Apparel Sector Specialist and EAA staff

attended Source Africa in South Africa to identify

more suppliers of quality trims and accessories. This

is of critical importance to address the raw

materials sourcing problems faced by most Hub-

assisted apparel companies, who need to be able to

offer “full-package” orders to buyers (see text box).

The only apparel firm from West Africa at Source

Africa 2016 was Crown Natures, a Nigerian firm

that specializes in promotional materials such as t-

shirts, caps, boxer shorts, polos, and jerseys. The project team introduced a representative

of the Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) certification body to Crown

Natures, which the Hub had initially identified as a potential partner during a scoping mission

to Nigeria in May 2015. The project will follow up more with this company in FY17.

Côterie (New York, September 2016) and Uniform Retailers Association trade show 4.

(Palm Beach, September 2016). With funding from the Hub, an EAA representative and

the owners of KAD Manufacturing and Edtex Textiles traveled to New York for Côterie,

the first time they had attended this fashion-focused trade show. Although the Hub/EAA

booth received less foot traffic than had been hoped for, the delegation was able to make

“When people pass by and see the

USAID West Africa Trade Hub

banner, it attracts them to come in

and talk with me. To have the

backing of USAID and the Trade

Hub means a lot, especially in

making contacts and gaining the

confidence of buyers.”

—Isidore Kouton, Owner, ANC


initial contacts with some buyers and brands and discuss

sample production with them. Linda Ampah, the owner

of KAD, also met with Brooklyn Industries to talk about

future product lines and orders; she also visited one of

Brooklyn Industries’ outlets. In addition, an EAA

representative (but no apparel companies) participated

in the Uniform Retailers Association trade show, where

she met with buyers and provided samples of workwear

and uniforms to highlight the potential of factories in

Ghana and elsewhere in the region.

Supported Ghanaian efforts to implement the

country’s apparel sector work plan

Supported by USAID and the U.S. Embassy in Ghana,

the Hub facilitated collaboration between the Ghanaian

government and apparel companies, which focused on

boosting youth employment and increasing exports

under AGOA. The Ministry of Employment and Labor

Relations plans to provide training funds to qualified apparel companies to enable them to recruit

and train under-privileged youth, mostly from rural areas. The goal is to equip them with skills that

will enable them to find employment in the apparel industry and, ultimately, help alleviate poverty.

Hosted round table meetings and workshops relevant to the apparel sector in Ghana

In May 2016 the Hub collaborated with USAID and the U.S. Embassy in Ghana to host a round table

for apparel producers and apparel industry stakeholders. Representatives from the Ministry of Trade

and Industry (MOTI), the American Chamber of Commerce –Ghana (known as AmCham), the

Association of Ghana Apparel Manufacturers (AGAM), and EAA also attended. Topics focused on

the 10-year extension of the AGOA facility and the need for Africa—especially West Africa—to

take maximum advantage of the Act by increasing exports of eligible products, one of the most

important of which is apparel. Participants identified a range of significant constraints, including a lack

of tangible government support for the apparel industry, a lack of infrastructure, the absence or low

levels of technical expertise, difficulties accessing finance, a lack of knowledge about and compliance

with international social and environmental requirements and standards, and a dearth of knowledge

about the U.S. apparel market.

The Hub co-hosted a workshop in May 2016 on export documentation requirements, with an

emphasis on exports under AGOA. We collaborated with GCCI on this event, which drew 60

participants from the apparel sector and other industries, as well as representatives of MOTI; the

Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA); the Ghana Revenue Authority, Customs Division; and

AGAM.

The Hub’s COP addressed the audience at a one-day workshop on May 27, explaining various

procedures for exporting under AGOA and describing opportunities for Ghanaian exporters. The

Hub co-hosted the event along with the AmCham and GCCI. Members of the U.S. Embassy and

USAID/West Africa also participated.

Provided direct support to the Ghanaian apparel firm DTRT

DTRT is a U.S.-Ghana joint venture that is in a class of its own in terms of quality, size of its export

base, and overall professionalism of its operations. The Hub has provided ongoing technical

assistance and advocacy support to DTRT to support the company’s expansion and increased sales

to the U.S. market. This support has focused on two areas of equal importance:

“I am writing to extend my

warmest gratitude to you and

USAID for the opportunity given

me to take part in the just-ended

Côterie show. The exposure, right

from the webinar training

programs provided by ITC to

exhibiting, gave me added

experience in international

Exhibitions. I am very grateful and

look forward to participating in

subsequent and similar programs

to develop and grow my business

further.”

—Edwina Assan, Edtex Limited


Obtaining increased factory space for DTRT to house additional staff and more machines so

that it can meet expected increases in export orders to a current U.S. client.

Securing Government of Ghana (GOG) funds to train new staff.

Additional unused factory space has been identified in the same location as DTRT’s original factory.

The Hub has supported DTRT for more than two years as it negotiated with MOTI and its

contracted auditor to receive approval to move into several empty buildings in the same industrial

park as DTRT’s current factory. There have been significant delays, as other companies have been

lobbying for the same factory space. Despite numerous meetings with MOTI, U.S. Embassy

commercial staff, and DTRT to support this request, this issue remains unresolved.

During FY15, the Hub facilitated a large injection of training funds to DTRT from a GOG-managed

fund. These funds were used to train new workers who have since become DTRT employees.

Another disbursement from the same source was to be made at the beginning of FY16. Despite

repeated meetings with the relevant government agency, it became clear that no further

disbursements would be made available. The Hub then worked with DTRT to apply for additional

funding for staff training through a fund managed by the Ghanaian Ministry of Employment. DTRT

was informed that these funds have been approved, but as of the end of the fiscal year, no

disbursement has yet been made.

The Hub will continue these efforts in the expectation that this expansion and increased training of

staff will increase DTRT’s overall operations by 50 percent in the coming year.

The project has facilitated numerous visits to DTRT for U.S. Government officials, donors, and

private sector stakeholders in the value chain, as an example of best practices in the apparel value

chain in West Africa. Much of this effort has focused on reinforcing with different GOG agencies the

importance of this type of enterprise within the country. In addition to the other efforts outlined

above, we will continue to promote DTRT as “best in class” during the coming fiscal year.

Provided direct support to the apparel company ANC in Benin

The Hub continued in FY16 to support ANC as it prepares to launch into the international export

market. The project provided funding for ANC to hire a Moroccan expert to train its information

technology (IT) staff on a new digital pattern-making system. This upgraded technology is essential in

the garment production process to ensure development of good patterns, which ultimately

determine the quality of the finished products. ANC has since successfully completed samples with

the right costing for U.S. companies such as A Cut Above and Hurley’s Religious Goods. The

project, through EAA, also provided technical support and

training to ANC to produce samples of men’s shirts for Irvin,

a UK brand.

After a sourcing company from Mauritius asked for assistance

scouting African factories for production, EAA conducted an

initial assessment of ANC’s factory to evaluate its suitability

for producing medical gowns for Iguanamed, a medical

uniform supplier. ANC successfully produced and shipped

samples, with appropriate costing and pricing. The deal did

not progress, however, because ANC does not have WRAP

certification (see text box).

In further support for ANC, and as described more fully in

Chapter 11, the Hub’s finance and investment team hired

Growth Mosaic, a consulting firm that specializes in preparing

firms to access and manage growth capital, to build ANC’s

internal financial management capacity.

WRAP certification: A Hub

priority for FY17

Sustainability and social compliance

certification are becoming

increasingly important aspects of

supply chain management in today’s

global apparel markets. WRAP

certification is important for West

African garment and textile

exporters, as it demonstrates a

company’s commitment toward

socially and environmentally ethical

standards. It is also required by many

international retailers.


Identified potential apparel sector partners in Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria

The Hub’s Apparel Sector Specialist organized and completed a scouting trip in Côte d’Ivoire in

October 2015. During this initial trip, our specialist visited eight apparel production facilities in

Abidjan, looking at their export readiness and possibilities for the Hub to provide technical

assistance and help build market linkages. We identified a range of major constraints, however,

including a lack of access to finance, inappropriate infrastructure, a lack of modern equipment, poor

training, and—most essentially—inadequate government support for the sector.

Following this first visit, a Hub team and representative of EAA visited Côte d’Ivoire again in June to

assess the export readiness of two firms and look at a few other companies. O’sey, a ready-to-wear

business that produces for its own boutiques in greater Abidjan and work wear for institutions,

stood out as the company with the greatest potential to export in the near future. As of the end of

FY16, the project’s Apparel Sector Specialist was in discussions with the owner of O’sey about areas

where the Hub could provide medium-term technical assistance and capacity building. Such support

would include advising on and enhancing the floor design for production lines, upgrading the factory

flow, recruiting and training workers, selecting product lines (e.g., polos, t-shirts, workwear), and

improving O’sey’s understanding of social and environmental compliance requirements.

The Hub’s apparel team researched the export potential of textile factories in Côte d’Ivoire outside

of Abidjan as well. The trip included visits to the once-vibrant industrial zone in Bouaké (Gonfreville)

and Agboville to conduct an initial assessment of current operations in ginning, spinning, dyeing, and

denim production. The team toured two factories: Tex-CI and Utexi.

During scoping missions to Nigeria in May and July, a Hub team assessed potential apparel

companies to support. Out of the 10 companies visited, two show the most promise: Crown

Natures and Sam & Sara, which last exported under AGOA in 2011.


Expand our current approach of focusing on and deepening our assistance to export-

ready firms by investigating additional countries’ possible export-ready companies. The

apparel industry offers the potential for thousands of new jobs, substantial domestic and private

investment, and important progress towards developing skills and other capacities that can lead to

follow-on growth in the manufacturing and services industries. Despite ongoing interest from

international buyers and investors, West African countries have done little to encourage investment

in the apparel sector. This lack of government support is a major reason why West Africa has not

been able to exploit the potential of this sector.

Despite this limitation, the Hub is pursuing a strategy of identifying individually promising companies

and helping them advance through the long process of capacity building, technical assistance in plant

operations and/or marketing, certification, or increased investment. The project believes this will

create a demonstration effect and build demand for more government support. Other than some

broad exposure to training such as WRAP certification, most of our attention will be focused on

individual export-ready companies.

In addition to continuing the Hub’s comprehensive support to the four factories in Ghana and

Benin—all of whom have responded well and began expanding their exports—during the coming

year we will take a similar approach with a limited number of other lead firms. This could include

apparel companies in both Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria. In addition, we will be reviewing the potential

of lead textile companies for evaluation of their market readiness for export and where assistance

may be needed.


Increase requirements for cost-sharing. During the coming year, the Hub will carefully

consider cost-share requirements for all certifications, trade fair attendance, and other participatory

activities. Where we have not yet obligated firms to contribute to activity expenses, we will do so.

Emphasize certification. Our FY17 work program for the apparel value chain will place greater

focus on delivering robust support to help companies obtain WRAP certification and possible

introduction into various requirements of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

As we saw after ANC lost an order to Iguanamed because it lacked the certification, WRAP is

increasingly necessary to attract the interest of new buyers and encourage them to source from our

West African partners.


7. CASHEW

The Hub’s support for the cashew value chain this fiscal year emphasized the need to build a cadre

of stronger private sector partners to boost exports, increase jobs, and foster new investment. One

of our primary strategies for tackling these challenges was to strengthen the organizational capacity

of the primary value chain organization: the African Cashew Alliance (ACA). We also delivered firm-

level assistance in FY16, particularly by connecting promising cashew processing companies with

sources of finance, but also by collaborating with the ACA to upgrade the management skills of

cashew processing factory managers from 10 countries.


Increased the uptake of the ACA’s market information services and

strengthened the management capacity of cashew processing factory managers.

Under a grant from the Hub, the ACA completed a comprehensive series of technical

workshops on factory management for 20 companies, upgraded the skills of data collectors

in 10 countries, and developed a plan to boost the capacity of the alliance’s secretariat.

Facilitated just over $9 million in investments for three cashew companies. A

Hub Financial Advisor helped Ivoirienne des Noix de Cajou (INC), a development-stage cashew

nut processor in Côte d’Ivoire, obtain a $5.4 million loan from the local affiliate of a large

global bank. The owners contributed another $2.8 million in equity to round out the deal.

We facilitated a loan of about $775,000 from a regional bank for the working capital needs

of another recipient, Société Africaine de Négoce et de Transformation de Produits Agricole

(SANTPA), an exporter of raw cashew nuts to Asia. In addition, we delivered a loan of

approximately $45,000 for working capital to Unité Natio Cajou in Mali, a small woman-

owned firm.


Provided capacity building support to the African Cashew Alliance

The Hub’s support for the cashew sector in FY16 was delivered through a grant to the ACA. The

grant funded three categories of activities: (1) curriculum development and training for cashew

processing factory managers on improved management of cashew processing plants, (2)

improvements to the ACA’s MIS platform, and (3) professional development for ACA staff. We

carried out activities in 10 countries across the region: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, The

Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal.

Training for factory managers. The ACA completed a training needs assessment in three zones,

developed training materials, and conducted six training programs, as shown in Table 11 on the

following page.

Managers from the same processing companies attended both phases of training in each zone,

ensuring continuity as the more advanced topics were presented and analyzed during the Phase 2

workshops. Several project staff members participated in the various workshops as well. We

carefully considered the ACA’s broader assistance program prior to issuing the grant, and the

training activities funded under our grant were designed to coincide with other ACA training and

technical assistance activities for employees of West African processing factories.


Improvements to the MIS platform. Our grant funds covered the cost of training data

collectors in all 10 countries. Chapter 9 contains more information about this activity.

Training for ACA secretariat staff. The grant’s third purpose was to help strengthen the skills

of staff members at the ACA’s secretariat in Accra. This activity—and other details about the

grant—are contained in Chapter 12.

Table 11: Training for Cashew Processing Factory Managers

Zones and

Countries

Phase I Phase 2

Dates/Location Topics Dates/Location Topics

Zone 1:

The Gambia, Guinea,

Guinea-Bissau, Senegal

February 2016/

Guinea-Bissau Food safety,

quality and

environmental

protection

MIS

August 2016/

The Gambia Cashew

processing

business

management

MIS

Zone 2:

Burkina Faso, Côte

d’Ivoire, Mali

November 2015/

Côte d’Ivoire May 2016/

Côte d’Ivoire

Zone 3:

Benin, Ghana, Nigeria

November 2015/

Benin July 2016/

Nigeria

Connected three cashew companies with banks, resulting in almost $9 million in

investment

The Hub’s largest investment deal in FY16 was for INC, a start-up cashew processing factory in

Côte d’Ivoire. We connected the company with a Financial Advisor who facilitated a $5.4 million

loan from the local affiliate of a large global bank. The owners contributed another $2.8 million in

equity. This infusion of funds will allow INC to build a processing plant, buy equipment, and obtain

enough working capital to buy raw cashew nuts. We are now working with INC to raise an

additional $6.7 million with a partial guarantee through USAID’s Development Credit Authority

(DCA). Chapter 11 contains more information about this transaction.

SANTPA, an exporter of raw cashew nuts to Asia, received a loan of approximately $775,000 in

April from a regional bank to satisfy its working capital needs. The loan helped the company secure

raw cashew nuts at farm gate prices to satisfy a 10,000 metric ton demand for cashews from its

clients in India, Vietnam, and China. In addition, we delivered a loan of approximately $45,000 for

working capital to Unité Natio Cajou in Mali, small woman-

owned business.

Supported an ACA-hosted business-to-business event in

Lagos on access to finance in the cashew value chain

A wide range of cashew industry stakeholders and financial

market actors attended a July 14 workshop in Lagos, Nigeria,

on access to finance in the cashew value chain. The event was

organized by the ACA with support from the Hub and the

USAID Nigeria Expanded Trade and Transport (NEXTT)

project. It brought together experts and other stakeholders in

the cashew sector, banking and finance, and project Financial

Advisors to discuss challenges and possible solutions in

promoting access to finance, competition, and sustainability in

the industry, particularly in Nigeria.

In opening remarks at the Hub’s

training program in Nigeria, ACA

Managing Director Mr. Babafemi O.

Oyewole noted that the training was “addressing essential aspects

of cashew processing

management and market

information systems in order

to empower West African

cashew businesses to be

competitive in the

international market.”



The ACA’s administration of the project’s grant, which will end in October 2016, has been effective

and the alliance has become a capable regional platform that can provide many of the services its

members require. As further described in Chapter 10, the Hub’s July 2016 mid-term capacity

assessment of the ACA showed an overall scored of 5.3 on a scale of 6.0. This indicates a “mature”

organization.

Because the alliance is ready for the next stage of development, we will provide support in the

coming year in priority areas identified in the assessment. This will include assistance in expanding

the ACA database and identifying key stakeholders throughout the region, continuing to identify

member services that can attract new members and raise funds, and could also include other types

of technical support such as improving the alliance’s internal certification standards for member

companies. Within our Côte d’Ivoire program, the project will provide short-term technical

assistance to support INC as it expands its operations to processing and marketing cashew nuts. The

project’s value chain specialists and finance and investment team will work together on this activity.


8. SHEA

In keeping with our strategy of strengthening West African organizations, the Hub’s primary partner

in the shea value chain is the Global Shea Alliance (GSA). The main goal of our support for this

sector has been to help the women’s associations that aggregate, dry, package, and store shea nuts

to become more professional private sector players. These associations have typically operated in a

very informal manner without following best practices for business and warehouse operations or

keeping records of their stocks and sales. According to the GSA, the shea sector encompasses 16

million women collectors in West Africa. Through our GSA grant, the project has identified a kernel

aggregation model that increases the relative returns from shea marketing to the women involved in

this profitable and prevalent value chain.


Supported GSA training for women’s associations, resulting in more than $1.3

million in signed contracts. A Hub grant supported the GSA’s sustainable warehouse

initiative by funding training for approximately 600 women operating 20 warehouses in six

West African countries. After learning about cooperative and business development, the

women’s association is now keeping records and was able to sell 1,337 metric tons of shea

kernel. By aggregating the kernels and selling them in bulk to wholesalers, the women earn a

50 percent premium over the price they would receive in village markets.

Enabled 27 GSA members to make 1,067 contacts with potential buyers at a

major regional cosmetics trade show in South Africa. We financed the cost of the

GSA booth, with all other costs being borne by other sources. The exhibition provided an

opportunity for the firms to connect to the broader African cosmetics market, attract new

customers, and form new business connections.


Delivered support for the GSA’s sustainable warehouse initiative

P

hoto

cre

dit: Y

vett

e K

uw

orn

u, T

rade H

ub

Left: Augustina Abandewo of Ndani and Ayibu Ajongba of Pindaa, have changed the way they do business since

undergoing the training for women shea collectors in northern Ghana. Right: Cecilia Ayamga (far right), manager of the

New Vision warehouse in Walewale, receives deliveries that are then tagged for sale.


The GSA has launched a broad sustainability program that includes an initiative to construct or

rehabilitate 50 warehouses throughout West Africa. As part of this program, the Hub provided a

grant to the GSA to support a one-year pilot activity to train 20 women’s associations to adopt best

practices for sustainable warehouse management. By aggregating at least 80 metric tons of kernels

each year and entering into contracts with wholesale shea purchasers, the women can obtain per-

kilo prices about 50 percent higher than they would in village markets.

In October and November 2015, the GSA identified private sector partners to participate in this

program by building or rehabilitating warehouses along their supply chain routes. Each private sector

entity then identified a qualified local development partner to work with the women’s associations

operating within the catchment area of each warehouse. The project provided a grant to the GSA to

cover the cost of having these local development partners deliver training to empower women shea

collectors to manage and operate sustainable, efficient warehouses by forming cooperatives,

aggregating kernels, and selling as a group.

In each location, the training covered three modules: cooperative development, business

development, and kernel aggregation. The curriculum was developed using the GSA Warehouse

Manual, which was finalized in 2015 with support from the Hub, as a resource. The manual provides

a detailed guide to improved management of warehouses; shea collection, cleaning, and aggregation;

and marketing to international buyers. Between November 2015 and April 2016, the sustainable

warehouse training reached approximately women at 20 warehouses in six countries (see Table 12).

Table 12: Training for Women Shea Warehouse Managers, FY16

Module Training Dates # Participants Countries

(# Warehouses)

Cooperative development November–December 2015 695 Mali (2)

Burkina (1)

Nigeria (2)

Benin (4)

Côte d’Ivoire (1)

Ghana (10)

Business development January–February 2016 605

Kernel aggregation April 2016 691

During the final quarter of FY16, the GSA presented a detailed report on written contracts signed

by the 20 warehouses that received the training. These contracts are based on the amount of stock

that the women managing each warehouse were able to amass during the May–July 2016 collection

season. Twenty-one contracts were signed for a total of 3,666 metric tons of shea nuts

(approximately 175 mt per contract). The total value of the contracts was $1,327,691, or around

$162 per mt on average. Contract execution is not expected until October and November 2016.

Helped fund shea companies’ participation in a major cosmetics trade show

With support from the Hub, the GSA sponsored 27 of its West Africa-based members to attend the

African Cosmetics Exhibition 2016 in Johannesburg, South Africa during the last quarter of the fiscal

year. Many of those attending the exhibition sold the samples they brought with them, and a modest

number of contracts were signed for future orders. Although the trade show has not yet resulted in

large sales numbers, the GSA members did not leave empty-handed: the GSA reported that they

made an impressive 1,067 contacts with potential buyers. The project’s support covered the cost of

the booth at the exhibition; all other costs were provided by other sources. Each of the companies

has agreed to share sales data resulting from participation at this trade fair for the next six months.


Initiated support for Côte d’Ivoire’s shea value chain association

Toward the end of FY16, the Hub worked with the Filière Karité de Côte d’Ivoire (FIKA-CI) to

complete a baseline organizational

capacity assessment (OCA). FIKA-

CI’s activities cover six of the

country’s nine shea production

zones. Based on the OCA findings,

the project is currently developing a

capacity building plan to strengthen

FIKA-CI and increase the value it

provides to its members. Assistance

to FIKA-CI will also support the

Ivorian government’s national

export strategy, which highlights

shea as a target value chain.

Chapter 12 contains more details

about our work with FIKA-CI.

Provided direct finance and investment support to a start-up shea butter fracturing plant

in Burkina Faso

The Hub supported a start-up shea butter and oil processing plant being set up by Agence Deli

Internationale Prod (ADI-Prod), a large women-owned Burkinabé company experienced in trading

shea nut kernels and other agricultural products for regional and international markets. The firm is

seeking $4.7 million in financing for the new plant, and has already received two conditional loan

approval notifications for $4.67 million. The project has been helping ADI meet the banks’

conditions; we have also contributed to market research, technical feasibility analyses, and the

environmental and structural design for the proposed facility. The owners’ equity of $3.4 million

brings the total value of this deal to $8 million. Chapter 11 describes this activity in more detail.

UPCOMING ADJUSTMENTS TO OUR APPROACH 8.3

The Hub grant to the GSA provided the proof of concept, contributing to the success of the

alliance’s pilot program to support improved warehouse management. This created a direct way to

pass value on to women collectors at the lowest point in the value chain. As a result of this pilot

program, the GSA has begun an expanded five-year program to establish 250 warehouses in the

region through a USAID-funded Global Development Alliance (GDA). The GDA award is a

testament to the maturity of the GSA as a broad-based, industry-wide organization. The Hub will be

available to support this initiative as requested. Based on the results of participation in the cosmetics

trade fair at the end of FY 16, further support to shea processors and exporters could be

forthcoming. Indirect support to this value chain is also available under the AGOA component of the

project.

Madam Akunna of Daralkuchi Ltd. (photo at left) was one of the GSA

members who participated in the African Cosmetics Exhibition. The

Nigeria-based company produces raw shea butter, body creams, soaps

and lotions under the brand name Daralshea and has been a GSA

member since 2009. Also exhibiting was CKB Enterprise (photo at

right), a GSA member since 2009. This company is based in Ghana and

produces high-quality African black soaps and shea butter.


9. MARKET INFORMATION

SYSTEMS

As with all of the Hub’s technical areas, our MIS efforts this fiscal year were designed to leave strong

and sustainable partners in place to serve the needs of stakeholders in West Africa after the project

ends. During FY16, the Hub supported three regional partners in improving the availability and

quality of their MIS services.

Access to reliable price information is critical to enhancing the bargaining power of producers and

traders and it is with that objective in mind that the Hub embarked on supporting these efforts. A

big challenge with market information systems, however, is finding the sustainability formula for their

maintenance. As explained below, the solutions in each of the three cases will vary.


Helped boost the capacity of Réseau des Systèmes d’Information des Marchés en

Afrique de l’Ouest (RESIMAO). The Hub provided targeted support to RESIMAO in

FY16 to help expand its MIS platform, which had been upgraded with project resources

during FY15. Not only has our assistance built the network’s organizational capacity, but we

also facilitated RESIMAO efforts to expand into four new countries: Cabo Verde, Ghana,

Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Supported and supervised the creation of an MIS platform for the West African

livestock sector. During this fiscal year, the project hired and supervised a subcontractor

who built and launched a new MIS to provide livestock stakeholders throughout the region

with timely and accurate market data. The Internet site for the platform is open and available

in both English and French; the official launch will take place before the end of calendar year

2016.

Strengthened the quality of the African Cashew Alliance’s MIS services for

member companies. The Hub delivered a grant to the ACA that funded a comprehensive

training manual and a corresponding training program on data collection methodologies for

MIS data collectors from 10 West African countries.


Improved the quality of RESIMAO’s services

RESIMAO is the MIS component of the ECOWAS agricultural information system (ECOAGRIS).

Until this year, however, it had no permanent secretariat, hindering its ability to deliver accurate and

useful information to its users. A Hub capacity building grant to RESIMAO signed in December 2015

was designed in part to rectify this problem.

With funding from the project to cover their first-year salaries, the RESIMAO board hired an

Executive Secretary and Accountant in December. They began work in January at the network’s

office in Niger, quickly taking over management of our grant and efforts to promote RESIMAO in

new countries and with other partners. Over the remainder of the fiscal year, the network’s

Secretariat was able to complete all of the tasks funded by the grant:


Developed a draft communications plan

Drafted an administrative and accounting procedures manual

Organized detailed training programs to strengthen the analytical capabilities of national

associations and the staff of the Executive Secretariat

Reached out to Cabo Verde, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone to encourage them to join the

network

Contracted an IT service provider to host and

expand RESIMAO’s SMS services

At the end of the fiscal year, the Hub provided direct

support for a five-day workshop in Ouagadougou to review

and validate RESIMAO’s communications plan and

procedures manual. Both of these documents provide critical

support to the Executive Secretariat’s operations and

communications with the RESIMAO board. In addition,

although they are not even fully in place yet, the

communications plan and procedures manual have already

played a role in helping RESIMAO increase its OCA score by 70 percent over the last two years.

The communications plan in particular will be critical to organizing the final activity under this grant:

a donor round table to identify future sources of support after the project’s grant ends in January

2017. Considering that RESIMAO is linked to ECOWAS’s agricultural information system, and that

prices are tracked, among other reasons, as a gauge to food availability and accessibility, this MIS

platform represents the quintessential public good. Funding from a combination of national

governments, the regional organization, and donors will be necessary to carry this forward.

Mr. Egnon Lawson, the Hub’s Capacity Specialist, (front row, left) and the participants in the Hub’s September

workshop to validate and approve RESIMAO’s communications plan and administrative and accounting procedures

manual. Representatives from 10 out of 12 member countries attended, as did the staff from the secretariat,

including Mr. Sani Laouali Addoh, the Coordinator of RESIMAO (back row, third from left).

Finalized livestock MIS platform and promoted its usage by livestock market actors

Although livestock sector actors have access to a considerable amount of information, it is not always

the right information—the details they need to support trade. During the Hub’s start-up phase, our

At the end of the workshop, Mr. Sani

Laouali Addoh, Coordinator of

RESIMAO, thanked the Hub, saying

“Empowering RESIMAO with

these documents is one of the

best things that have happened

to the organization.”


discussions with national members of COFENABVI revealed that one of their priorities was a formal

MIS platform. Such a system will not only benefit the stakeholders by delivering timely, accurate market

information, it will also benefit COFENABVI by enabling it to provide a stronger array of stakeholder

services to encourage payment of membership dues.

During FY16, the project used a competitive bidding process to award a subcontract to the

Ghanaian firm Image-AD to develop a regional livestock MIS platform. During assessment trips to

Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, and Senegal during the first quarter of FY16, the Hub and

Image-AD met with livestock stakeholders and mobile network operators to discuss how the

national federations and network operators could collaborate on implementation of the regional

MIS.

After building and testing the new platform, the subcontractor trained 125 national administrators

and key COFENABVI staff in April. Cascade training in eight countries in May and June ensured that

data collectors and national federation staff would understand the system and its requirements.

Training participants were given smart phones for inputting data and accessing the system. Image-AD

worked closely with COFENABVI throughout the year to ensure that the confederation will be

ready to take over management of the platform in the medium term.

The Internet site for the MIS platform is open and available in both English and French, and all

required technical materials for data collection and management have been developed and are

available in both languages. The Hub’s contract with Image-AD winds down in December 2016, but

technical assistance will continue through that period, and the official launch of the platform is to

take place before the end of 2016. Meanwhile, COFENABVI is working to resolve the question of

who will bear the costs associated with collecting and uploading data to the platform. There is some

discussion that CILSS may inherit the platform or modify it in pursuit of a regional program that

addresses additional MIS needs for a variety of value chains. In any case, the creation of this market

information system is intended to provide COFENABVI with a high-demand service that enhances

its ability to attract new members and collect member fees. The Hub will help COFENABVI market

this service and finalize its eventual home in the months to come.

Improved the African Cashew Alliance’s MIS platform and strengthened data collection

methodologies

The ACA created an MIS platform several years ago, but the reliability of the data has been variable

and there have not been regular updates of real-time market information. The alliance turned to the

Photo

: Je

ssie

Laf

ourc

ade, T

rade

Hub

Participants in the COFENABVI MIS training visited the small ruminants market in Adjame Williamsville on April 29

to put the skills they had just acquired into practice.


Hub for help, asking for support to strengthen the system and increase members’ use of it to expand

commercial transactions. The project provided a grant to the ACA, signed in July 2015, which

funded training on data collection methodologies for MIS data collectors from Benin, Burkina Faso,

Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal. During the

fiscal year, the ACA developed a series of improved tools for its MIS system, such as a new SMS

service for members for requesting market information, which were incorporated into the training

program. We expect these efforts to result in an increased number of registered MIS users for the

ACA platform. Regarding sustainability of the system, the ACA already charges members for the

maintenance of the service.


Direct project support to the three partners receiving MIS assistance will end during the first

quarter of FY17. As presented in the FY17 work plan, any upcoming MIS activities will be folded into

value chain plans or managed by the partners themselves. This approach reinforces a more

integrated effort by the project’s value chain and capacity building staff to support MIS activities that

address specific objectives within each value chain. In addition, incorporating MIS activities within

each value chain will complement our partners’ capacity to improve their own management of their

platforms.


10. AGOA

The Hub worked during FY16 to help West African businesses take advantage of the benefits of the

preferential tariffs for exports to the U.S. offered under the African Growth and Opportunity Act

(AGOA). Our export promotion efforts also addressed opportunities to benefit from ECOWAS

Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS) provisions when trading with other countries in the region.

Regional trade facilitation is important to companies exporting under AGOA in so far as it promotes

the sourcing of raw materials and services in the entire region rather than limiting to a single country.

We collaborated with a variety of partners on AGOA support initiatives, including U.S. Embassies,

other U.S. government agencies, local and bilateral chambers of commerce, and host country

governments. We also joined forces with the network of AGOA Trade Resource Centers (ATRCs)

across the region, including seven that received grants from the project, five of which have been active.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS/ RESULTS 10.1

Assisted Togo in the process of obtaining a textile visa, which will make it easier

for the country’s apparel companies to export to the U.S. duty-free under

AGOA. The Hub’s AGOA Specialist advised the country’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry,

Trade and Small and Medium Enterprises and its National AGOA Committee on the process

of applying for a textile visa. Once Togo’s application is approved, the country’s apparel

sector will have access to duty-free raw materials for use in garments exported to the U.S.

Facilitated exports to the U.S. under AGOA for KAD Manufacturing, a Ghanaian

apparel company. In addition to the firm-level production assistance provided by Ethical

Apparel Africa, the Hub helped KAD Manufacturing navigate U.S. customs services as they

tested the waters in their first U.S. export. This growing Ghanaian exporter’s dresses are

now for sale in American retail outlets, including the trendy Anthropologie.

Strengthened ATRCs’ capacity to serve their country’s private sectors and boost

exports. Project grants to ATRCs funded a variety of services and activities, including

workshops on topical export issues, development of AGOA strategies, and databases of

exporters by sector. The centers are now better able to help businesses by delivering

relevant, export-related information. The Hub’s new AGOA specialists will provide

particular support to the two centers that have not yet taken advantage of the resources

available to them under the grants,


There are great opportunities to increase exports within the region and internationally if companies

in West Africa can address competitiveness constraints. One of the most important of those

constraints is a lack of awareness about export market requirements in areas such as customs

documentation, packaging and labeling, and costing and pricing. As in previous years, the Hub

worked in FY16 to help companies understand both the challenges and opportunities for exporting.

We want to ensure that they are benefiting from favorable provisions in AGOA and ETLS. This is

especially true in cases where a country is exporting AGOA-eligible products to the U.S. yet missing

the benefits of the Act’s preferential tariff rates.

We worked very closely with ATRCs in Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria, all of

which received grants from the project. Demand by ATRCs in other countries has grown and as

FY17 begins, we will expand the project’s working relationship with the ATRCs in Cabo Verde and


Mali. During the last quarter of FY16, several U.S. embassies approached us about cooperating on

outreach events for exports, which has led to upcoming AGOA awareness activities and trainings in

Chad, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, and Niger.

Supported the development of country-level AGOA strategies

A national AGOA strategy provides a policy foundation for a country to develop plans for

capitalizing on the opportunities AGOA offers to increase exports to the U.S. and attract foreign

direct investment. The country’s businesses benefit from these strategies and action plans as they

gather information and begin to take advantage of existing incentives, address constraints, and seize

market opportunities with renewed, market-driven vigor.

During the fiscal year, project staff members in Côte d’Ivoire have worked with key Ivoirian

government officials and other donors on the development of a country-specific AGOA strategy.

The Hub’s role includes organizing three national-level workshops before the end of November

2016 to review key aspects of the AGOA strategy document. The first will take place October 18-

19 in Abidjan. The African Development Bank (AfDB) will present the strategy; the goal is for it to

be formally adopted by the Ivoirian Ministry of Commerce before the end of 2016.

In addition, the Hub provided expertise and input for an August 10 meeting of the Ghanaian

technical team drafting a national AGOA strategy for Ghana. The Ghanaians, led by a representative

from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), are aiming to finalize the strategy prior to the end

of 2016. The participants at the strategy meeting laid the groundwork for a 10-year AGOA strategy

and a two-year action plan and budget. The project also provided documentation on export

strategies to Togo’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Trade and Small and Medium Enterprises to

help the government to begin drafting its AGOA export strategy.

Following the AGOA Forum in the U.S. in September and with the 2025 horizon for AGOA

providing strong impetus, several other countries have reached out with requests to help develop or

comment on national AGOA export strategies. The Hub AGOA staff are working closely with

country representatives from USAID Missions, Embassies and local entities to plan these

engagements.

Delivered technical assistance and training on export requirements for export-ready

companies

Throughout FY16, Hub staff organized and delivered workshops and trainings for export-ready

companies (ERCs) in countries across West Africa. We provided advisory services to improve the

companies’ competitiveness, increase regional trade and value-added global exports (particularly

under AGOA), and facilitated strategic investments to expand exports by providing technical

assistance and industry-specific best practices to the government and the private sector. We worked

with a range of partners to share the information ERCs need to begin exporting or increase their

exports within West Africa and for the global market. Topics varied depending on the needs of each

country and sector, ranging from customs documentation requirements and packaging and labeling

criteria to SPS standards and the provisions of the AGOA Textile Visa. We collaborated with

ATRCs, U.S. Embassies, and other partners on these workshops.

Benin. Benin is well-positioned to take advantage of laws that make it easier to trade throughout

the region and with the U.S., but many entrepreneurs and officials there don’t understand what it

takes to realize the benefits of AGOA and ETLS. To bridge this gap, the Hub’s AGOA Specialist held

a one-day customs documentation workshop in Benin for 85 people, including 17 women.

Participants—exporting companies, customs officials, certified customs brokers, and others—learned

about the benefits, qualifications, and documentation needed to prove product eligibility under the

various duty-free schemes. The Hub Specialist and the Director of Industrial Development from


Benin’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce presented these schemes, explained the rules, and

answered questions from participants.

Cabo Verde. The country’s export promotion agency, TradeInvest, signed a letter of collaboration

with the Hub in September, establishing a cooperation framework to open and run an ATRC in that

country. Under the agreement, we will provide advisory services to Cabo Verdean companies to

increase their competitiveness, boosting regional trade and value-added global exports. We will also

assist businesses with customs documentation and export-readiness, and train TradeInvest to raise

public awareness of the ATRC. At the signing

ceremony for the agreement, Cabo Verde’s Minister

of Economy and Employment, Dr. José Gonçalves,

remarked, “Cabo Verde would like to focus on niche

markets in the U.S. and through this partnership, we

want to develop a national AGOA strategy to

increase exports.”

Cameroon. Under a grant from the Hub,

Cameroon’s ATRC delivered training on export

readiness to Cameroonian exporters and organized

two workshops on entrepreneurship and export

opportunities—one in Yaoundé and the other in

Douala. Of the 102 participants at these events,

more than half (52) were women.

In addition, a June 14 event gave 63 businesses,

including food processors and handicrafts makers from Cameroon’s Eastern Region, the opportunity

to learn about export opportunities and requirements. This event was hosted by Cameroon’s

Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Craft in collaboration with the Hub. “AGOA and

Export Opportunities: The way forward,” also drew representatives from the Ministry of Trade and

the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts to discuss the

region’s potential to export to the U.S. under AGOA. The workshop took place in Bertoua, the

capital of a region reputed for agricultural and wood products.

Côte d’Ivoire. The Hub’s ATRC grant is supporting a biweekly series of AGOA/ETLS workshops

for ERCs in various industries. These events are hosted by the Ivorian export agency, the Association

pour la Promotion des Exportations de Côte d’Ivoire (APEX-CI), which houses the country’s ARTC. At

the kick-off event in June for the cocoa sector, opening remarks came from the Ministry of

Commerce of Côte d’Ivoire. The ATRC Coordinator then explained ETLS, which promotes free

movement of goods throughout West Africa. Other workshops have targeted companies involved in

the cashew, kola, honey, and oil value chains.

Ghana. About 40 stakeholders in the apparel export industry learned about documentation and

processes involved in obtaining a textile visa to the U.S. from Ms. Jacqueline Sprungle, Program

Manager of Textile Enforcement at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, and Mr.

Raphael Bediako, Chief Revenue Officer at the Customs Division, Ghana Revenue Authority. The

Hub invited the two customs experts to the May 13 workshop, which was hosted by the Ghana

Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), home to the country’s ATRC.

The Hub collaborated with GCCI to train 60 Ghanaian private sector businesses and freight

forwarders on export documentation procedures under AGOA and ETLS. This October 27 training

exercise sought to help Ghanaian exporters understand proper export documentation procedures,

rules of origin, and other AGOA and ETLS requirements. The project’s Chief of Party remarked,

“The Trade Hub will work with the AGOA/Trade Resource Center to ensure that there is enough

capacity to deliver efficient customs documentation services to Ghanaian companies.”

U.S. Ambassador Donald L. Heflin (left) shaking

hands with Ana Lima Barber, President of Cabo

Verde TradeInvest (right) while Cabo Verde’s

Minister of Economy and Employment, Jose

Gonçalves looks on.


At a one-day workshop on May 27, more than

150 Ghanaian exporters engaged in or seeking

trade to the U.S. learned how to tap AGOA

benefits. The Hub co-hosted the event along

with the Ghanaian-American Chamber of

Commerce and the GCCI. The project’s Chief

of Party took participants through various

procedures for exporting under AGOA and

described opportunities for Ghanaian exporters.

Members of the U.S. Embassy and USAID/West

Africa also participated.

The U.S. Embassy in Accra hosted Ghanaian

export industry stakeholders for a May 17

seminar on SPS and other requirements for

shipping fresh fruit and other products to the

U.S. The seminar included presentations from

West Africa-based representatives of the U.S.

Department of Agriculture and from the

project’s technical advisor for the mango value

chain. He outlined Hub interventions that are

enabling farmers from Ghana and other West

African countries to improve fruit quality to

boost exports and domestic sales.

Mauritania. In response to requests from the U.S. Embassy and the Chamber of Commerce,

Industry and Agriculture of Mauritania (CCIAM), the Hub organized an AGOA workshop that

highlighted the benefits of AGOA, presented a strategy for companies to take advantage of the Act,

and shared success stories about companies that have successfully exported under AGOA. The

event attracted 86 participants, 20 of whom were women. Project staff also discussed with CCIAM

the importance of re-establishing the ATRC that fell dormant after Mauritania lost its AGOA

eligibility in 2008. The country is now AGOA-eligible again and would benefit from the services the

ATRC would offer.

Nigeria. On December 9, about 90 people—regional and global exporters, freight forwarders, and

export and customs oversight officials—gathered in Lagos to start capitalizing on regional and U.S.

trade opportunities. At this one-day workshop, the Hub partnered with the Nigerian Export

Promotion Council (NEPC) to explain the ins and outs of customs documentation under AGOA and

ETLS. This event, titled “Maximizing economic benefits under ETLS and AGOA,” joined a series of

similar workshops the Hub hosted in Ghana in FY15 and Benin in FY16. The project’s AGOA

Specialist and M.P. Binga, Assistant Comptroller at the Nigerian Customs Service, outlined the

benefits, rules for products eligibility, and export documentation process under both AGOA and

ETLS.

Around 200 Nigerian business representatives attended the International Strategic Conference on

Exporting on May 20, hosted in Lagos by the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC).

With NEPC and the USAID NEXXT project, the Hub partnered with NACC to develop the

program and invite local stakeholders. A panel of our Financial Advisors explained how ERCs can

export under AGOA, and our Apparel Sector Specialist led a presentation on how Nigerian apparel

firms can effectively trade with the U.S. under AGOA.

Togo. The Hub provided technical assistance to Togo’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Trade and

Small and Medium Enterprises and the National AGOA Committee of Togo to jump-start the

process for the country to submit its textile visa application. The textile visa is needed for apparel

exporters from eligible countries to export to the U.S. duty-free under AGOA. We helped draft the

A new AGOA exporter for Ghana

After assiduously preparing to export to the

U.S. with help from the Hub and our

subcontractor Ethical Apparel Africa, the

Ghanaian apparel firm KAD Manufacturing

was ready to send an important test order to

a U.S. buyer. When the $20,000 shipment of

women’s dresses—bound for California—

first arrived in the U.S., the customs office

held it due to improper documentation.

Facing probable return of the products to

Ghana, KAD contacted the Hub for help.

Our Apparel Sector Specialist and AGOA

Specialist worked with the freight forwarder

and the Customs Division of the Ghana

Revenue Authority to correct anomalies in

the documentation. The order was able go

forward and the Ghanaian dresses are now

being sold at retail outlets in the U.S.


textile visa application, which included a draft

decree describing the procedures to export

apparel products to the U.S. duty-free, a

textile certificate of origin, and the textile

visa stamp.

The project trained 30 young entrepreneurs,

including 14 women, on AGOA, export-

readiness, and export requirements for the

U.S. market. The event—YOUTHCAN

2016—was organized by the U.S. embassy in

Togo in collaboration with the African

Women’s Entrepreneurship Program

(AWEP) and the Togo Fonds d’Appui aux

Initiatives Economiques des Jeunes. We also

provided documentation on export

requirements and sectoral export guides to

the Information Resource Center at the U.S.

Embassy.

Strengthened ATRCs’ delivery of

services to businesses

The Hub provided grants this fiscal year to the ATRCs in Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana,

and Senegal. We also set aside grant funds for the ATRCs in Burkina Faso and Nigeria, but they have

yet to begin implementation of activities. The grants delivered funds and covered the cost of

technical assistance to help the centers increase the scope, frequency, and quality of their assistance

to ERCs and other companies seeking to export within West Africa and globally. Each ATRC

developed its own slate of activities, based on the needs of its country’s private sector. Côte

d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Senegal, for example, each created a database of exporters in their countries, by

sector. Others conducted workshops for ERCs in specific industries. Chapter 12 contains more

information about the ATRC grants.

To promote sustainability, the ATRCs are embedded in local organizations, typically local chambers

of commerce or the enterprise support or export promotion departments of national export

promotion agencies. The coordinators are employees of the local hosts, so they can continue to

provide services long after the West Africa Trade and Investment Hub ends. Relationships with

these host institutions are vitally important; the Hub signed Letters of Collaboration (LOCs) with

each in addition to the grant agreements with the ATRCs. The LOCs provide a framework for

cooperation among the project, the ATRC, and the local organization.


One of the key challenges in ramping up AGOA exports from West Africa is the widespread lack of

awareness about documentation requirements, product and packaging specifications, customs

regulation, and more. As the Hub worked with various ATRCs to tackle this problem during the first

half of our implementation period, we learned that their ability to implement AGOA awareness

events varies considerably. Our experience with ATRC grants this fiscal year has also been mixed.

Both findings point to a need for more technical support for this component directly to firms

engaged in working through the process in actual export activities. With only one AGOA Specialist,

the project was simply not able to fully meet demand.

As a result of a healthy appetite and demand for information on how to export to the U.S., we

recently recruited a second AGOA specialist to help ATRCs and other partners increase export-

Photo

cre

dit: R

ebecc

a W

eav

er,

WA

TIH

The Hub’s Senior AGOA Specialist, Mohamed Abou-iiana

greets Suzain Dodoo from Gorjiors, one of about 35

company representatives who attended the project-

supported workshop outlining AGOA customs and export

documentation requirements. This workshop is only one

example of the work we are doing to clarify AGOA

requirements for export-ready companies.


promotion activities. The project now has one AGOA Specialist in Dakar and a Senior AGOA

Specialist in Accra. They work closely with the Hub’s Apparel Sector Specialist to expand our efforts

to strengthen the AGOA export capacity of lead apparel firms in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Benin,

while also investigating opportunities in Nigeria and Senegal. Part of this process includes helping

firms obtain WRAP certification and ensuring that their operations meet gender requirements, such

as providing women (the vast of majority of apparel firms’ employees) with a safe work place.

Our expanded staff presence improves the Hub’s ability to respond to specific requests from U.S.

embassies seeking support for AGOA-related events, including those aimed at value chains and

products that are not in our target sectors. We will also pursue outreach with other partners, such

as American Chambers of Commerce (AmChams) and other export-oriented platforms, to explore

dynamic collaborations that can ease the burden for firms in apparel and in other sectors as

appropriate that want to take advantage of AGOA. An additional AGOA Specialist means we are

better able to assist countries in drafting national AGOA strategies and assisting individual

companies to export, and can continue efforts begun during FY16 for Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and

Togo. We will make similar support available to other countries if requested.

In addition to supporting ERCs with direct activities and training, the Hub will consider continuing

grant support to ATRCs, particularly those that have proven effective under their current grants. As

we did this year, we will require any ATRCs receiving future grants to ensure that the coordinator

makes extra efforts to identify and work with female-managed enterprises. And finally, we have

signed a master agreement with a U.S. customs lawyer who will coordinate delivery of specialized

technical assistance from a number of U.S.-based law firms to help ERCs clear customs and arrange

logistics once the goods reach the U.S.—all on a pro-bono basis.


11. FINANCE AND INVESTMENT

Finance and investment activities directly support the West Africa Trade and Investment Hub’s

overall objectives to increase trade, investment, and jobs. From the beginning, the aim of the F&I

component has been to help expand trade-related investment in targeted value chains. Earlier this

year, USAID approved a broadening of the component’s focus to include investment in promising

agro-processing and light manufacturing firms.

The Hub’s finance and investment team began 2016 with a strategic planning exercise to assess the

project’s approach to facilitating West African SMEs’ access to debt and equity. After this exercise,

we determined that the Hub should place greater emphasis on achieving results through supply-side

interventions, to complement our ongoing demand-side work

with Financial Advisors. The demand for financial services

comes from agribusinesses in search of debt and equity to

grow their businesses. The supply of financial services comes

from financial institutions seeking to expand and diversify their

portfolios. Our shift in strategy for the finance and investment

component is further explained in section 11.3.


In FY16, the project facilitated $18.1 million in investment. Of this, $10 million was in the form of

loans. These results include 31 transactions: 15 in Burkina Faso, three in Côte d’Ivoire, six in Ghana,

four in Mali, two in Senegal and one in Nigeria. Of note:

Facilitated an $8.2 million investment in a large start-up cashew processing

factory in Côte d’Ivoire. The Hub connected this company, Ivoirienne des Noix de Cajou

(INC), with a Financial Advisor who facilitated a $5.4 million loan from the local affiliate of a

large global bank. The owners contributed another $2.8 million in equity to round out the

deal. We are now helping INC raise capital for a second phase of the cashew project: an

additional $6.7 million with a potential partial guarantee through USAID’s Development

Credit Authority (DCA).

Facilitated an injection of $3.4 million in equity by Agence Deli Internationale

Prod (ADI-Prod), an experienced trading company, for a start-up shea butter

fractioning plant in Burkina Faso. This woman-owned export trader has paved the way

for future growth and access to finance by securing a large plot of land with warehouses

ready to receive equipment. The Hub has been providing support for this initiative and as of

the end of FY16, the $3.4 million in equity is in place, and two banks have already approved

term sheets totaling $4.7 million. Once all conditions are met in the next couple of months,

this deal will positively impact incomes for thousands of women.

Helped Agriculture Management Company-Food and Commerce (AMC-FC),

the largest rice miller in Côte d’Ivoire, to access a $603,100 equipment lease. The

equipment supports a full new line of rice milling operations. The miller can now significantly

raise its capacity to process local rice—with high quality standards—for the Ivorian market

and West African regional markets. The Hub specialists and our Financial Advisor are

currently working with the company to increase its working capital base, paving the way for

it to become one of the biggest rice millers in West Africa. This firm is the lead implementer

of the country’s Local Rice Development Project spearheaded by Africa Rice, a pan-African

rice research organization based in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire.

Facilitated

$18.1 million

in investment


Enabled 13 small women-owned companies and associations to access financing.

The project trained 42 female cereals processors in Burkina Faso on financial issues, while

simultaneously coaching microfinance institution partners to understand and review the loan

applications. So far, these efforts have resulted in 13 loans—with a total value of $225,467—

for small businesses whose growth has been constricted by a lack of financing.

Delivered support to a major pineapple exporter in Ghana, enabling it to obtain

a $3.5 million investment. Under an agreement with the Hub, our partner Injaro

Investments provided business development services to a major Ghanaian pineapple

exporter, resulting in this large infusion of investment

capital ($1.4 million in equity and $2.1 million in debt).

The project facilitated the transaction by funding part

of Injaro’s services to the company, accelerating the

investment process, and reducing the overall

management risk.

Established an agreement with Coris Bank that

is expected to generate up to $16.5 million in

loans to agribusinesses over the next two

years. Lenders in West Africa, like their counterparts

elsewhere in the world, are reluctant to lend in the

agricultural sector because they perceive high levels of

risk. USAID’s DCA provides guarantees that increase

banks’ comfort levels and encourage lending in the

sector. During this fiscal year, the Hub signed a letter

of collaboration with Coris that covers four countries.

Under this arrangement, the project will deliver a training-of-trainers program and conduct

the first training for Coris’ staff, allowing the bank to deploy the training in other branches.

The bank’s preliminary negotiations with the DCA, the ongoing due diligence by the DCA,

and the bank’s willingness to cover the costs of follow-on training show that Coris Bank is

fully engaged.

Expanded the Hub’s Gender Access to Finance Strategy into Côte d’Ivoire.

Following a careful assessment of the financial needs of Ivorian women business owners, the

Hub brokered a formal arrangement with NSIA Bank to develop a gender strategy, establish

targets, and create a sustainable framework for expanding financial services to Ivorian

women entrepreneurs in the years to come. Working with and through a financial institution

will increase our reach to woman’s businesses and ensure sustainability for the strategy after

the project’s life.


In FY16, the Hub carried out both demand-side and supply-side interventions to increase access to

finance. The demand for financial services comes from agribusinesses in search of financing to grow

their businesses; therefore, our demand-side activities directly support these firms. The supply of

financial services comes from financial institutions seeking to expand and diversify their portfolios, so

supply-side activities involve our working directly with financial institutions.

11.2.1 DEMAND-SIDE ACTIVITIES

Table13 summarizes the finance and investment component’s key demand-side interventions. The

table is followed by a detailed description of these activities. To date, most of the investment results

through the demand-side of financial services have come through our network of Financial Advisors.

“I have to launch out into

this business because in life

it is necessary to know how

to dare to move forward…

I’ve faced many challenges

and I am optimistic about

the success of this project.

The CEO of Coris Bank

listens to me. He believes in

me and is helping make my

project come to fruition.”

—Mrs. Oumou Diallo,

owner, ADI-Prod


Table 13: Main Demand-Side Financial Services Activities

Strategy Number /

Location

Activity Results

To Date

($)

Feb. 2018

Targets

($)

5-Year

Targets

($)

Financial

Advisors

20 Financial

Advisors in 6

countries

Support through Financial

Advisors/intermediaries

11,520,000 22,000,000 26,000,000

Hands-on

Assistance

2 major deals in

Burkina Faso;

other small

supports

Direct technical assistance from

experts

4,110,000 10,000,000

12,000,000

Financière

Africaine

1 deal in

Senegal

Support to smallholder farmers to

gain access to leased equipment

Just starting 3,000,000 3,000,000

Growth

Mosaic

1 deal in Benin Direct support to one apparel

company

Just starting 750,000 750,000

Gender

Access to

Finance

Burkina Faso Technical assistance and training

through local partners

(associations)

225,000 250,000 250,000

Cumulative Investment Totals $15,855,000 $36,000,000 $42,000,000

Delivered assistance and facilitated deals through network of Financial Advisors

The Financial Advisors in the Hub’s network are our key intermediaries between the Hub and West

African businesses on the demand side of the financial services. They are one of our primary

mechanisms for providing technical assistance and support to help firms across the region access

investment and finance.

By late 2015, we had selected and trained 30 Financial Advisors. This was an expansion from 18 in

2014, after we engaged in targeted outreach in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Nigeria to increase

the project’s footprint in these countries. We sought this diversification as a way to help the

project’s finance and investment component achieve scale and regional coverage. The expansion paid

off in late 2015 and 2016, as the Hub’s investment pipeline increased significantly with a wide range

of deals varying in size and viability. Some of the pipeline task orders generated during the fiscal year

will reach fruition, but others (such as some greenfield operations or some high credit-risk

agricultural value chain activities) are perceived by banks as too

risky, while still others have less skilled Financial Advisors.

During the summer of 2016, our finance and investment team

reviewed each task order and culled the entire pipeline to

ensure maximum impact. In doing so, we also streamlined the

number of Financial Advisors. Table 14 shows the latest

distribution of Financial Advisors by country. The Hub is now

working with 20 Financial Advisors, most of whom have

already delivered results. In FY16, we carried out a wide range

of activities to support our network of Financial Advisors,

including the following:

Introduced Hub-supported companies to the

representative of USAID’s Office of Development

Credit when investigating possible DCA partners in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and

Senegal, October 2015–April 2016

Participated in an AGOA sensitization workshop in Lagos organized by the Nigerian-

American Chamber of Commerce, February 2016

Table 14: Distribution of Financial

Advisors by Country

Country # Financial

Advisors

Burkina Faso 4

Côte d’Ivoire 4

Ghana 4

Mali 2

Nigeria 5

Senegal 1

Total 20


Contributed to government and nongovernment institutional meetings to promote export-

oriented businesses in Nigeria, February–August 2016

Hosted a B2B workshop at the Borderless Alliance conference in Cotonou, May 2016

Assessed investment potential in the Ivorian and Nigerian apparel sectors, May–July 2016

Participated in a U.S. Embassy business forum in Lomé, June 2016

Participated in the Agribusiness Katsina Investment Summit in Katsina, June 2016

Hosted a B2B in collaboration with the African Cashew Alliance in Lagos, July 2016

Hosted a B2B in Abidjan with the export sector, September 2016

The Hub’s financial facilitation efforts have been complicated by changing macro-economic

conditions in the region. For example, the economies of Nigeria and Ghana have suffered from

recession and inflation, and as a result many SMEs have scaled back their expansion efforts. In

addition, the cashew processing value chain, which we originally anticipated would bring in large

results, has imploded over the last two years as raw cashew nut prices have nearly doubled.7 This

price increase has impacted the competitiveness of small firms that now cannot effectively buy raw

nuts; this in turn has affected the entire cashew landscape. The cashew processing sector moved

from being a labor-intensive to a capital intensive business. Thus, the range of firms in this sector

that the Hub can assist is now much smaller. Nevertheless, we are pleased to be working with INC,

which has a strong management team, to help pave the way to a new venture in the cashew sector

(see text box and Figure 6 on the following page).

Ivorian cashew start-up receives $5.4 million from a local bank

L’Ivoirienne des Noix de Cajou, a new cashew-processing company in Côte d’Ivoire, needed a large infusion of

funds to build a processing plant, buy equipment, and ensure proper working capital to buy raw cashew

nuts. The company plans to source and market raw cashew nuts and process them into kernels for sale to

export markets in Asia, Europe, and the United States. The Hub connected INC with one of our Financial

Advisors, who facilitated a $5.4 million loan from Banque Internationale pour le Commerce et l’Industrie de

Côte d’Ivoire, the local affiliate of one of the largest global banks, PNB Paribas. The funds will enable the

company to construct a modern cashew-processing facility and secure about 2,500 metric tons of raw

cashew nuts for processing.

The Financial Advisor who facilitated the deal will help INC raise loans for the next phase of the cashew

project: an additional $6.7 million to increase the business’s working capital to secure another 4,500 metric

tons of raw cashew nuts and finance warehouse construction in 2017 so it can secure its supply chain,

which will create business relationships with smallholders. USAID’s DCA has formally given a conditional

commitment to back the second phase of the project with a 50 percent loan guarantee.

In his report to the Hub, the Financial Advisor highlighted some lessons learned: the transaction took a

year to close partly because of the bank’s inexperience in lending to nascent cashew processors and partly

because of the INC management team’s inexperience with risk analysis and business strategy. The advisor

will continue to provide INC with various ancillary services, supporting the INC management team with

labor organization, conducting management risk reviews, and helping the company brand itself to the

banks. Overall, he is looking forward to completing financial analyses to support the business’s efforts to

meet its targets. INC management perceives the Financial Advisor’s services as having high value-added and

will continue contracting with him after the search for Phase 2 loans is completed.

7 The project originally estimated that 40 percent of finance and investment results would be generated by the cashew

sector.


Figure 6: INC Business Model

INC’s business model includes both (1) collecting and calibrating raw cashew nuts, selling those of lower quality

directly to Asian buyers, and (2) processing and distributing the best nuts for sale to EU and U.S. markets. INC hires

women to shell and calibrate raw cashew nuts. It then directly sells the smaller, lower-value nuts to improve its cash

flow. The larger, best-quality nuts are kept for INC’s own processing plant. Both operations secure its supply chain.

Provided direct, hands-on assistance to processing businesses

The transaction support the project provides to two high-potential deals progressed significantly

during the course of FY16. Two women-owned businesses in Burkina Faso, one in cereals and one in

shea, are receiving direct assistance. They are at different stages of operation and are accordingly

receiving different levels of technical support, as follows:

SODEPAL: cereals sector. For more than two decades, the cereals processing business

SODEPAL has been operating two primary lines of business: baby cereals and a bakery. The

company seeks to raise $3 million for expansion. We delivered significant support to

SODEPAL to put together a comprehensive business plan, which estimated a financial

requirement of $2.7 million for a new processing factory and $0.3 million as working capital.

One-third of the capital is to be raised as equity, and the balance as debt financing. During

the last quarter of FY16, the Hub team has been fully engaged in pitching this opportunity to

a wide range of potential investors. We have received confirmed interest from both debt

and equity providers, including Investisseurs & Partenaires, Oikocredit and Root Capital. So

far, Root Capital and Investisseurs & Partenaires have met the business owner and started

their due diligence process. Feedback from several of investment firms contacted indicates

that they would prefer to finance the expansion in several phases. This requires

restructuring the business plan into multiple phases and re-engaging in discussions with

potential investors.

The new financing will enable SODEPAL to set up a more spacious, better-equipped

processing facility so it can expand its processing of nutritious, cereal-based baby food to

meet increasing market demand, including from the World Food Programme (WFP), which

has been looking to source baby cereal for Burkina Faso from SODEPAL. Before signing a

contract to finalize the partnership, however, the WFP has been working with the business


to establish quality measures and health and safety procedures. The Hub is playing a

facilitation role in this process.

ADI-Prod: shea sector. The second investment deal involves a new modern shea butter

and oil processing plant being set up by ADI-Prod, a company experienced in trading shea

nut kernels, cashew nuts, sesame, peanuts, dried bissap (hibiscus), and occasionally maize for

regional and international markets. ADI-Prod is seeking about $4.7 million worth of financing

to set up ADI-Prod which will process oleaginous products consisting primarily of shea. ADI-

Prod has received two conditional loan approval notifications. The first was for $4 million

from Coris Bank to set up the new processing plant. More recently, ADI-Prod received

another loan notification amounting to $0.67 million from Société Générale Burkina Faso

(SGBF) for working capital. The Hub has been helping the business meet the conditions

required by both banks by contributing to market research, technical feasibility analyses, and

the environmental and structural design for the proposed facility. The project specialist

working on this deal has also been involved in initial discussions with SGBF. Final agreements

between ADI-Prod and the two banks are on the verge of being signed. With owners’ equity

of $3.4 million the total value of this deal is estimated at about $8 million.

The Hub will continue to support the two deals during the coming quarters to enable SODEPAL and

ADI-Prod secure the required financing and to provide the post-investment technical assistance

needed to ensure the funds are used efficiently and the businesses are sustainable.

Supported delivery of services to smallholders in Senegal’s rice sector in partnership with

Financière Africaine

The Hub’s finance and investment team has worked closely with Naatal Mbay, a USAID/Senegal

bilateral project, to identify areas for collaboration. Naatal Mbay works with farmers, connecting

them to buyers and services providers, and the Hub will improve the function of the value chains through better services to the smallholders. To cement this collaboration, the project signed a

contract in July 2016 formalizing a partnership with Financière Africaine, a Senegalese Financial

Advisor. LocAfrique, a Senegalese leasing firm, also agreed to finance the supported companies

prepared by Financière Africaine.

Under this arrangement, Financière Africaine is providing business development services (BDS) support to small, informal service providers in the rice valley of Senegal. These service providers

are seeking to lease or purchase combination harvesters/tractors and other agriculture equipment

that they can then rent to rice farmers for a fee. First, however, they must obtain legal registration

and then submit a file to be eligible under the investment code. With that, Financière Africaine will

then submit the documents to the government to obtain agricultural equipment without paying customs taxes. When a business has completed all these steps, they will meet the criteria for

LocAfrique to lease them agriculture equipment. This is the entry point for Financière Africaine, which

is helping 40 rice service providers through this registration process. The Hub’s objective is to

facilitate $4 million in leasing to these rice sector businesses.

Strengthened the financial management capacity of the apparel firm ANC in Benin

The Hub’s finance and investment team is working closely with the Apparel Sector Specialist to

support the apparel firm ANC in Benin. The company manufactures and exports apparel, including

men and women’s t-shirts, trousers, and uniforms. It currently employs 50 workers and produces

about 5,000 units of garments a month for export to the UK. The firm’s vision is to expand its factory to full capacity by 2017 with a workforce of more than 200 and to extend its markets into

the U.S.

ANC is currently receiving significant market and technical support from Ethical Apparel Africa, a

small firm under contract with the Hub (see Chapter 6). But while ANC is up and running, it lacks


internal capacity to financially manage its operations. To address this problem, the Hub has hired

Growth Mosaic, a consulting firm that takes a long-term perspective and specializes in preparing

business to access and manage growth capital. Growth Mosaic is strengthening ANC’s financial management capacity, with the goal of facilitating financing by building investors’ confidence in

ANC’s ability to absorb and effectively utilize a capital injection. Growth Mosaic’s support includes

assisting ANC to develop a coherent business strategy, procurement policies, and financial

projections that will be credible to investors. In addition, Growth Mosaic will introduce ANC to its

network of impact investors across West Africa who have the potential to be future investors.

Assisted women and women-owned businesses through Gender Access to Finance

Strategy

Globally, female entrepreneurs have more limited access to financing than their male counterparts.

This is true in West Africa as well. Recognizing that this is an area that requires dedicated resources,

the Hub’s finance and investment team developed a targeted, gender-focused strategy to address key

systemic constraints at the borrower level. Table 15 lists some of the most significant.

Table 15: Key Constraints Facing Female Entrepreneurs in West Africa

Target Group Constraints to Borrowing

Small-scale and

marginalized

female

entrepreneurs

Limited collateral; lack of land titles

Limited financial acumen or credit history; lack of business experience; inability to

show profitability

Young businesses and start-ups

Lack of understanding of local or regional market opportunities (i.e., inability to

differentiate market demand) and often offer the same products or services as

competitors

Lack of awareness of different types of financing and financial institutions available

In late 2015, we launched the Hub’s Gender Access to Finance Strategy in one country, with a plan

to later replicate it in other West African countries based on lessons learned. Thanks to the

project’s ongoing work with a DCA-recipient bank in Burkina Faso and our staff’s research and

understanding of Burkinabé women-owned, small-scale enterprises, we launched the strategy in that

country.8 The first step was to identify and assess the financing constraints facing female

entrepreneurs within our target value chains whose growth had been stymied due to lack of finance.

We also identified financial institutions and associations working in these value chains that were

interested in partnering on these efforts. By working through women’s associations, our finance and

investment team built association staff capacity on financial sector issues and catalyzed prospects for

sustainable financial support to association members.

The Hub selected Afrique Verte and several microfinance institutions (MFIs) as institutional partners

for the Gender Access to Finance Strategy. We agreed to dedicate some time of project staff to

work with them on the strategy. We also hired a local consultant with financial management

experience to design and deliver business and financial management trainings in collaboration with

Afrique Verte and the Center for International Studies and Cooperation, both partners of the Projet

d'Appui aux Etuveuses de Riz du Burkina Faso (PAERiz) project. The one- or two-day trainings were

technical and highly practical, and included dedicated time for MFI staff to assist participants with

their organizations’ loan applications. Women who actively engaged in the training and successfully

8 The Hub’s Cereals Sector Specialist, Gender Specialist, and other members of our capacity building team created a

database of Burkinabé female rice parboilers in Bobo Dioulasso and other female entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso. The

finance and investment team tapped into this network, creating synergies with other project components to support their

efforts.


completed its requirements were then eligible to receive

follow-up technical assistance from the project’s local

consultant. In addition to the trainings, the consultant

completed three deliverables:

Deliverable 1. A series of technical assistance

interventions that depended on the needs of each

business, including 1) basic accounting support; 2)

development of two-year historical financials; 3)

creation of projected financials; 4) sharing of market

and client knowledge; 5) quality and standards

assistance; and 6) help with cost efficiency and

improved productivity.

Deliverable 2. Assistance to help the women complete

a competitive analysis of the financial institutions’ loan

offerings (looking at terms, conditions, and interest

rates) and individual assistance to each one with the

loan application process.

Deliverable 3. A limited amount of time dedicated to follow-up assistance and support for the

loan repayment process.

In FY16, the Hub trained 42 female cereal and rice processors in Burkina Faso under this initiative.

As a result, 13 loans with a value of $225,467 were disbursed and used mostly for working capital

needs, allowing the women to increase their capacity to buy more raw materials, thus greatly

increasing their sales. The local consultant will continue to work through the end of 2016 to support

additional female entrepreneurs who are in the process of expanding and diversifying their

businesses by purchasing new equipment. This whole strategy was low-cost for the Hub (less than

$10,000) but of great value to women-owned companies and associations: in most cases, the

additional working capital has allowed them to double their sales.

11.2.2 SUPPLY-SIDE ACTIVITIES

Table 16 summarizes the Hub’s finance and investment component’s supply-side interventions. The

table is followed by a detailed summary of each activity. This is mostly a new initiative started in

2016, with the contract with Injaro Investments signed in April 2016. All other strategies in the table

are now under agreement and will reach their potential in FY17.

Table 16: Key Supply-Side Financial Services Activities

Strategy Number/

Location Activity

Results to

Date ($)

Feb. 2018

Targets ($)

5-Year

Targets ($)

Collaboration with regional

bank to facilitate

DCA use

Coris Bank: Burkina Faso,

Côte d’Ivoire,

Mali, Senegal

Technical assistance and training on target value chains and DCA

utilization and structure

DCA to start

Nov. 2016

10,000,000 17,000,000

Collaboration with impact lender to

facilitate DCA use

Oikocredit: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte

d’Ivoire, Mali, Togo

Technical assistance and training on target value chains and DCA

utilization and structure

DCA to start

Oct. 2016

8,000,000 15,000,000

Gender Access

to Finance

Strategy

NSIA Bank: Côte

d’Ivoire

Strategy development, product

development technical

assistance and training for NSIA

Launching

Oct.–Nov.

2016

500,000

(25 loans)

1,000,000

(50 loans)

Partnership

with investment

firm

Injaro:

ECOWAS

countries

Financial support to Injaro to

facilitate investment in target

value chains

Started Apr.

2016

$3.5 million

8,000,000 10,000,000

Cumulative Investment Results and Target Totals $3,500,000 $26,500,000 $43,000,000

“Before, we feared the banker. But

the training broke the ice between

us. I am now familiar with people

wearing a tie, and I leave confident

for the future negotiations.”

—Gnoula Bambara Catherine,

Réseau des Transformatrices de

Céréales, Bobo Dioulasso,

business and financial

management training participant


Hub relationship with regional impact investor spurs $3.5 million investment in Ghanaian fruit exporter

Thanks to its formal arrangement with the Hub, Injaro Investments provided a $3.5 million investment to Gold

Coast Fruits Limited, a leading Ghanaian producer and exporter of pineapple and other fruits. With high

demand for its products, the company is seeking to expand production by 400 percent in the next five years,

but needed new boom spraying equipment (see photo) and an infusion of working capital to do so.

The Hub stepped in to facilitate a deal. We funded part of Injaro’s businesses development support to Gold

Coast, speeding up the investment process and reducing the overall risk. This included expert advice to assist

Gold Coast in buying new sprayers, developing an operations manual for staff, and training staff to use and

maintain the equipment—all “preconditions for Injaro to feel comfortable making their investment,” said the

project’s Finance and Investment Specialist, Jean-Francois Guay.

Injaro Chief Executive Officer Jerry Parkes noted, “Having access to the flexibly structured Hub facility enabled

us to bring in an external expert to train in-house staff and reduce overall operational risk for our lending.” He

added, “We look forward to continued collaboration with Trade Hub as we expand our reach in West

Africa.”

Strong collaboration between USAID/West Africa, the Office of Development Credit,

and the West Africa Trade and Investment Hub

As part of the finance and investment component’s overall supply-side strategy, we worked closely

with USAID’s Office of Development Credit to select financial institutions for placement of a DCA

instrument. The usual DCA instrument is a loan portfolio guarantee (LPG), which provides financial

institutions with partial coverage on a portfolio of loans

that they provide to their customers. In the case of the

LPG, USAID agrees to share in the risk of a broadly defined

category of bank loans, in order to induce local banks to extend credit toward an under-served sector.

Over the last year, USAID’s Development Credit Office

worked with the Hub to identify one regional bank and one

impact lender for placement of a specific Hub agriculture-

focused DCA. This search came as a result of the project’s

unique needs in West Africa. Table 17 summarizes the

differences between the needs of SMEs targeted for

assistance by the Hub and the terms of the typical Feed the Future loan portfolio DCAs in West Africa.

DCA guarantee functions:

Decrease perception of risk

Decrease collateral requirements

Enable long-term financing

Increase loan size

Pilot new products

Reach new geographic areas

In short, the DCA is a loan guarantee

tool to encourage lending that would not

otherwise occur.


Following discussions between USAID/West Africa, the DCA officer, and the Hub, and considering

the particular needs of trading and agro-processing SMEs in West Africa, USAID/West Africa

sponsored a tailored Trade Hub Loan Portfolio DCA guarantee instrument. This specific DCA will

offer four important innovations, making it unlike any other DCA guarantee instrument available in West Africa:

It is a regional DCA linked to a regional financial institution, covering multiple 1.

countries/offices. This allows the Hub to work on a regional basis with financial institutions

that operate in a number of countries.

It is available to guarantee semi-processed cashew kernels and shea butter, although it is 2.

not yet open to covering processed cocoa or coffee without written permission.

It has a higher guarantee limit: up to $1 million, instead of the usual $500,000. This allows 3.

the project to work with processing companies and larger agro-trading firms.

It covers short-term loans for working capital purposes. 4.

Table 17: Variations between Feed the Future DCAs and Hub-targeted Small and

Medium Enterprises

Hub Target

Group

Characteristics and Constraints to Access

Finance and Investment

Usual FTF Loan Portfolio DCAs in

West Africa

Trading

Commodities

SMEs

Working capital needs higher than $1 million

Shea and cashew value chains mostly excluded by

financial institutions

Cap around $500,000 per transaction

No DCAs for working capital

No DCAs outside Feed the Future value

chains (cereals, livestock)

Processing

SMEs

Start-ups

Important working capital needs (e.g., cashew

sector needs about $1 million per ton)

Equipment upgrades cost between $500,000 and

$2 million

Cap around $500,000 per transaction

No DCAs for working capital

No global value chains

SMEs in eight

countries

The Hub, without regional financial institution

partner to refer deals

No financial tools available in most countries

Most large banks risk-averse to agriculture

Some country DCAs, mostly for Feed the

Future, power, or gender activities

No regional DCA coverage

Feed the Future DCAs with large banks

focused on small loans (e.g., Ecobank)

USAID selected Oikocredit and is in negotiations with the regional Coris Bank group to contract a

DCA guarantee that will partly offset their risks when lending to or investing in the agricultural

sector. To bring the benefits of the DCA to a wider array of businesses, the Hub’s finance and

investment team is working with Coris Bank and Oikocredit to negotiate packages of technical

assistance to encourage and support DCA utilization, as described below.

In addition to the LPG, another product that the DCA is offering is the Portable Guarantee. Slightly

different than the LPG, the Portable Guarantee provides an identified potential borrower with a

letter of guarantee commitment through which the borrower may seek the most advantageous

terms from the local financial market. Portable Guarantees are appropriate for specific credit

enhancement purposes when the borrower is known, but the lender is not yet known. USAID/West

Africa’s intent is to sponsor a Portable DCA to the processing cashew company INC in Côte

d’Ivoire.


Collaboration with Coris Bank

The Hub signed an agreement with Coris Bank to provide technical support for up to $16.5 million

in loans to SMEs in a range of project value chains—including cereals, cashew, and shea—that

process agricultural products for export. The loans will enable the recipient enterprises to expand

their operations. In addition to the loan funds, Coris has agreed to provide technical assistance at its

own expense to achieve these results. Coris has agreed to provide at another $5 million of its own

funds, over and above the value of the soon-to-be-finalized negotiated DCA instrument,

demonstrating the bank’s commitment lending in Hub value chains. Coris Bank has subsidiaries in

Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Togo, and soon Benin and Senegal. Table 18 shows Coris Bank’s

2017 and 2018 targets.

Table 18: Loan Targets for Coris Bank in 2017 and 2018 ($)

Burkina Faso

and Senegal Côte d’Ivoire Mali Total

2017

Loan value 4,000,000 2,500,000 1,000,000 7,500,000

Total number of loans 10 8 6 24

Number of loans for women 3 1 1 5

2018

Loan value 5,000,000 3,000,000 1,000,000 9,000,000

Total number of loans 10 8 6 24

Number of loans for women 3 1 1 5

The Hub in turn agreed to provide a package of technical assistance to Coris Bank. This includes the

services of a senior consultant who will work with the finance and investment team and the

management of the bank to develop training materials, particularly for credit risk analysis of firms in

the targeted agricultural sectors. The finance and investment team will also coach and monitor Coris

Bank’s network of loan officers and managers in four countries—Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali,

and Senegal—as they process new loan requests in project value chains.

Collaboration with a regional impact lender, Oikocredit

As in the case of Coris Bank, the Hub worked closely with USAID’s Office of Development Credit

to select Oikocredit, a regional impact lender, for a DCA placement. Oikocredit has offices in a

number of West African countries and focuses on agricultural debt and equipment loans.

The Hub began negotiations with Oikocredit in May 2016. As of the end of the fiscal year we are

close to finalizing a letter of collaboration to support the DCA. Under this arrangement, our finance

and investment team will provide formal training and hands-on technical assistance to Oikocredit

country teams to cover the specifics of lending in the project’s target value chains. For its part,

Oikocredit will devote a training program, through its foundation, to train the targeted SMEs. The

Hub is in discussions with the Oikocredit Foundation about joining forces to train SMEs who receive

DCA-guaranteed financing.

Established Gender Access to Finance Strategy in Côte d’Ivoire in collaboration with a

local bank

Following our Gender Access to Finance Strategy work in Burkina Faso, in March 2016 the Hub’s

Gender Specialist and BDS Specialist conducted an assessment of the financial needs of Ivorian

women business owners. The assessment also identified potential partners—both financial


institutions and producer organizations—that

could support a Gender Access to Finance

Strategy for Côte d’Ivoire. The team met

with microfinance institutions (such as

Advans, Celpaid, Coopec, and Raouda),

business support organizations, producer

associations, and some individual women-

owned businesses in and around Abidjan,

Bouaké, Korhogo, and Yamoussoukro.

Drawing on the information gathered during

the assessment, we determined that the Côte

d’Ivoire gender strategy would achieve

greater impact and sustainability by working

through a financial institution. We then held

further meetings with potential financial

institution partners and brokered a formal

arrangement with NSIA Bank. This bank has a

strong interest in providing services to

women and in expanding into the agricultural

sector. In addition (and of great importance)

NSIA Bank has financial resources to lend,

which was difficult to find in most of the

microfinance institutions we met. It also has

the largest network of branches across the

country, allowing the Hub to reach rural

women-owned business in most areas.

In the coming months, the Hub will pair an international expert with an Ivorian finance specialist.

Together they will work with NSIA Bank to develop a gender strategy, establish targets, draft

policies and procedures, and design and implement a series of technical trainings. In addition, to help

roll out new products and services, during the six months following the launch of the initiative the

Ivorian finance specialist will deliver hands-on technical assistance to bank loan officers and female

entrepreneurs.

Partnered with a prominent investment firm to facilitate agricultural SMEs’ access to

financing

The project is collaborating with a well-recognized regional investment firm, Injaro Investments, to

help agricultural SMEs access investment funds. When engaging with companies that are potential

investees, Injaro provides a range of support in preparation for investment, including assisting the

companies with:

Process certification: ISO, HACCP, GLOBALG.A.P.

Corporate governance training and mentorship

Corporate secretarial services

Management systems and documentation covering environmental management, occupational

health and safety, training, etc.

Market research and analyses

Client relationship management systems

Financial and accounting systems, including training

The Hub signed a formal agreement with Injaro in March 2016. Under this arrangement, Injaro will

provide BDS to SME agribusinesses that are strong prospects, to prepare them for investment. The

project received and approved the first two task orders at the end of April:

Coris Bank agreement with the Hub provides

$16.5 million in loans to agro-processors

In September, the Hub formalized a partnership with

Coris Bank that will increase lending to agro-

processors across West Africa. The project will

provide the bank with new skills and tools for

identifying and addressing the risks associated with

agricultural lending. In addition, USAID’s DCA will

offer guarantees to offset those risks. Coris Bank will

deliver the training to its staff in its large regional

network. This is the first time USAID has established

a regional DCA to work with a regional bank with

support from a regional project.

Above: The Hub’s Jean-Francois Guay (left) with Mr. Emmanuel

Sawadogo, Managing Director of Coris Holding, just after the

agreement was signed.


A leading pineapple and fresh fruit exporter in Ghana. Gold Coast Fruits Limited

cultivates Golden Sweet (MD2) pineapple for export to European, North African, and

Middle Eastern markets. With an annual export volume of 3,800 metric tons, it is one of the

leading pineapple exporters in Ghana. The firm plans to expand production capacity from

3,800 metric tons to 12,000 metric tons, but first it needed new equipment, expert advice,

and training. Thanks to its arrangement with the Hub, Injaro signed a $3.5 million investment

deal that provides both debt and equity funding. This infusion of funds positions Gold Coast

to become a pivotal player in Ghana’s fresh fruit industry (see text box on page 78).

An infant cereal processing company in Côte d’Ivoire. An Ivorian company based in

Abidjan is seeking investment so it can diversify and expand with two new products: Attiéké

(the local name for cassava semolina) and snacks made of maize. This firm, which started

operations in 1994, buys raw materials from smallholder farmers. It then processes these

local agricultural products (maize, soya, other grains) for sale as fortified infant cereals,

cereal for adults, and other food products with high nutritional value. After conducting a

comprehensive market survey on both products, Injaro will assist the firm in creating a

strong marketing strategy and will inject equity in the company to support its growth

program.

The pineapple transaction has been successfully completed. The cereals deal is still under

negotiation. Other potential deals are also under discussion, as well, but as of the end of the fiscal

year negotiations have not been finalized. We expect FY17 to bring at least two more deals from the

Injaro partnership, totaling about $3 million each.


From its inception, the project has devoted considerable effort to developing a toolkit of approaches

to expanding and facilitating access to finance and investment. Our first major effort was to identify

and build the capacity of Financial Advisors, who are issued performance-based task orders to help

enterprises prepare loan applications. This cadre of Financial Advisors built a pipeline of task orders,

however, during the FY16 work planning process, having realized that it was taking longer than

expected for these deals to reach fruition largely because the deals were not as fully developed as

banks needed them to be, the project decided to provide additional BDS support to promising firms.

Also, the Hub’s finance and investment team determined that the Hub should place greater emphasis

on achieving results through supply-side interventions, to complement our ongoing demand-side work

with Financial Advisors. As stated above, the demand for financial services comes from

agribusinesses in search of financing to grow their businesses. The supply of financial services comes

from financial institutions seeking to expand and diversify their portfolios. This evolution in our

strategy for the finance and investment component is further explained below.

Shift on how we work: both demand and supply sides of financial services

We anticipate that in the coming period, our newer supply-side activities will generate significant

results. Specifically, we anticipate growth from $3.5 million to $26.5 million resulting from those

activities by the end of February 2018. This means that the proportion of our investments resulting

from supply-side work will shift, increasing from 18 percent to 42 percent of total results in

February 2018. On the demand side, we expect results to grow from $15.9 million to $36 million in

February 2018 as a result of the strategies and investment pipeline we have already put in place.

Table 19 on the following page shows our anticipated results through five years of operation. At the

end of the project, we expect to have a balanced portfolio between the demand and supply sides of

financial services.


Table 19: Projected Investment Results: Demand and Supply Sides

Financial

Services

To-Date

Results

(million $)

% Feb. 2018 Revised

Targets (million $) %

5-Year Revised

Targets

(million $)

%

Demand-side 15.9 82 36.0 58 45.0 53

Supply-side 3.5 18 26.5 42 40.0 47

Total $19.4 100% $62.5 100% $85.0 100%

This approach will better equip us to further expand and diversify the Hub’s impact across West

Africa, and enable us to support SME agribusinesses aiming to export and expand into new markets.

Consistent with this shift, the finance and investment team will implement the upcoming adjustments

to our approach:

Provide support primarily to investment-ready companies and champions, with an emphasis

on export value chains and agro-processing.

Facilitate financial institutions’ utilization of new DCA guarantees.

Implement a Gender Access to Finance Strategy in Côte d’Ivoire with NSIA Bank.

Strengthen and streamline the investment pipeline.

The West African investment landscape in the agricultural sector remains narrow, with most

investment firms avoiding the project’s value chains. The Hub is eager to increase supply-side

collaboration with financial institutions by establishing relationships such as those we built this year

with Coris Bank, Injaro Investments and Oikocredit. We are in contact with potential new supply-

side partners for 2017. One new impact investment fund in West Africa, funded by Lundin

Foundation (which supported the start-up of Injaro a couple of years ago), will launch its operations

in 2017 targeting agriculture. It will have a lower cost of entry, allowing investments of about

$500,000 instead of the $2 million to $3 million that is more common in the region. Another lender

is preparing its entry in West Africa and one of its first prospect firms participated in our animal feed

B2B in Nigeria. This other partnership could bring an investment of $2.5 million in the first semester

of 2017. We are preparing to support them, as we are doing with Injaro.

Shift on who we work with: export- and AGOA-driven value chains

To support this shift, in addition to establishing the regional DCA USAID agreed that the Hub could

expand activities to work with other value chains. In the past, we found it difficult to refuse deals in

cassava in Nigeria (one of the Nigeria Feed the Future value chains) or cocoa, an important export

value chain of the USAID/Nigeria NEXTT project. Moreover, we know that the East Africa Trade

Hub has focused on large economic sectors such as financial services, information and

communications technology, and large agriculture value chains such as cotton. This expansion into

new value chains will support the finance and investment team’s investment pipeline growth in the

coming quarters. Table 20 on the following page shows the potential shift in the type of value chains

we work on. The expected target of $62.5 million by February 2018 will be better distributed among

the universe of agro-possessing SMEs in West Africa. We expect nearly 50 percent of results from

export-oriented, AGOA-focused, and processed and value-added agriculture value chains. This

marks a significant change for the Hub.

The Hub will continue to aggressively pursue a diversified strategy for expanding and facilitating

access to finance and investment.


Table 20: Potential Shift in Value Chains

Value

chains

Sectors Dates Results to

Date ($)

Projected

Results Feb.

2018 ($)

%

Regional value

chains

Rice, maize, millet & sorghum, livestock Life of

project

2,505,289 6,000,000 10 %

Global value chains

Cashew, shea, mango, apparel 13,226,343 21,500,000 34 %

Cross-cutting Transport, warehouse, logistics, cold chain 126,996 6,000,000 10 %

Export, AGOA Textiles and other light manufacturing Since May

2016

0 1,500,000 2 %

Processed and

value-added

agricultural value chains

All tropical fruits (pineapple, banana, etc.) 3,500,000 6,000,000 44 %

All processed agricultural foods (cocoa,

coffee, cotton, cassava, etc.)

21,500,000

Cumulative Investment Results $19.4 million $62.5 million 100 %


12. CAPACITY BUILDING AND

GRANTS

The focus of the Hub’s capacity building component is on strengthening the capacities of regional

partner organizations to drive increased trade in the project’s target value chains. This objective calls

for improving their institutional, management, and technical capacities. As we have worked with

various partners during our first two and one-half years of operation, we have learned that they are

at different stages of development. Some are nascent, when others are more mature. Some operate

with an informal management system, while others are more organized. This poses challenges and

requires us to carefully tailor our assistance to the needs of each partner.

Although challenging, FY16 was a successful year for the project’s capacity building work. Mid-term

capacity assessments of five of our key partners showed that the Hub’s support so far has resulted in

increased organizational capacity assessment (OCA) scores across the board. In fact, the OCA

scores increased by an average of 56 percent, demonstrating the effectiveness of the approach we

have used to date. And while there is still a ways to go in increasing the organizations’ financial

sustainability, we are using the findings from the OCA exercises to craft a strategy for providing

additional assistance in that area.


Helped the West African Grains Network (WAGN) increase its organizational

capacity assessment score by 289 percent in a two-year period. Thanks to the Hub

capacity building effort, coaching, mentoring and technical assistance to develop a successful

proposal to Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), WAGN was able to secure

funding from AGRA and was thus able to establish a fully functional secretariat in Togo. The

Hub also provided financial and technical support for the validation of WAGN’s procedure

manual that was funded by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). The

validation of the manual was vital for the overall operations of the Executive Secretariat and

the entire organization.

Supported RESIMAO to increase its OCA score by 70.4 percent. Through a grant

to RESIMAO, the Hub supported RESIMAO to establish a fully staffed executive secretariat

and also funded the preparation of a communication plan and a procedure manual. There has

been a strong increase in RESIMAO’s capacity to work with national associations to increase

regional trade in agricultural products through, among other areas of intervention, improved

access and use of Market Information Systems. With the enhanced capacity, RESIMAO was

able to initiate the process of reaching out to additional non-member countries in the region

to join the organization—four countries in the region including Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone

and Cabo Verde.

Facilitated successful collection of membership dues by Borderless Alliance.

Following a retreat and other assistance delivered by the Hub, including a fee-for-service

survey, Borderless was able to develop a membership benefits and services list. In addition,

four new members were added in 2016 and year to date over $15,000 of membership dues

has been collected. This year, all members have been invoiced and follow up is ongoing.

Boosted COFENABVI’s capacity while collaborating to organize the first

regional livestock trade show. The event, which was held in Abidjan August 31 through

September 4, 2016, in Côte d’Ivoire, helped increase COFENABVI’s visibility, enhancing its


leadership role in West Africa’s livestock sector and improving its technical and financial

management capacity. The trade show simultaneously showcased and challenged the leaders

of COFENABVI in the areas of administration and program management, governance,

service delivery, and external relations.

Supported COFENABVI’s membership expansion into Guinea during the fourth

quarter of the fiscal year. The Hub’s assistance has enabled COFENABVI to sign

agreements and MOUs with Guinea livestock stakeholders to launch a livestock inter-

professional organization in that country, which will in the near future join the regional

confederation and expand its membership base.

Delivered quality control laboratory for Akorley Pack House. An in-kind project

grant to the Akorley Pack House for mangoes in Dangme West District in Ghana funded a

quality control laboratory. Akorley is now able to undertake quantity analysis of

consignments shipped out of the pack house. The laboratory ensures that the pack house

can meet the traceability and proper documentation requirements of international

certifications, thus improving the quality and volume of exported mangoes.


FY16 was an active one for the project’s capacity building component. As shown in Figure 7, Hub

programs and activities trained 3,604 participants this fiscal year in six value chains in 12 West

African countries. Of these, 2,539 were men and 1,065 (30 percent) were women. More than half of

these women are managing shea warehouses and were trained in cooperative development, business

development, and kernel aggregation. Other trainings and learning events focused on business

linkages, MIS, access to finance, contracting, best practices for the mango value chain, and

GLOBALG.A.P. certification. Another important area of training was AGOA- and ETLS-related

issues, where we reached 601 individuals, 138 of whom were women.

Not including the ATRCs, the Hub built the capacity of numerous institutional partners active in

many areas, mostly regional value chain associations (cashew, grains, livestock, shea), but some

technical organizations as well (RESIMAO, Borderless) and worked with some national federations in

early stages of development (rice, mango, shea). Some are nascent and need extensive support,

while others are strong in many areas and only need targeted help in specific areas. The complexity

of these needs makes

our capacity building

efforts challenging:

every training, every

assistance program,

every capacity building

grant must be tailored

to the specific needs of

the individuals,

companies, and

organizations involved.

Figure 7 shows the total

number of training and

learning activities by

quarter, as well as the

total number of

individuals reach,

disaggregated by sex.

The dramatic spike in

the number of trainees

Figure 7: FY16 Training and Learning Activities, by Quarter


during Quarter 1 is due to the fact that training took place during that time period for more than

600 women shea warehouse managers and best practices training for 455 Ghanaian mango

producers.

12.2.1 MID-TERM CAPACITY ASSESSMENTS

Carried out mid-term organizational capacity assessments of five partners

The Hub’s scope of work calls for the project to measure gains in the organizational capacity of our

key implementing partners. In May 2014, we prepared a baseline assessment of six partners: the

African Cashew Alliance, the Global Shea Alliance, Borderless Alliance, COFENABVI, RESIMAO, and

WAGN. Following the terms of the project’s contract, we used the OCA tool to evaluate the

capacity of each of the partner in seven areas: governance, administration, human resource, financial

management, service delivery, external relations, and sustainability. Following the terms of our PMP,

we conducted mid-term assessments of five of these same partners in July of this year to measure

their progress to date. A final assessment is scheduled for year five. We did not complete an

assessment for the GSA because the alliance’s staff had just undergone a USAID audit and did not

have the time to participate in a second, similar activity.

The assessment team, which included short-term consultants from Kanava International, used both

the OCA tool and Kanava’s proprietary Impact Strengthening DevelopmentTM (ISDTM) tool for the

assignment (see text box). These tools enabled us to measure changes in the organizations’ capacity

over time, and consider which of the results could be directly attributed to support from the

project. They also helped us identify organizational strengthening priorities for FY17.

The assessment process included the following:

Reviewing existing reports and interviewing partners about their activities, including those

funded through direct support or grants from the Hub

Using the OCA and ISDTM tools to establish mid-term scores for the partner organizations

Collaborating with the partners to identify additional capacity building priorities for FY17

At the end of the exercise, we compared the mid-term assessment results to those from the 2014

baselines, as shown in Table 21 on the following page. All partners showed significant improvements

in governance, administration, and human resources management—areas where the Hub delivered

training, coaching, and direct technical assistance. However, despite these gains all partners still need

support to attain financial sustainability.

Methodologies for Organizational Self-Assessment

The OCA is a self-assessment completed with and by the partner, which relies on a participatory and

interactive exercise. After clear and concise explanations and discussion of the process to help the

organization’s staff be confident and realistic in their judgement, the partner plays a central role in scoring in

seven specific areas.

The ISDTM assessment tool developed by Kanava International is also a self-assessment tool. It is not

merely a tool to “inspect” or “audit” an organization; instead, it provides a means for mentoring and

developing a partner’s capabilities. We used the ISDTM to complement the OCA tool because it addresses

additional areas, such as organizational sustainability and project performance management.


Table 21: Mid-term OCA Scores for Hub Partners

Organization 2014

Baseline

2016 Mid-

term

OCA Stage % Change From

Baseline

End-of-Project

Target

ACA 4.00 5.30 Mature 32 5.40

Borderless Alliance 3.60 5.10 Mature 41 5.50

COFENABVI 3.00 3.5 Expanding 17 3.80

RESIMAO 2.40 4.10 Expanding 70 5.00

WAGN 1.00 3.9 Expanding 289 4.00

GSA 3.9 N/A - N/A N/A

Average 2.98 4.40 - 56% 69%

Details about each partner’s mid-term evaluation are provided in further sections of this chapter, as

each value chain is discussed in turn. The partners’ gains can be summarized as follows:

WAGN went from a baseline of 1.00 in 2014 to 3.9 this year—a dramatic 289 percent

increase. This is primarily because over the last two years, thanks to the technical support

from the Hub to develop a successful proposal to AGRA, WAGN has been able to establish

and fund an executive secretariat in Togo and validated its procedure manual.

RESIMAO shows a 70 percent increase in its overall OCA score. This is the result of the

network having established a fully staffed secretariat in Niger, developed a communications

plan and a procedures manual, and expanded its membership into four additional countries.

The project delivered assistance in all these areas.

COFENABVI shows an overall OCA score increase of 17 percent, as a result of hiring

staff at the secretariat level, establishing new policies and procedures, building an MIS

platform, and training data collectors. The organization of SIBVAO has led to organizational

and logistical skills building, increased the visibility of COFENABVI, and reinforced the value

national federations see in the regional federation, enhancing its leadership base in the

livestock sector within the region.

Borderless Alliance is at the mature phase. Its overall OCA score increased from 3.60 in

2014 to 5.10 this year. Borderless showed significant increases in the area of service

delivery, human resources, and administration, building on our prior work and the Hub

support through the grant provided to BA.

ACA is at the mature phase, having shown a 32 percent increase in its overall OCA score.

The improvements are mainly in the area of financial management, governance, HR and

administration. This is partly due to the Hub support through the capacity building grant.

The Hub is using the findings from the organizational capacity assessments to provide each partner

with an updated plan that lays out specific recommendations for FY17 capacity building activities. We

also drew on assessment results to prepare the project’s FY17 Annual Work Plan. Going forward,

the Hub will continue to deliver targeted assistance to these partners to strengthen their ability to

provide leadership in their value chains and effective services to their members. One of our primary

areas of focus will be financial sustainability, as we continue to help the partners diversify funding

sources and improve member services as a way to increase their rosters of dues-paying members

and generate income. Figure 8 on the following page is a technical graph that shows each evaluated

organization’s OCA score improvement—both individually and in relation to each other. Please see

text box for more detailed information.


Figure 8: Mid-term Organizational Capacity Assessment Results for Partner Organizations

The blue lines represent the partners’

baseline in 2014; the red lines

represent the last assessment in July

2016. The space in between the red

and blue lines shows the progress

made following the Hub’s financial and

technical support.

From this graphic, we can see that BA

and ACA have made significant

progress and should reach the

maximum score of 6 (mature phase)

soon. WAGN and RESIMAO are

improving in terms of their

organizational management but much

remains to be done. In 2014,

COFENABVI’s OCA score was

markedly higher than those of the

other organizations, thus, while the

organization did make progress,

COFENABVI’s evolution was much

less dramatic.

OCA scale: 0–1.4: Nascent phase; 1.5–2.9: Emerging phase; 3.0–4.4:

Expanding phase; 4.5–6.0: Mature phase

12.2.2 TARGETED CAPACITY BUILDING IN VALUE CHAINS AND

TECHNICAL AREAS

12.2.2.1 Trade and Transport Enabling Environment

Strengthened the organizational capacity and sustainability of Borderless Alliance

Borderless currently receives 90 percent of its

funding from USAID through ProFAB. The

remaining 10 percent is internally generated. The

alliance recognizes that this pattern is not

sustainable in the long term. Much of the Hub’s

support to Borderless has focused on moving it

along a path to greater and greater financial

sustainability by helping it increase the proportion

of its funding that is internally generated. To reach

that goal, Borderless needs two things: (1) an

improved capacity to operate effectively on its

own, and (2) increased funding from members and

the private sector. The Hub is addressing both. In

FY16, we provided direct capacity building support

while also delivering assistance through a cost-

reimbursable grant (see Table 22).

As pointed out above, Borderless Alliance’s OCA

scores have increased by 41 percent since the

baseline assessment during the Hub’s first year. As

shown Figure 9, the alliance improved in all areas

and is now at the “mature” stage in administration,

0

1

2

3

4

5

6ACA

BA

COFENABVIRESIMAO

WAGN

2014 2016

Figure 9: Mid-term OCA Results for

Borderless Alliance

While having the same structure and following the

same rules as Figure 8, this one shows the OCA results

for one organization in all seven areas: administration,

external relations, financial management, governance,

human resources, service delivery, and sustainability.


governance, financial management, service delivery, and external relations and at the “expanding”

stage in Human Resources Management and Sustainability. The increase of OCA score is partly due

to the cost reimbursable grant that the Hub has provided to BA in 2014 and was on a continuous

basis following up on financial management issues and administration.

In July 2015, the Hub collaborated with the Borderless Alliance secretariat to organize a retreat for

the alliance’s executive committee and the presidents of its nine national committees. The objective

of the retreat was to encourage the national committees to adopt strategies to make Borderless’

services more useful and attractive to its members and more sustainable. The membership drive and

membership dues were part of the discussion. The action plan included ways to finalize membership

benefits and dues status. In FY16, with support from the Hub, Borderless continued to implement

several activities that were part of the strategy that arose from the workshop.

Financed development of a fee-for-service survey

The Hub financed a survey of Borderless members and non-members to evaluate the current needs

of regional trade and transport stakeholders and their willingness to pay for current or future

Borderless services. The Strategic Development Alliance (SDA), a leading management-consulting

firm, was hired to carry out the survey. SDA distributed questionnaires and conducted face-to-face

interviews with many respondents. Eighty-six percent of Borderless Alliance’s registered members

responded to the questionnaire; of those, 63 percent had paid their dues. Some respondents said

they had not paid their dues because they had not yet received an invoice from the Borderless

Secretariat. About 15 percent of respondents expressed strong reservations about the idea of paying

fees for services. More than 60 percent responded positively to the idea of paid sponsorship for

Borderless events, the annual conference, and other workshops. Borderless Alliance used the survey

findings to develop a system for ensuring that all registered members pay their dues.

Diversification of funding streams. With stronger capacity due in part to Hub support, and thanks

to the strategy developed during the project-funded July 2015 retreat, Borderless is now actively

seeking more diverse funding sources. While working to secure more funding through members and

the private sector, the alliance pursued other donors and projects relevant to its mandate, while

reducing the burden on USAID and the Hub during the transition period while private funding is

ramping up. In its 2016 work plan, Borderless attracted financial partners—the Japan International

Cooperation Agency (JICA), the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), the

Towards Intensive Markets Everywhere (TIME) project, NEXTT, and ECOWAS. Borderless also

entered into discussions with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Accelerating Trade in

West Africa Project (ATWA) implemented by Saana Consulting, and the AfDB to support its activities

and further its mission.

Hub-supported fee for service survey results in collection of membership dues

In 2016, Borderless commissioned, with Hub support, a fee-for-service study. Based on the study’s

recommendations, Borderless took a number of steps to promote the benefits of membership and follow

up on outstanding fees. Borderless made a list of benefits and services, and made it available to members.

The Secretariat created a list of members with outstanding dues and followed up accordingly. A “members-

only” section of the website was created. Borderless then invoiced all members for 2016 dues and included

membership drive activities in its 2016 work plan. This year—for the first time—all members have been

invoiced. Year to date, Borderless has collected more than $15,000 in membership dues. Follow up is

ongoing, and continues to add to the total amount collected, while also creating the expectation that this is

a normal and regular function. The alliance added four new members in 2016: With Hub support,

Borderless is also extending its reach into Guinea, and will begin its membership drive in that country in

November 2016.


Engaged a communications and marketing subcontractor to promote sustainability

The project is directly paying for a communications and marketing company to help Borderless

improve its visibility and provide better services to members. After receiving nine bids from

communications firms in Ghana, a committee composed of project and Borderless staff selected

Djembe Communications in September 2016. The firm will help the alliance develop an

organizational communications and marketing strategy that will increase the alliance’s visibility,

support membership drive activities in West Africa, and convey its value to members.

12.2.2.2 Livestock

Built COFENABVI’s organizational capacity

Since project inception, the Hub has been

working to strengthen COFENABVI’s

organizational capacity and help it move along

the path to financial sustainability. The

confederation’s OCA scores have increased

overall by 17 percent over the past two years,

but the scores have increased tremendously in

the areas of human resource management and

governance where the Hub has provided

significant support. Figure 10 shows how the

score increases break down by category. The

improvement in the area of human resource

management is due to the establishment of an

Executive Secretariat in Ouagadougou and the

hiring of an Executive Secretary and

Accountant. This has contributed to the

confederation’s improved capacity in

administration, governance and service

delivery. In addition, the five-year action plan

drafted with financial and technical support

from the Hub has contributed to

COFENABVI’s increased scores for

administration and governance. SIBVAO, the

livestock fair held in Abidjan in late August, 2016, also proved to be a very valuable learning

experience (as described more fully below), which also explains some of the increase in

administrative capacity. In FY16, we delivered capacity building support to COFENABVI both

through a fixed-amount award (FAA) grant (see Table 22) and through direct technical assistance.

Delivered support to national livestock federations through the COFENABVI grant

The Hub grant to COFENABVI supported the national federations in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso,

Benin, and Togo to create and implement strategies and action plans for financial sustainability. Each

national federation was given an opportunity to implement activities at the national level with

technical guidance from the Secretariat, which has helped strengthen the capacity of the national

federations. We also organized a workshop on the creation of livestock sector cooperatives in

Burkina Faso in compliance with OHADA.9 The cooperatives’ registration is expected to be

completed by December 2016. This will empower the cooperatives to engage with their national

9 OHADA is a system of business laws and implementing institutions adopted by seventeen west and central African

nations October 17, 1993, in Port Louis, Mauritius. OHADA is the acronym for the French Organisation pour

l'Harmonisation en Afrique du Droit des Affaires (the Organisation for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa in English).

Figure 10: Mid-term Organizational

Capacity Assessment Results for

COFENABVI

While having the same structure and following the same

rules as Figure 8, this one shows the OCA results for one

organization in all seven areas: administration, external

relations, financial management, governance, human

resources, service delivery, and sustainability.


governments to address livestock sector challenges in their countries. We also provided training on

financial resource mobilization in Togo and Mali, which helped those countries’ federations think

about how to mobilize resources to provide more services to their members and engage with the

regional federation, COFENABVI.

The OCA findings show that COFENABVI still needs to work with national federations to sensitize

them about service delivery mechanisms that can help them attract dues-paying members and begin

to address their individual sustainability. This is an area where the Hub plans to support to both

COFENABVI and the national federations. We will also help COFENABVI review its financial

management systems, improve its service delivery system and membership services, and work on a

sustainability plan. And finally, the project will help develop functional financial and administrative

systems to increase accountability to members, and support the Secretariat’s efforts to have

COFENABVI’s procedures manual approved by the national federations.

Hired a subcontractor to develop a new regional MIS platform for the livestock sector

As described more fully in Chapter 9, the Hub awarded a subcontract to the Ghanaian firm Image-

AD to develop a new MIS platform for the regional livestock value chain. The contractor worked

closely with COFENABVI throughout the year to ensure that the confederation will be ready to

take over management of the platform in the medium term.

Delivered technical and financial support for development of a new five-year action plan

The project provided direct technical and financial support for the development and analysis of

COFENABVI’s new five-year action plan (2016–2020). This document, which the confederation

adopted in December 2015, provides a detailed road map for expanding COFENABVI’s membership

and increasing its range of services. It provides an overview of the activities COFENABVI is expected

to implement to increase its visibility and sustainability. This includes travelling to the different

member countries to introduce the final action plan to ministries and various partners and

stakeholders to engage their technical and financial support for implementation of the plan.

COFENABVI is also planning to undertake advocacy activities in each country to improve the

environment in which livestock trade is taking place. As a capacity building, technical, and financial

management tool, the action plan will strengthen the national federations’ capacities in these areas.

Collaborated with COFENABVI on the first regional livestock trade fair

As described in chapter 3, the Hub provided extensive support to COFENABVI representatives for

the organization of the first-ever regional livestock trade show, SIBVAO. COFENABVI sought to use

the event in part to cement its role as the regional representative of the livestock value chain and

(ideally) provide a source of revenue to support confederation activities. The Hub provided

significant technical and financial assistance to plan and carry out the event, and COFENABVI

provided more than half of the funding and logistical support for this event as well. SIBVAO was an

excellent learning experience for COFENABVI, as it exposed the confederation’s leaders to a

competitive procurement process (to select a communications and logistics service provider) that

followed USAID regulations. The confederation also had the chance to cooperate with the service

provider to define roles and responsibilities and to implement all trade show activities. COFENABVI

planned and coordinated technical meetings, managed their internal approved budget, and monitored

all stages of SIBVAO activities. In addition, the COFENABVI team worked very closely with public

and private stakeholders.

This positive collaboration went a long way toward enhancing COFENABVI’s technical and financial

management capacities. Ultimately, SIBVAO will help increase the organization’s visibility. Following

the Salon, COFENABVI participated in a debriefing session with Hub staff to analyze lessons learned

and establish recommendations for similar events in the future. Another regional livestock trade

show is in the works, in two years’ time in a location to be identified.


Helped COFENABVI expand its activities to Ghana and Guinea

The Hub directly funded COFENABVI’s expansion drive in Ghana by providing technical and financial

support for the launch of the Ghana Federation of Livestock Interprofessional Associations

(GHAFLIP) in June 2015. In December 2015, GHAFLIP completed its membership application by

paying the required registration fees during COFENABVI’s general assembly. Ghana is the first non-

UEMOA country member of the confederation.

With financial and technical assistance and coaching from the Hub, COFENABVI traveled to Guinea

to meet and engage in discussions with livestock professional associations, involving all stakeholders.

As a result of these meetings, Guinean stakeholders decided to come together in one umbrella

organization. Agreements and MOUs have been signed, and the Guinea umbrella organization is

expected to join COFENABVI in the near future.

12.2.2.3 Cereals

Continued to strengthen the West African Grains Network’s operations

When the Hub started in 2014, WAGN

was a new organization that had been

created with the help of the previous

USAID initiative, the Agribusiness and

Trade Promotion project. One of the

Hub’s prerequisites for support was that

WAGN recruit and hire an Executive

Secretary at its headquarters in Lomé,

Togo. The project helped develop

WAGN’s recruitment strategy for the

Executive Secretary. He was hired in May

2015; since then, the Hub has worked

closely with the Executive Secretary and

WAGN’s board of directors.

The mid-term OCA showed that WAGN’s

overall score increased by a dramatic 289

percent. Figure 11 shows how these gains

break down by category. The Hub’s

capacity building and technical assistance

for WAGN’s efforts to seek funding from

AGRA had a large impact on this increased

OCA score, as WAGN’s Executive

Secretariat was established with funding

from AGRA. The Hub helped develop the technical and cost proposal submitted to AGRA in 2014,

which led directly to the establishment of the Executive Secretariat and hence to the increase in

WAGN’s OCA scores for governance, human resources, and administration. WAGN is currently

receiving support from multiple donors and now has four paid staff at the Executive Secretariat.

WAGN has progressed from the nascent phase in most OCA areas to a “mature” phase in

governance and an “expanding” phase in administration, human resources, service delivery, external

relations, sustainability and financial management.

Supported a workshop to validate the procedures manual

The Hub provided financial and technical support for a May 2016 workshop to review, finalize, and

validate an administrative, financial, and accounting procedures manual for WAGN. The manual itself

Figure 11: Mid-term Organizational Capacity

Assessment Results for WAGN

While having the same structure and following the same rules as

Figure 8, this one shows the OCA results for one organization in

all seven areas: administration, external relations, financial

management, governance, human resources, service delivery, and

sustainability.


was funded by AGRA. Validation of this document was vital for the overall operations of the

Executive Secretariat and the entire organization. This activity led to an increase of 283 percent in

the organization’s OCA score for financial management alone.

12.2.2.4 MIS

Built RESIMAO’s organizational capacity

RESIMAO, the MIS component of ECOAGRIS, was created from a network of national public

market information systems. The network now covers ten countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte

d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo), and collects data on a wide

range of staple foods that play an

important role in ensuring food security in

West Africa.

RESIMAO’s July 2016 OCA score showed

a 70 percent improvement over the 2014

baseline. This included a dramatic 240

percent improvement in administration, a

50 percent improvement in service

delivery, a 35 percent increase in

governance, and 33 percent increase in

financial management and external

relations. Figure 12 illustrates these gains

by category. RESIMAO’s capacity has

improved in the areas of governance,

financial management, service delivery and

external relations, where it is in the

“mature” phase. The organization is at the

“expanding level” in administration and

human resources.

As described more fully in Chapter 9,

RESIMAO was able to improve in these

areas due the Hub’s assistance in hiring an Executive Secretary and Accountant to fully staff the

Executive Secretariat. The project also delivered support that enabled RESIMAO to create a

communications plan and procedures manual, and we are backing the network’s membership

expansion plan by helping it expand into four new countries. We awarded a capacity building grant

to RESIMAO in December 2015 (see Table 22).

Helped RESIMAO expand into four more countries

During the last quarter of 2016, RESIMAO initiated outreach activities to attract three new

countries—Cabo Verde, Liberia, and Sierra Leone—to join the network, expanding its presence in

the region. Ghana had joined the MIS association in 2015, and we assisted its introduction to the

network and the others are in the process of joining by December 2016. These new members will

bring the network’s total membership to 15 countries. It is important to note that this organization

is largely made up of public officials who supply RESIMAO with data from their official data sources;

RESIMAO collects it and disseminates it to a broad public. RESIMAO was originally seen as useful

only to donors and governments, but the Hub has worked with the network to make its data more

useful and accessible to the private sector. This concept has gained much traction in the past year,

and RESIMAO’s continues to grow in usefulness to a variety of users. For more information, see:

http://www.resimao.net


Assessment Results for RESIMAO


Figure 8, this one shows the OCA results for one organization in all

seven areas: administration, external relations, financial


sustainability.

http://www.resimao.net/


12.2.2.5 Mango

Supported the establishment of a regional mango sector alliance

As described more fully in Chapter 5, the Hub provided substantial support for a technical working

group that met as part of a large conference on the establishment of a regional mango alliance. After

sharing the Hub’s experience with regional alliances, the project team led panel discussions, managed

small group exercises to stimulate conversation about the building blocks needed for an alliance to

have a viable vision and mission statement, and helped develop an action plan and identify national

focal points. A regional alliance will help mango value chain stakeholders develop synergy among

countries on important areas of shared interest, such as controlling fruit flies. It will also help

improve the global competitiveness of West Africa’s mango sector.

Provided in-kind grants to seven mango farmers and processors associations

The project signed in-kind grant agreements in FY16 for three mango farmers and processor

associations in Ghana, three in Burkina Faso, and one in Senegal. As shown in Table 22, the grants

funded the cost of tools and equipment, including computers and accessories, for the associations.

These supplies will help them improve quality, improve safety, and obtain the international

certifications such as GLOBALG.A.P. and HACCP that they need to export high-quality fresh and

processed mangoes to markets in Europe and eventually the U.S. The equipment provided will also

enhance the associations’ capacity to provide valuable services to their members.

12.2.2.6 Cashew

Built the capacity of the African Cashew Alliance

The ACA is the Hub’s primary partner in

the cashew value chain. The mid-term

OCA exercise in July 2016 showed that

the alliance’s overall score has increased

by 32 percent since the 2014 baseline

assessment. Thanks to a grant from the

Hub, the alliance was able to upgrade its

MIS platform to provide members with

timely, useful data and increase the

number of users. Our support also

allowed the ACA to train processing

factory managers on quality control, food

safety, business management, and more

effective use of the MIS platform. This

assistance contributed to the alliance’s

increased OCA scores, particularly for

service delivery.

The Hub’s support for the cashew value

chain in FY16 was provided through a

grant to ACA that covered three

categories of assistance:

Training on cashew 1.

processing factory management. As described more fully in Chapter 7, the project

helped develop a curriculum and train factory managers on improved management of cashew

processing plants. Topics included food safety, quality, and environmental protection;

business management practices, and use of the ACA’s improved MIS platform. This is helping


Assessment Results for ACA


Figure 8, this one shows the OCA results for one organization in all

seven areas: administration, external relations, financial


sustainability.


ACA to provide member services that will build their overall membership satisfaction and

help to generate revenue.

Better MIS tools. The Hub helped strengthen the ACA’s data collection system and 2.

increase members’ use of the MIS platform to expand commercial transactions. The project

provided a grant to the ACA, signed in July 2015, which funded training on data collection

methodologies for MIS data collectors from 10 countries. Chapter 9 contains more

information about this activity.

Training for ACA secretariat staff. Our grant to the ACA also covered the cost of 3.

training the staff at the ACA secretariat in Accra so they can better support actors all along

the cashew value chain. During the first quarter of FY16, an Accra-based consulting firm

completed a needs assessment to determine the specific training needs of the ACA staff. The

findings from that assessment pointed out specific high-priority areas such as training in MS

Access, MS Project, Adobe suite, website management, effective communication, report

writing, and marketing management. New training is planned for December 2016.

12.2.2.1 Shea

Supported key Global Shea Alliance activities

Most of the Hub’s support to the shea value chain has been delivered in partnership with the GSA.

Since the beginning of the project in 2014, we have worked through the alliance to deliver services

to the shea value chain stakeholders. As described in chapter 8, we continued this approach in FY16

with a focus on two key areas: training for warehouse managers and attendance at a cosmetics trade

show in South Africa. Our grant to the GSA covered the cost of training more than 600 women

who manage 20 shea warehouses in six countries. This activity was part of a broader GSA

sustainability initiative. We also provided direct support to pay for the cost of a booth for 27 GSA

members displaying their products at the African Cosmetic Exhibition in South Africa. The Hub’s

financial support helped these firms establish 1,067 business linkages and increase their opportunities

for international trade.

Initiated work with Côte d’Ivoire’s shea value chain association

During the fourth quarter of FY16, the Hub facilitated a participatory OCA exercise for the Filière

Karité de Côte d’Ivoire (FIKA-CI). Representing the actors of the shea value chain in Côte d’Ivoire,

FIKA-CI was created in May 2012 in Abidjan. Its activities cover six out of nine of the country’s shea

production zones. We are drawing on the findings of the assessment to develop a capacity building

plan for FIKA-CI, with the goal of increasing the value the organization provides to its members. This

activity will support the Government of Côte d’Ivoire’s national export strategy, which highlights

shea as a target value chain.

The assessment shows that FIKA-CI is at the early stage of an emerging organization, with an overall

score of 1.65 out of 6. Its highest score (2.4) was in governance and external relations. The findings

reflect weaknesses in administration, human resource management, financial management, service

delivery, and sustainability, where scores ranged from 1.0 to 1.8 (see Figure 14). The management

structure of the national federation is made up of qualified voluntary members who are committed

to the mission and the vision of the organization.

The executive board is seeking donor support to provide cost-share to help FIKA-CI move forward

from having a general secretariat to establishing a fully staffed permanent secretariat. The federation

has yet to finalize its existing governing document, and it lacks an administrative procedures manual

to guide effective operations for the existing general secretariat or a communications plan to

increase the visibility of its services and activities.


FIKA-CI has the potential to organize 10,082

women who are members of cooperatives

and collect shea nuts and produce shea

butter. These cooperatives have difficulties in

access to finance, an area where the Hub will

provide assistance. Another area of possible

project support is helping FIKA-CI define and

develop member benefits so it can mobilize

internal resources, as there is currently no

mechanism for members to pay their dues.

We will also share best practices on

sustainability and discuss diversification of

funding with FIKA-CI, and provide technical

assistance and training to strengthen key

areas of organizational capacity and financial

sustainability such as communications,

marketing, and resource mobilization.

12.2.2.2 AGOA

The Hub provided FAA and in-kind grants to seven ATRCs: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte

d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal. The FAA grants covered specific program elements in plans

that were agreed upon between both parties. Funds were disbursed on submission of agreed

deliverables. We also provided in-kind grants to some ATRCs to help strengthen their capacity to

deliver services to private businesses. The major activities carried out with project grant funds

included holding workshops for ERCs and other companies to familiarize them with the array of

opportunities offered by AGOA; creating databases of exporters in their countries; and carrying out

workshops on topical issues—such as export documentation requirements and packaging best

practices—relevant to private sector operators in their countries. Chapter 10 contains more

information about Hub support for ATRCs, while details about the grants are shown in Table 22.

The project organized a training program in Accra for ATRC coordinators, to help them understand

the grants process, the types of grants available, the cost-share requirements, and the

implementation requirements. Hub staff also worked with the coordinators to review the ATRCs’

grant proposals before they were submitted to USAID. In addition, as part of our strategy of

strengthening our partners’ monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems, the project’s M&E team made

a presentation on M&E requirements during this training workshop. We provided practical guidelines

on how to not only undertake activities to boost exports under AGOA, but also how to report to

the Hub on the activities.

12.2.3 GENDER

The Hub is a gender-responsive project. Gender cuts across all components and is embedded in our

approach to each value chain and technical area. Our activities aim to reduce gender inequalities in

the target value chains to ensure that both women and men are able to seize opportunities to

enhance trade. In FY16, we continued to disaggregate data by gender to ensure we measure the

Hub’s impact on both men and women.

FY16 was a successful year for the project’s gender work. We built the capacity of women-owned

enterprises in areas such as business management and business plan development, access to finance,

and profitability. Highlights of our gender-focused activities this year include:

The Hub organized a number of learning events in March 2016 to develop business

management skills for women-owned enterprises across our target value chains. These

Figure 14: Baseline Organizational Capacity

Assessment Results for FIKA-CI


included thematic capacity building workshops on commercial negotiations, advocacy,

agribusiness entrepreneurship and competitiveness, the role of business interest associations

in increasing trade, mobilization of financial resources and fundraising, and quality certifications

and ways to meet international standards for specific products. Many of these training events

targeted members of the organizations that received Hub grants. For example, we provided

training on access to new markets for 21 women and one male cereal processors. The

objective was to enhance their capacity for efficient and profitable management of cereals

processing businesses. In addition, the project’s TTEE team provided information on regional

trade policies and protocols, particularly

those related to ETLS, and supporting

documentation needed for export and

regional trade. The project’s capacity building

staff and finance and investment team

provided training in networking, marketing,

accounting, financial tools and systems, and

development of business plans specific to

cereals processing businesses. Apart from

building the participants’ skills, the training

created a platform for the women to

network and establish business linkages

among themselves.

Our capacity building grant to COFENABVI

funded a two-day training for 15 female

members of the FEBEVIB and 30 female

members of Benin’s national livestock

federation, Fédération Nationale de la Filière Bétail Viande du Bénin (FENABEV). The training

covered best practices for management of small ruminant fattening operations; they provided

the women with modern tools and methods for both animal fattening and financial

management. The women are now able to produce quality small ruminants at a lower

production cost, leading to better returns on their investment. The trainings included

accounting and financial record-keeping exercises to teach the participants how to track their

daily financial operations. This accounting training helped improve management of their

businesses, which will contribute to increased profitability and increased revenue. The training

will also enable the women to produce quality animals and participate in regional trade

opportunities such as Tabaski.

In November 2015, the Hub conducted an assessment of the needs of women-owned

businesses in our value chains in Côte d’Ivoire. The goal of this assessment was to identify

capacity building needs and areas where the project can add value to help women access

financing. Through this activity, we identified women active in our value chains and created a

database of women-owned enterprises. We then met with the women business owners and

identified the constraints they face when trying to access finance. We are in the process of

partnering with a bank to establish a Gender Access to Finance Strategy in Côte d’Ivoire,

which is meeting the women’s training and other capacity building needs, helping them

complete loans applications, and approach banks and microfinance institutions.

12.2.4 GRANTS

The Hub made judicious use of grants in FY16 to support many project components. Grants to

regional organizations facilitated market linkages, improved product quality, and expanded access to

market information and financial services. Grants to our partner organizations also built their

financial and technical capacity to serve their members and seize new opportunities for growth. As

shown in Table 22, the project provided grants to 19 groups, associations, and organizations during

the fiscal year.

The Hub signed an LOC with the Burkina

Faso chapter of the African Women’s

Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) in FY16.

The LOC establishes a framework for

cooperation on programs and projects that

promote intraregional and international trade

and enhance the competitiveness of women

entrepreneurs in the apparel, cashew, cereals,

shea, mango and livestock value chains. The

ultimate goal is to create wealth and foster

economic growth in West Africa. In FY17, we

will continue to strengthen AWEP members’

business skills to help them benefit from

public and private trade and business

promotion interventions in the region.


Table 22: West Africa Trade and Investment Hub Grants in FY16

Grantee Type of

Grant

Grant

Amount

Activities Undertaken

During the Year

Cashew

Improved the capacity of the ACA to provide quality services to its members along the cashew value chain.

African

Cashew

Alliance

Fixed

Amount

Award

(FAA)

$278,000 Conducted training needs assessment and organized training on

managing cashew plants and on processing fundamentals for factory

staff and management from Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea, Guinea-

Bissau, The Gambia, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso.

Trained over 60 factory managers and workers to date.

Organized initial and follow-up training on data collection methods for

MIS data collectors from Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea, Guinea-

Bissau, The Gambia, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso.

Conducted training needs assessment of ACA staff.

Shea

Supported GSA training for women managers of shea warehouses as part of sustainable warehouse initiative.

Global Shea

Alliance

FAA $200,000 Organized complementary training programs in cooperative

development, business management, and kernel aggregation for

women shea nut collectors operating 20 warehouses provided by GSA

sustainability partners.

Trained over 600 women shea collectors.

Mango

Supported mango farmers and processors associations with training, equipment, and tools to increase

production of quality mangoes, improve safety, and enable them to obtain the certifications needed to

export quality fresh and processed mangoes to markets in Europe and eventually the U.S.

DAMFA, Ghana In-kind $4,715 Provided computers and accessories to facilitate group certification

under GLOBALG.A.P.—a key requirement to meet international food

safety standards. YKMFA, Ghana In-kind $4,800

Akorley Pack

House, Ghana

In-kind $28,509 Installed new computerized software for grading and sorting quality

fresh mangoes.

Established quality control laboratory for quantity analysis of

consignments shipped out of pack house, to ensure traceability and

proper documentation as required under GLOBALG.A.P. & HACCP.

Supplied 500 durable plastic harvesting crates for aggregation and

transfer of mangoes to the pack house, to reduce post-harvest losses.

Coopérative des

Producteurs de

Fruits et

Légumes de

Keur Mbir

Ndao, Senegal

In-Kind $7,660 Acquired weighing scales, packaging equipment, crates, and washing

basins installed in the bulking /collection center.

APROMA-B,

Burkina Faso

In-Kind $6,370 Equipped APROMA-B’s secretariat to better provide administrative

support for effective operations and to coordinate the activities of its

three key affiliate associations: UNPMB, PTRAMAB, and APEMAB.

Sanle Séchage,

Burkina Faso

In-Kind $19,334 Provided crates for collection, aggregation, and storage of mangoes at

the collection/bulking center, to reduce post-harvest losses.

Provided generator to enhance the drying of mangoes.

Rose Éclat In-Kind $8,000 Provided crates to enhance collection and aggregation of mangoes

dried for export.


Grantee Type of

Grant

Grant

Amount


During the Year

Trade and transport enabling environment

Helped improve the capacities of the regional alliance, improve the operating environment, and provide

quality services to members.

Borderless

Alliance

.

Cost

reimburs-

able

$720,000 Supported advocacy meetings with regional police commanders in Ghana.

Trained livestock transporters in Ghana and Burkina Faso.

Installed campaign billboards on the Tema–Paga corridor.

Facilitated bilateral ISRT meeting on validation of vehicle approval for

Côte d’Ivoire.

Conducted fee-for-service survey.

Facilitated CILSS/Borderless meeting in Burkina Faso on ProFAB grant.

Organized focal point meetings in Ghana related to e-platform activity.

Designed truck sticker in support of e-platform activity.

Livestock

Helped improved the capacities of the regional alliances, improve the operating environment, and provide

quality services to members.

COFENABVI FAA $146,631 Organized fundraising workshops in Mali.

Organized resource mobilization workshop in Togo.

Facilitated the creation of livestock sector cooperatives in Burkina

Faso and Côte d’Ivoire.

Trained women in best practices and financial management in Benin

and Burkina Faso.

Trained Kilichi producers and 10 butchers on improved techniques for

meat processing and value-addition for high end-markets in Niger.

Organized outreach trip to livestock professional associations in

Guinea, explored and agreed on action plan for path to membership in

COFENABVI.

Supported livestock networks and exports of fattened cattle in Mali

and Burkina Faso

Organized contracting workshop for cattle fatteners in Mali and

Burkina Faso.

Organized study trip for Burkinabé actors to the privately managed

market of Gogonou in Benin.

Paid the salaries of the Executive Secretary and the Accountant.

MIS

Contributed to improving the capacities of the regional network, improving the operating environment, and

providing quality services to members.

RESIMAO FAA $121,976 Developed administrative and accounting procedures manual to guide

the organization.

Developed communications plan for the organization.

Organized programs to strengthen the analytical capabilities of

national associations and the Executive Secretariat staff.

Supported the hosting of the RESIMAO platform.

Initiated action to extend RESIMAO activities to Ghana, Sierra Leone,

Liberia, and Cabo Verde.

Paid the salaries of the Executive Secretary and the Accountant to

strengthen the secretariat to meet the needs of members.


Grantee Type of

Grant

Grant

Amount


During the Year

AGOA Trade Resource Centers

Enhanced the capacity of the ATRCs to provide expert guidance to firms to help them take advantage of

opportunities under AGOA.

Ghana ATRC FAA and

in-kind

grant

$14,800 Built a database of exporters by sector

Organized AGOA workshop and educated SMEs on opportunities

under AGOA

Benin ATRC FAA $14,800 Began implementation of activities in September 2016.

Cameroon

ATRC

FAA $14,800 Organized AGOA workshop and educated SMEs on opportunities

under AGOA.

Organized half-day workshops for agro-processors and apparel

producers.

Côte d’Ivoire

ATRC

FAA $21,300 Built database of exporters who could take advantage of opportunities

under AGOA.

Organized AGOA workshop and educated SMEs on opportunities

under AGOA.

Senegal ATRC FAA $14,800 Built database of exporters by sector.


As part of the Hub’s mandate to provide capacity building support to partner organizations, we

delivered both direct technical and financial assistance and grant funds in FY16. The grants financed

capacity building activities to ensure that the recipient organizations can meet the needs and goals of

their members. Grant activities have helped these organizations increase their project management

skills and conduct activities that strengthened their technical skills. To date, the Hub has awarded

ten FAA, one cost-reimbursable, and eight in-kind grants to partners. The grants program is

gradually winding down and has been redesigned and aligned with the project’s capacity building

component.

Using the findings of the FY16 OCA reports,

the Hub will provide direct support to our

partners, with a particular concentration on

helping them achieve financial sustainability.

We recognize that financial sustainability is a

process that takes time and a great deal of

effort. Given this, we will propose a two-

pronged approach to sustainability. First, we

will collaborate with our partners to diversify

their donor funding sources and partnerships.

Secondly, we will help them seek long-term

sustainability plans based on membership dues and fees for services provided to members and non-

members. To do this, we will assist the partners in defining and developing membership benefits and

services, identify more diverse funding sources, and implementing activities to enhance their visibility

in the region. We will pursue these activities in FY17 using a cost/responsibility-sharing mechanism.

In a September 2016 letter to the Hub, Sani Laouali

Addoh, RESIMAO Coordinator, reiterated that the

network “welcome[s] the Trade Hub commitment to

support RESIMAO in its mission to facilitate better

… decisions by all stakeholders through sound and

effective management of agricultural information

(collection, processing, analysis and dissemination),

this in order to guarantee sustainable food security

for the people of ECOWAS.” He expressed “…deep

gratitude and recognition to all those responsible [at

the] Trade Hub.”


13. COMMUNICATIONS

The communications team serves a supportive but important role in highlighting the work of the

project and our partners and the role of USAID as it works with West Africans to boost trade and

investment within the region and globally. Over the past year, the team made adjustments to

accommodate the project’s extended scope of operations. These included additional work in Côte

d’Ivoire and Senegal in support of the expanded Trade Africa initiative, changes to our online

strategy for reaching out to the Hub’s large francophone audience, and use of online tools to

produce innovative content in English and French. We also increased support to regional partners

and associations to help them generate more visibility for their own and the project’s work while at

the same time making them less financially reliant on the Hub.


Brought visibility to the project’s expanded scope of work. The expansion of our

scope of work under the Trade Africa initiative made it imperative to dedicate

communications resources to Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, enabling us to generate widespread

coverage of the many activities that took place as part of this initiative. The results?

Extensive media coverage, including four newspaper reports, 21 online reports or articles;

and three videos.

Increased the size of our target audience, driving traffic to the Hub’s web site. Of

the 12 countries where the project is active, nine are francophone. We modified our online

strategy to make our information more accessible to our large francophone audience. First,

we adjusted our data collection process to better identify our francophone audience in

order to produce targeted content. We also launched a French edition of the online

monthly newsletter, Hub Buzz, in June 2016. These changes, together with innovative

content, such as our #meetabreeder campaign produced in Q4 in both English and French,

resulted in an explosion of visitors to our website in Q4.

Built social media engagement. As part of our modified strategy, we launched an

aggressive social media campaign. We began posting French content on Facebook and Twitter

starting in July (Quarter 3), and saw a subsequent increase in our social media following.

Strengthened the communications capacity of partner organizations. As part of

the Hub’s capacity building activities, we joined forces with partners to develop their

communications and marketing strategies, and also provided marketing and publication

https://www.thinglink.com/scene/837749639187791873



support for specific partner events.


Throughout the year, the communications staff provided materials, resources, and timely event

support. The team publicized AGOA and ATRC activities, increased visibility for the project’s work

on the WTO-TFA, supported access to finance events for several entrepreneurs in the region, built

the communications capacity of major partners, and promoted USAID’s support for West African

efforts to foster regional food security through the cereals and livestock value chains.

13.2.1 SUPPORT FOR EVENTS

Provided support for project and partner events

This year, due to the expanded work of the Hub under Trade Africa, we devoted additional

communications resources to supporting events in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. From March to

September alone, we supported 14 project- or partner-related events in these two countries

(included in the list below). These events brought exposure to the Hub’s work and the role of

USAID in promoting trade with and within West Africa:

Hub-UNCTAD NTFC meeting, Dakar, September 28–29, 2016

Hub-UNCTAD NTFC meeting, Abidjan, September 7–8, 2016

First regional livestock fair (SIBVAO), Abidjan, August 31–September 4, 2016

Operation Tabaski 2016, August 29–September 15, 2016

Signing of LOCs with Nembel and AREXMA, Abidjan, August 16–17, 2016

Training of trainers workshop for WAGN, Abidjan, August 16–18, 2016

ATRC training, Abidjan, June 28, 2016

Fourth regional cereals exchange, Abidjan, 27–28 July 2016

SIBVAO launch, Abidjan, June 2, 2016

ACA workshop, Abidjan, May 17–20, 2016

Mango training, Korhogo and Ferkessédougou, May 13–21, 2016

AGOA and textile visa training workshop, Accra, May 13, 2016

MIS training, Abidjan, April 25–29, 2016

Food crops formalities fair, Bouaké, April 20–22, 2016

Animal fattening workshop, Niamey, April 11–14, 2016

Training on ATRC grants implementation, Accra, April 12–13, 2016

Agribusiness workshop, Ouagadougou, March 30–April 2 2016

Third regional cereals exchange, Dakar, March 10–11, 2016.

Best contracting practices in regional cereal trade, Dakar, March 7–9, 2016

Sourcing at MAGIC Show, Las Vegas, February 15–18, 2016

Second regional cereals exchange, Ouagadougou, December 9–10, 2015

Best contracting practices in regional cereal trade, Lomé, November 23–25, 2015

Access to finance animal feed workshop, Lagos, November 19, 2015

AGOA customs documentation training, Accra, October 29, 2015

Facilitated press coverage of project and partner events in the print media and on TV

In FY16, in order to increase awareness of USAID’s role in promoting regional and global trade and

to publicize the activities and achievements of the Hub and our partners, we actively engaged the

media all across the region, resulting in extensive coverage of major events, as shown in Figures 15,

16, and 17.


Figure 15: Examples of Coverage in Print Media

The focus on activities in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire resulted in extensive press coverage, including

the samples below.

Figure 16: Newspaper Clips from Q4

The Hub’s events in the regions are well

covered in local media. The photo to the

right shows Business 24’s coverage of the

first regional livestock fair and speaks to the

excitement these events generate regionally

and the impact they have.

Figure 17: Television Coverage Example


13.2.2 WEB SITE TRAFFIC

In the last quarter of FY16, the Hub explored ways to drive traffic to our website by presenting a

more personalized and relatable view of events. A hand-held video resulted in this Update from a

Livestock Trader on ETLS Required Documentation. The Hub’s #meetabreeder campaign presented

personal stories and photos of livestock breeders to promote “More trade and better conditions at

Operation Tabaski 2016.” Together with efforts made to increase social media engagement, these

campaigns resulted in a flood of visitors to our website, as noted in Table 23 below. We will expand

these efforts in the next fiscal year.

The Hub’s communications team produced weekly progress reports, monthly newsletters, blog

posts, and photo albums featuring achievements, news, and photos of events undertaken by the

project and our partners. We shared these with our audiences, which include USAID missions in the

region, U.S. Government officials in Washington, D.C., our partners, and the general public. We

produced the following during the fiscal year:

1,139 photos posted on the project’s Flickr page

212 posts on the project web site (129 in English and 83 in French)

47 PDFs of Weekly Project Progress Reports

12 issues of Hub Buzz online monthly newletter (including three French versions)

Table 23: FY16 Online newsletter subscription

* The open rate is the percentage of subscribers who click to open the newsletter. Our monthly open rate for English and French editions has consistently been higher than the industry average of 17.3%.

The result of this increased social media engagement and communications activity was not only an

increase each quarter in the overall number of visitors to the web site, but more significantly, a

consistently larger rate of increase in the number of returning visitors who are spending more time

per session on our web site, as depicted in Table 24 and Figure 18.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEMMoCZvDwY




Table 24: FY16 Web site statistics

Figure 18: Trends of New Users and Page Views for Hub Web Site

* A user is any person who logs in for at least one session within the selected date range.

13.2.3 BRANDED PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL AND PRESENTATION AIDS

Over the course of the fiscal year, the communications team designed and produced an assortment

of items, props, and tools that greatly aided project staff and consultants in their presentations

during workshops and training sessions around the region. These materials included flip charts,

component-specific pull-up banners, event banners, folders, posters, brochures, and company fact

sheets, as shown in Figures 19 and 20.

Figure 19: Publications and Reports

Weekly Progress Report Hub Buzz Monthly Blog Posts Photos


Figure 20: Examples of Promotional Materials and Presentation Aids

13.2.4 Social Media Reach

As part of our modified strategy, and to reach a wider audience, the Hub launched an aggressive

social media campaign in English and French, reporting on events and highlighting relevant reports.

We introduced a new social media management tool, Hootsuite which has enabled us to schedule

and track our English and French social media feeds. We began posting French content on Facebook

and Twitter starting in July (Q3), and saw a subsequent increase in our social media following. We

expect to expand this work in the next fiscal year, with live Twitter and Facebook chats. These

could, for example, highlight a particular beneficiary’s experience alongside a perspective from a Hub

expert. The goal is to connect the project’s audience to a beneficiary’s particular experience in order

to better promote USAID’s support for West African businesses and entrepreneurs.

Table 25: FY16 Social media statistics


13.2.5 COMMUNICATIONS CAPACITY BUILDING FOR PARTNER

ORGANIZATIONS

Borderless Alliance. In September 2016,

the Senior Communications Specialist was on

a committee together with other project staff

and Borderless Alliance staff that selected a

communications and marketing company,

Djembe Communications, to help Borderless

develop an organizational communication and

marketing strategy. Djembe Communications

will help increase the alliance’s visibility,

support its membership drive activities in

West Africa, and convey the organization’s

value to its members.

American Chamber of Commerce

(Ghana). The communications team

prepared a fact sheet, event banner,

information packets, and other materials for the AGOA Outreach and Information

Workshop in Accra on May 27, 2016.

Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce. We created information packets for the

AGOA Sensitization Conference in Lagos on May 20, 2016.

Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The team developed information

packets and banners and generated pre- and post-event publicity for the AGOA Export

Documentation and Textile Visa Training in Accra on May 13, 2016.

ATRCs. During the Hub’s training workshop for ATRC coordinators (see Chapter 12), the

Senior Communications Specialist made a presentation on how to publicize ATRC activities.

In response to feedback from the coordinators, the communications team developed an

AGOA toolkit page and began supplying the ATRCs with props and supplies to help them

increase visibility. We provided global exports banners to all Hub-supported ATRCs.

COFENABVI. The bilingual Communications Specialist in the project’s newly established

Abidjan office was on the planning committee advising COFENABVI on the communications

resources and promotional materials needed for SIBVAO. She provided editorial input and

communications materials to our livestock value chain partner, COFENABVI, organizational

support to Image-AD’s MIS cascade trainings (in April and May), and organizational support

to Mercure Communications for SIBVAO.

Borderless Alliance. The Senior Communications Specialist, along with members of the

project’s TTEE team, was part of the committee that advised Borderless Alliance on design

considerations for its Tema–Paga corridor billboard campaign.


At the end of the fiscal year, the project hired a communications strategist to help shape the role of

the component to meet the evolving needs of our expanding audience. In the upcoming fiscal year,

the communications team will utilize a combination of new tools and proven methods to ramp up

our efforts to expand knowledge of Hub activities and USAID’s role in promoting trade in the

region. We will focus on telling individual stories and promote these on our web site and through

various social media tools. We will continue to expand our audiences within targeted beneficiary

groups as well as in Washington, D.C. We will build the communications capabilities of our partners

and foster their ability to develop their own financial supports, while also increasing the ability of

Hub staff to tell our story and that of beneficiaries in a clear and compelling fashion.

Sourcing at MAGIC Show

The Hub’s communications team was on the

planning committee for the joint Trade Hub

delegation to the Sourcing at MAGIC apparel

trade show in Las Vegas in February 2016.

The team played a lead role in designing and

producing promotional and informational

resources for the event. This role included

providing design direction and production to

Hub partner Ethical Apparel Africa and four

apparel manufacturers. The project

sponsored two of these companies to attend

the trade show.


14. MONITORING AND

EVALUATION

While working with all project components to collect data and keep team members apprised of

progress toward targets, our M&E staff simultaneously continued improving the data collection

system and the M&E strategic and operational tools. With support from Abt Associates’ home office,

the project’s M&E team improved systems, built partner capacity, harmonized the Performance

Management Plan (PMP) with those of the other Trade Hubs, and implemented new procedures and

tools to make sure that we are capturing data accurately. With these improved processes in hand,

the M&E team was better able to ensure that our data were consistent with data quality criteria and

that we provided quick and accurate responses to ad-hoc requests for information from project

management and USAID.


Updated the project’s indicators database and contacts database. During FY16, as

part of our efforts to strengthen the project’s data collection systems, the M&E team

completed the transition to a Microsoft Access-based database. This indicator database

tracks all activity and all of the project data recorded in the Hub’s data collection tools, using

tool-specific forms that capture all desegregations (Feed the Future/non-Feed the Future,

sex, value chain, size and type of firm, etc.).

Revising the PMP. In early 2016, the Africa Bureau updated its harmonized indicators to

ensure uniformity across all three African Trade and Investment Hubs. The West Africa

Trade and Investment Hub PMP had to be revised accordingly to align with the harmonized

indicators. Our PMP contains plans for data collection, analysis, reporting, and use. The

methodology for data collection, analysis, and feedback clearly outlined in the PMP serves as

a critical management information system for both the project team and stakeholders. Our

updated PMP includes 26 indicators: 14 indicators common to all Trade Hubs and 12

indicators specific to the West Africa Trade and Investment Hub. Of these, 13 are output

indicators and 13 are outcome indicators. In addition, eight of our indicators are Feed the

Future indicators. As of the end of the fiscal year, the PMP will shortly be ready to be

resubmitted for USAID discussion and approval.

Updated project data collection tools. Based on changes to some indicator definitions

and some of the disaggregation and measurement methods outlined in the revised PMP, the

M&E team worked with component staff to review and update data collection tools. Project

partners such as Afrique Verte, the ACA, the GSA, RESIMAO, and the livestock fatteners’

networks are now using the 15 updated tools for their data collection efforts. Team

members such as the consultants who support our mango value chain activities are using

them as well.

Engaged partners in meeting data quality requirements. Afrique Verte, COFENABVI,

the GSA, the ACA, the EAA, the livestock fatteners’ networks and ATRCs are key sources

of Hub data. These partners provide monthly reports on transactions executed by their

supported associations and members. The project’s M&E team and technical staff then

collect quarterly data in the value chains and countries that are not covered by our partners.



Updated the project’s indicators database and contacts database

The M&E team finalized the transition of the database system to a Microsoft Access-based database.

The updated system allows the M&E team to quickly access up-to-date information on all project’s

indicators and to store data in a more organized and secure way. The Microsoft Access-based

system makes it easier to continuously update tables of performance results data by project

component and value chain. It provides updates and feedback for each Hub component and to

project management on results for key indicators related to sales, exports, jobs, and investments—

the topics of most of the ad-hoc requests for information from USAID.

Revised the project’s PMP and data collection tools

The Hub’s M&E team modified the project’s PMP to align it with the harmonized Trade Hub

indicators and the lessons learned from the 2015 and 2016 data quality assessments (DQAs). We did

this work in coordination with the USAID Management Support and Technical Assistance Services

project, which was tasked with harmonizing the PMPs for all three Trade Hubs, and with the support

of Abt Associates’ home office staff. Major changes to the Hub’s PMP include the following:

Changed Indicator #1 to read: “Value of exports of targeted non-agricultural and agricultural

commodities from Hub-supported firms/association/entities” instead of “Change in value of

trade in targeted non-agricultural and ag commodities.”

Removed former Indicator #4: “Value of new sales of assisted firms/members of associations

due to USG assistance” from the indicators common to all Trade Hubs. This remains a

WATIH-specific indicator, however. It is now Indicator #15.

Changed former Indicator #15 “Creation of jobs in project-assisted firms” to the list of

indicators common to all Trade Hubs, whereas it was previously a WATIH-specific

indicator. It is now Indicator #4.

Updated the results framework, logic models, and narratives to reflect the changes in the

harmonized PMP and current M&E data collection procedures.

Added five context indicators to provide data on the environment in which all three Trade

Hubs work, even though they are not directly attributable to the Trade Hubs’ work.

The M&E team also revised the key data collection tools to be more in line with the revised PMP

changes in the indicator definitions and the data disaggregation.

Finally, based on discussions regarding the FY 17 Work Plan, the project will be revising and focusing

its indicators and targets for the time and cost indicators (#12 and #13).

Conducted follow-up visits to collect data on major global and regional value chain

activities

During the reporting period, the M&E team led and supervised field data collection. This included

on-the-spot data verification of major data collection activities such as the cereals exchanges in

Dakar and Abidjan, Operation Tabaski 2016 in Côte d’Ivoire, the OCA exercises with five project

partners and follow-up data collection for mango value chain activities in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire,

Ghana, and Senegal. Those activities permitted us to address all on-the-ground issues that could

affect data quality before data leave the field and to ensure that data is of the right quality in the field

before it is entered into the database for reporting.


P

hoto

: Je

ssie

Laf

ourc

ade,

Tra

de H

ub

Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist at the Hub, Massamba Dieng, took the 30 data collectors for the

2016 Tabaski Operation in Côte d’Ivoire through methods and tools for collecting accurate and relevant data on

August 23, 2016 training workshop in Abidjan.

Cooperated with USAID on a data quality assessment of Indicators #12 and #13

The Africa Competitiveness and Trade Expansion (ACTE) initiative’s DQA team worked with our

M&E team to conduct a DQA of two of the Hub’s major indicators: time and cost required to trade

goods across borders and along corridors as a result of Hub assistance (Indicator #12 and #13).

Provisional feedback received after the DQA showed that the Hub satisfied all of the major data

quality criteria (validity, reliability, precision, timeliness and integrity). The team also commended the

project for methodology we developed and used to collect data on these two indicators.

Monitored the 2016 time and cost survey

In FY15, the Hub contracted outside experts to complete a baseline study on Indicator #12 (time

required to trade goods across borders and along corridors as a result of Trade Hub assistance) and

#13 (cost to trade goods across borders and/or along corridors as a result of Trade Hub assistance).

This fiscal year, we hired a team to update the time and cost survey. The team included the specialist

who led the 2015 survey. The study’s scope was based on the same corridors as the baseline survey:

Ouagadougou–Abidjan, Ouagadougou–Tema, Bamako–Abidjan, and Bamako–Dakar. The 2016

update also took place during the same time of year as the baseline: July to September.

The surveyors targeted the most knowledgeable stakeholders (shippers, transporters, and freight

forwarders) and met with relevant national bodies, professional associations, and unions. They

interviewed approximately 100 organizational representatives and more than 170 additional

individuals, most of them face to face.

The Hub’s TTEE component leader and M&E team monitored the survey by ensuring that the team

followed the intended methodology and survey steps. As planned, the consultants gave a debriefing

on the findings of the update on the time and cost survey to the Hub and USAID on September 16,

2016. The project has analyzed the results and incorporated them in the indicator table in Annex A

and the summary indicator table in Chapter 1.

The study shows that Indicator #12 (time to trade) did not change significantly between 2015 and

2016. Indicator #13 (cost to trade) has slightly changed—either increasing or decreasing depending

on the value chain and corridor. The most significant cost decreases were along the Bamako–Abidjan

corridor, where costs fell by 4 to 12 percent, depending on the value chain, and along the Bamako–


Dakar corridor, where they fell by up to 12 percent depending on the value chain. The average

decrease in time to trade along all corridors for all value chains was 3.4 percent, while the average

decrease in cost to trade along all corridors for all value chains was 1 percent. These are less than the

Hub’s FY16 targets, which called for decreases of 5 percent decrease for both indicators.

The Hub is currently planning to revise the 2017 time and cost survey, for a number of reasons. The

TTEE team is spending more time working on Trade Africa support for the NTFCs, they need to

focus on some identified and very specific documentary barriers to trade that we have worked on in

the recent past, and we have reduced our TTEE staff. These factors have all led to the decision to

revise the time and cost survey to focus on establishing a time and cost baseline that is attributable

to the elimination of Certificate of Origin requirements and the mutual recognition of SPS and

veterinary certificates.

The TTEE team has successfully moved Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso to re-state and publicly

announce that—as agreed to in the harmonized ECOWAS regulations—Certificates of Origin are

unnecessary for fresh/raw products being traded regionally. Eliminating the need for traders to

spend the time and funds to obtain this unnecessary document will save funds across the spectrum

of commodities, not just in the project’s target value chains. Phytosanitary and veterinary certificates,

per ECOWAS harmonized regulations, should be mutually recognized across borders. In common

practice, however, all countries through which agricultural goods and livestock are being transported

generally require this documentation, causing traders to seek and pay for the same document more

than once. By obtaining countries’ agreement to honor the principles of mutual recognition that are

on the books, traders will save time and money. They will only have to obtain one original

phytosanitary or veterinary certificate for their commodity or livestock. The M&E team’s role in this

process is to conduct small surveys of traders in each country targeted for these efforts, to

determine the time and cost it typically takes to obtain such certificates so that the savings to

traders can be estimated and quantified.

Reinforced data collection requirements for partners

During the fiscal year, the M&E team worked to enhance the project’s own data collection by

engaging more closely with some of our data sources. The M&E team made three presentations to

participants during the cereals exchange in Abidjan, the Operation Tabaski 2016 data collection

training in Abidjan, and the ATRC meeting in Accra. The presentations emphasized the data quality

requirements for reporting to USAID, the central role played by data sources in the data collection

system, and the ways in which the data collection system put in place can support the partners’ own

future management and monitoring systems. We will reinforce this effort, in order to increase the

partners’ knowledge and awareness of the data collection and quality requirements and for better

collaboration during follow-up data collection.

Developed tools and indicator tables for partners

During FY16, the GSA and EAA used revised data collection tools in order to better capture the

impact of the activities they carried out with assistance from the project. The M&E team held a

number of meetings with the partners to discuss their individual grant indicators table and targets

and to go over the forms they need to fill out quarterly to follow up on grantee activities’ impact and

expected success stories. With GSA we discussed the 2016 African Cosmetics Exhibition at

ProBeauty in Johannesburg, made monitoring visits to shea warehouses, and resolved general M&E

issues related to data collection forms and the required supporting documents for grantee activities.

Compiled and posted training data on TraiNet

In compliance with USAID requirements, we entered data into the TraiNet database for all training

and capacity building activities that lasted for two or more days. The M&E team worked with


administrative staff and the project’s accounting teams in Accra and Ouagadougou to gather cost

information for each training and capacity building activity.


One significant challenge for the Hub’s monitoring and evaluation efforts this year was the frequent

changes in project indicators due to ongoing discussions with the USAID/Washington Trade Hub

Council about harmonizing indicators for all three Trade Hubs. The West Africa Trade and

Investment Hub worked with the Abt Associates home office to revise the PMP to align with the

harmonized indicators.

The main challenge affecting the project’s data collection and quality during FY16 was beneficiaries’

frequent unwillingness to share sensitive data and related supporting documentation. We

implemented the PMP’s mitigation strategy for addressing such challenges, and we will reinforce that

strategy moving forward. This consisted of talking with beneficiaries during major value chain events

to discuss the importance of sharing data on progress in project areas where they are involved. As

noted above, the Hub made three presentations during workshops to emphasize the importance of

collecting and recording this data. We noted that it is vital for efficient functioning of the

beneficiaries’ own associations and that it helps them to meet their objectives and receive

recognition for their progress. We also gave associations the opportunity to provide (as a last

resort) signatures to confirm data that they are not willing to share.


15. ADMINISTRATION AND

MANAGEMENT

During FY16, the Hub’s finance and administrative team met the challenges of organizing numerous

workshops and events in West Africa, training more than 3,600 participants throughout the region,

setting up a new office in Côte d’Ivoire, hiring 14 new staff in four countries (some of whom were

replacements for previous positions) and ensuring compliance with USAID rules and regulations.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS 15.1

Completed a rapid startup of a new office in Côte d’Ivoire to carry out the

Trade Africa program. Over a three-month period, we set up an office and hired six new

staff, enabling us to carry out 20 important activities and meet with approximately 100

government and private sector stakeholders during the six months that the Abidjan office

has been in place.

Accommodated the cost of the Trade Africa Expansion Program in Côte

d’Ivoire in the Hub budget without an increase of the project ceiling. After

receiving a request from USAID West Africa to establish a robust program of support for

Trade Africa, including a new office in Abidjan, we were able to adjust the Hub strategy and

budget to meet the needs of that program without increasing the ceiling.

Re-designed the project staffing plan and hired 14 new staff members. Some of

these staff members replace individuals who resigned, while others are filling new positions

that the Hub created in response to a changing landscape of priorities and value chain needs.

MAJOR ACTIVITIES 15.2

Following technical direction from USAID to implement expansion into Côte d’Ivoire to carry out

Trade Africa activities, we rapidly set up the Côte d’Ivoire office. After receiving final clearance from

USAID to proceed, we completed all mobilization tasks within three months. This included renting

and renovating the office space, purchasing equipment, opening a bank account, and transferring a

vehicle and equipment inherited from a former USAID project. We recruited most technical and

administrative staff in less than three months, put in place financial systems, and quickly trained the

Abidjan office’s finance and administrative staff on Abt Associates’ policies and procedures. Thanks

to our quick startup for the Côte d’Ivoire office, technical activities started promptly.

To respond to the multiple needs of the project, during FY16 we redesigned the Hub’s staffing plan.

This included changing the structure of the TTEE team to respond to a changed approach in the

TTEE component, which meant eliminating one TTEE position. The project now has two full-time

staff working on the TTEE component. In addition, we eliminated the MIS Specialist position since

most of the work related to MIS was completed during FY16. We then added a staff member to the

AGOA component (for a total of two) in response to increased interest in AGOA, and added a

Strategic Communications Specialist to accommodate the diverse needs of our communications

component. In June 2016, the former COP of the project retired and we began actively recruiting

for a replacement. The new COP, Carol Adoum, joined the team September 3, 2016 to oversee all

Hub activities in our four offices.

During this fiscal year, the project hired the following staff (broken down by the office where each is

headquartered):


Accra

A new COP to replace the previous COP, who retired June 17, 2016

An Activity Coordinator to serve as a liaison between the technical, administrative, and

finance teams

A new Senior M&E Advisor to replace the previous M&E Advisor, who resigned in January

2016

A Capacity Building and Training Specialist to support the added workload for the capacity

building team

A Senior AGOA specialist based in Accra to replace the previous specialist

A Strategic Communications Specialist to respond to the needs of the communications

component

A Finance and Investment Assistant to help with the administrative burden of the finance

and investment component

Côte d’Ivoire

A Program Manager to lead the Trade Africa Expansion Program

A Value Chain Specialist to work on the cashew, mango and shea value chains in Côte

d’Ivoire

A Finance and Investment Specialist to focus on finance and investment activities in Côte

d’Ivoire

A Finance and Administrative Manager

An Office Assistant

A Driver

Burkina Faso

A Finance and Administrative Manager who replaced the previous F&A Manager

An Accountant

Dakar

An AGOA Specialist to respond to the increasing interest in AGOA, replacing the previous

one who resigned in April 2016.

In addition, four technical staff resigned during the first quarter and beginning of the second quarter

of FY16 for several reasons, among which was uncertainty about whether Option Year Four would

be exercised. At the end of the second quarter, the project received a contract Modification from

USAID including exercising the Option Year Four.

During FY16, the Hub submitted a request for a contract modification to incorporate the Côte

d’Ivoire program into the budget and responded to several questions from USAID about the

realigned budget and contract modification. In addition, we worked with USAID on a contract

modification to revise specific contractual clauses to lessen the administrative burden of frequent

approval requests.

Following USAID’s approval to dispose of IT equipment and furniture, the project donated some of

this equipment to schools, contributed a vehicle to Borderless Alliance, and disposed of obsolete

and other unusable property.


16. CÔTE D’IVOIRE TRADE

AFRICA PROGRAM

In March 2016, the Hub rolled out a two-year program in Côte d’Ivoire to support President

Obama’s Trade Africa Initiative, which was expanded to Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Senegal in July

2015. The driving objective of Trade Africa is to increase trade and investment between West

Africa, the U.S., and other global markets and to help accelerate regional trade integration. The Côte

d’Ivoire Trade Africa program aims to increase trade and investment by helping the Ivorian

government improve the business enabling environment through four technical assistance areas: 1)

the World Trade Organization-Trade Facilitation Agreement (WTO-TFA), 2) sanitary and

phytosanitary (SPS) measures, 3) technical barriers to trade (TBT), and 4) trade and investment

promotion.

Following the technical directive provided by USAID for Côte d’Ivoire, the Hub developed a two-

year program that delivers targeted support in the first three technical assistance areas and an

extensive program of support in the fourth areas: trade and investment promotion. We also stand

ready to assist in other areas as needed. USAID’s technical directive explained that additional

activities and topics for the Trade Africa program will be defined in greater detail through dialogue

between the U.S. Government and the Government of Côte d’Ivoire. As requested in the directive,

the project will collaborate with the other Trade Africa implementers—the Leadership in Public

Financial Management Project II (LPFM II), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the

American National Standards Institute (ANSI)—as they roll out their activities.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS 16.1

Completed rapid mobilization in Abidjan to support the CDI Trade Africa

program. By the end of the Hub’s first six months in Côte d’Ivoire, we had: 1)

implemented a rapid start-up for our Abidjan office, 2) hired a team of five local experts and

field the expat Project Director (all reporting to the central Hub COP and administration in

Accra), 3) implemented more than 20 Trade Africa activities in Côte d’Ivoire, and 4)

promoted the Hub’s Trade Africa program across the government and private sector to

quickly identify partners and strategic entry points for project interventions in FY 2017.

Launched a year-long capacity building program to strengthen the

organizational capacity of Côte d’Ivoire’s National Trade Facilitation

Committee (NTFC). On September 7, 2016, the Hub launched a major capacity building

program to help the Ivorian NTFC effectively implement the WTO-TFA. The program will

extend over one year and will prepare the committee’s leadership to spearhead a successful

drive for full implementation of the WTO-TFA. Our efforts will help prepare the NTFC to

improve Côte d’Ivoire’s customs and border procedures, thus reducing inefficiencies and

time and cost to trade and accelerating the country’s global and regional trade integration.

Facilitated $1.2 million in mango exports through training programs on SPS

measures and better post-harvest handling for a larger producer-exporter and

an association of smaller producers and exporters. The Hub delivered training on

mango best practices for 210 value chain actors (130 harvesters and 80 technical managers

of pack houses). The trainings addressed both SPS and TBT measures, covering topics such

as avoiding contamination; correct timing of harvesting; combatting fruit flies; sorting and

grading; transporting mangoes to pack houses; ensuring hygiene at pack houses; and washing,

sorting, and packing.


Strengthened Côte d’Ivoire’s capacity to promote AGOA- and ETLS-eligible

exports. In June 2016, the Hub awarded APEX-CI, the Ivorian export promotion

association, a grant to fund the Ivorian ATRC. For one year, the ATRC will organize

trainings for hundreds of export-ready companies (ERCs) to build their capacity to export to

the U.S. market and within and outside the region. During FY16, about 50 companies

benefited from the Hub’s grant. Seven of them had the opportunity to profit from what they

had learned by attending the AfrICANDO expo in September 2016 (see box).

Facilitated $8.8 million in new investments

in the cashew and rice processing sectors.

Working through our Financial Advisors in Côte

d’Ivoire, the Hub delivered intermediation services

to bring together banks and companies. We helped

a large rice milling company acquire a $603,100

equipment lease to build capacity and improve

quality, and enabled a start-up cashew company to

make an $8.2 million investment to start the first

nut-to-shell value-added cashew company in West

Africa.

MAJOR ACTIVITIES 16.2

A fast start and a very robust program of activities during

the Hub’s first six months on the ground in Côte d’Ivoire characterized the period from March

through September 2016. Within the first three months, the Hub set up a fully operational office and

mobilized a team of local experts to support both Trade Africa and the project’s technical

components specific to Côte d’Ivoire. To ensure the efficiency and the effectiveness of program

implementation, we chose staff with USAID experience, knowledge of the target value chains, and in-

depth experience working with the Ivorian banking and the financial sector. During this six-month

timeframe, we carried out a total of 20 activities in Côte d’Ivoire, as shown in Table 26 and

described more fully in below. Most of these activities are covered more fully in other chapters of

this annual report; the last column in the table lists the chapters and sections containing those

activity descriptions.

One of the first orders of business after we received clearance to start our program in Côte d’Ivoire

was to establish—even before we had secured office space—a network of contacts from across the

government and the private sector. Our team engaged in more than100 meetings with these

contacts during the six months since our Ivorian operations have been in place. These contacts

enabled us to understand the country’s current business enabling environment as it relates to the

project’s mandate and identify strategic entry points and key stakeholders for FY17 technical

activities. Our goal was to establish a focused strategy for FY17 that aligns from day one with the

objectives of the Trade Africa program, by identifying the right entry points and the right partners

for our target value chains and technical areas.

AfrICANDO is an annual trade and

investment expo that aims to advance

economic and social development in

Africa. Hosted by the Foundation for

Democracy in Africa, AfrICANDO

2016 was held in Miami from

September 24-28 and attracted 11,000

producers, exporters, and buyers—

including 500 exhibitors—from more

than 94 countries. Seven Ivorian

producers of West African foods were

able to attend, all of whom had

benefited from the expertise of the

AGOA Trade Resource Center.


Table 26: Project Activities in Côte d'Ivoire, FY16

Trade Africa

Components

West Africa Trade and Investment Hub Component/Activity See

Report

Chapter

1. Trade Facilitation

Launched capacity building program for the Ivorian NTFC to improve WTO-

TFA implementation

2.2.5

Hosted “Fair on Enabling Environment for ETLS Food Crops” in Bouaké, the

main cereals market in Côte d’Ivoire

2.2.2

2. SPS Measures

Delivered training on best practices for producers, exporters and pack

houses

5.2

3. TBT Measures

As the WTO states, “The Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement

(TBT) tries to ensure that regulations, standards, testing and certification

procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles.” In FY16, the Hub’s main

effort in this area was to advocate for removal of Certificate of Origin (CO)

requirements for regional trade in raw agricultural products.

2.2

4. Export Promotion and Investment Promotion

Regional Value Chains Livestock and Cereals

Promoted the use of written contracts in livestock trade 3.2

Expanded markets for livestock trade during Operation Tabaski 2016 3.2

Assisted COFENABVI in organizing first regional livestock trade show in

Abidjan

3.2

Last stages of finalization of MIS platform for Abidjan-based COFENABVI 9.2

Organized cereals exchange to encourage more formal contracting and

transactions

4.2

Sponsored a training-of-trainers program on cereals contracting for WAGN

members

4.2

Global Value Chains (Apparel and Shea)

Conducted scoping mission to identify and assess promising apparel

companies

6.2

Initiated work with Côte d’Ivoire’s shea value chain association 12.2.1

AGOA

Revitalized and strengthened Côte d’Ivoire’s AGOA Trade Resource Center 10.2

12.2.2

Supported the Government of Côte d’Ivoire in development of a National

AGOA Strategy

10.2


Carried out demand-side finance and investment activities 11.2.1

Carried out supply-side finance and investment activities 11.2.2

Established a Gender Access to Finance program with a local bank, NSIA

Bank

11.2.2


16.2.1 TRADE FACILITATION

Launched capacity building program for the Ivorian NTFC to improve WTO-TFA

implementation

The purpose of the WTO-TFA is to expedite the movement, clearance, and release of goods,

including goods in transit, by promoting the modernization of customs’ informational infrastructure,

ensuring better information, and streamlining global and regional trade procedures by customs and

border authorities. NTFCs are at the center of the implementation of the TFA. They play a critical

role as the national focal point, with responsibilities that include collecting and disseminating

information and overseeing collaboration across the different government bodies that are involved in

and responsible for implementing TFA measures.

In FY16, the Hub launched a capacity building program to strengthen the Ivorian NTFC’s

organizational leadership, as this is vitally important for effective TFA implementation. Our program

began in March 2016 with an assessment of the status of Côte d’Ivoire’s TFA implementation. We

selected the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to deliver the

capacity building program. The first of a series of training workshops was held on September 7–8,

2016. The session hosted 43 public and private sector representatives, who were able to improve

their technical knowledge of TFA implementation, learn about best practices for well-functioning

NTFCs, and collaborate with the trainers to tailor subsequent trainings to the current capacity of

Côte d’Ivoire’s NTFC. Led by the TTEE team, the Hub’s NTFC capacity building program will

coordinate with USAID’s LPFM II project, whose objective is to work with and through the NTFC

to help Côte d’Ivoire implement nine articles of the TFA during FY17.

Hosted “Fair on Enabling Environment for ETLS Food Crops” in Bouaké, the main

cereals market in Côte d’Ivoire

The Hub hosted a “Fair on the Enabling Environment for ETLS Food Crops” at the cereals market in

Bouaké, one of the region’s most important market centers, from May 5 through 7. More than 80

traders, 40 of whom were women, received information packets and training on all documents

required for exports. The project team responded to questions from traders and transporters about

the purpose of each document, the agency or institution responsible for processing it, the costs

associated with various procedures, and specific instructions on how to properly fill out the

paperwork. Our goal was to arm participants with a clear understanding of export documentation

requirements in order to avoid unnecessary delays when crossing borders and—ultimately—to

reduce the time and cost of trading within the region. A wide range of Ivorian officials attended,

including representatives from Ivorian customs, the local police force, gendarmes, the Office for the

Commercialization of Foodstuffs (Office de Commercialisation des Produits Vivriers), and the Regional

Directorate of Support for Agricultural Development (Régionale d’Appui au Développement Agricole) of

Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Agriculture. Chapter 2 contains more details about this event.

16.2.2 SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES

With a total production estimated at over 120 tons per year, Côte d’Ivoire is the largest mango

producer in West Africa. It is also the third largest exporter to the EU after Peru and Brazil, and the

largest African mango exporter to the EU. In 2016, Côte d’Ivoire exported 30 tons, worth $40

million, to the EU. At the same time, the Ivorian mango sector is marked by the shortest harvesting

season in the region (April to June) and an even shorter export season that is regulated by the

Ministry of Agriculture to coincide with the beginning of the rainy season, which begins in June. The

purpose of the ministry’s regulation is to limit the risk of fruit fly proliferation into mangoes

exported to international markets. While Côte d’Ivoire has been experiencing impressive growth in

mango exports (20 to 50 percent per year for the last five years) the constraints mentioned above


create tremendous logistical, technical, and financial pressures at different steps of the value chain. In

some ways, this constrains the Ivorian mango sector from reaching its potential.

Our SPS interventions in FY16 not only helped improve Côte d’Ivoire’s leading mango producers

enhance food quality and safety and reduce post-harvest losses, but in doing so they also addressed

Trade Africa Area 4 (trade and investment promotion) by facilitating $1.2 million in additional mango

exports.

Delivered training on best practices for producers, exporters, and pack houses

We rolled out the Hub’s Trade Africa program in March 2016—only one month before the start of

the mango season. Within one month, we were able to establish a robust mango training program

that reached a total 200 mango harvesters and pack house managers to improve the quality of Côte

d’Ivoire’s exportable mangoes in 2016. In March and April, we mobilized our team of mango experts

for a scoping mission to understand the mango sector, identify strategic entry points, and seek out

potential partners. We completed the following:

Identified and signed letters of collaboration (LOCs) with Nembel Invest SA and the

Association Régionale des Exportateurs de Mangues de Côte d’Ivoire (AREXMA). Nembel is

the largest private producer and exporter of mangoes to the EU, and AREXMA is the largest

mango association, composed of a cluster of 13 producers and exporters.

Mobilized a robust 2016 training

program to improve skills and best

practices on SPS and TBT measures

and harvest and post-harvest

procedures. The training took place in

three locations, reached 14 producers

and exporters, and trained 200

individuals with each having a training

multiplier of 10, with an ultimate goal

of reaching a total of 2,100 harvesters

and pack house technicians in the

coming season. The trainings improved

the quality of exportable mangoes and

reduced losses of exportable mangoes

at harvest and post-harvest stages for

those producers reached this year.

The trainings addressed technical

issues in contamination, fruit flies,

sorting and grading, transport to pack

houses, hygiene at pack houses,

washing, and packing. Our

interventions in FY16, while short in

duration, contributed to $1.2 million

in mango sales.

Developed a comprehensive mango strategy for FY17. The Hub’s FY16 mango operations

introduced us to the most important actors in the industry and expanded our knowledge of

the sector’s large economic potential, both for fresh mango exports and for a value-added

mango processing industry with market outlets in the U.S., the EU, and West Africa region.

We learned that Côte d’Ivoire’s lack of capacity to meet international SPS measures

constitutes the largest constraint to realizing larger international exports.

At Nembel’s pack house, Souleymane Bassoum explains to

the Hub’s and USAID/West Africa how mangoes showing

traces of fruit fly bites are identified and removed from the

conveyer belt during the pack house triage phase. Fruit flies

are classified as quarantine insects and the detection of a

single infested mango in the EU has the potential to

jeopardize many tons of mango exports. Fruit flies pose

enormous risks to mango exports in Côte d’Ivoire, as they

do in all mango-producing countries in the region.


The project’s plan for FY17 will help boost Côte d’Ivoire’s fresh and processed mango

exports to the EU and to new markets, including the U.S and the region. Our FY17 strategy

will be organized around three axes: (1) multiply the Hub’s SPS and best practice trainings

through cascade training, partnerships and cost-share mechanisms with additional mango

producers, exporters, and cooperatives we identified during FY16; (2) nudge and facilitate

partnerships between government agricultural organizations, agricultural universities, and the

private sector to sustain the Hub’s training programs after the project ends; and 3) facilitate

and channel finance for mango production, processing and export.

16.2.3 EXPORT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION

16.2.3.1 Regional Value Chains (Livestock and Cereals)

Promoted the use of written contracts in livestock trade

The project worked with key traders from both Mali and Côte d’Ivoire to promote the use of

written contracts and weighing scales in regional transactions. These activities are based on research

completed along the Bamako–Abidjan corridor that shows increasing demand for fattened beef

generally and an increased willingness by larger wholesale establishments in the Abidjan market to

enter into medium-term commercial commitments. The Hub facilitated two test contracts during

the fiscal year: the first analyzed the actual returns to buyer and seller from a transaction of “live-

weight” vs. slaughtered meat. The second contract used scales at both loading and discharge to

confirm the weight of the animals as the basis for an agreed-upon price to be paid. These efforts will

continue as examples of best practices to be adopted by more traders in both markets. Chapter 3

describes this activity more fully.

Expanded markets for livestock trade

during Operation Tabaski 2016

The Hub’s expanded Operation Tabaski

2016 program focused on the Côte d’Ivoire

market. Sales from this activity this year

totaled $12 million, 76 percent of which

was for small ruminants and 24 percent for

cattle. These sales were due to new

commercial relationships we helped

establish, as sellers directly transported and

marketed livestock to new markets around

the country, without passing through

Abidjan (which had been the historical

practice).

We made two major changes in this year’s Operation Tabaski: 1) working with both the Malian and

Burkinabé livestock federations (the 2015 program worked only with the Malian federation); and 2)

adding four new points of sale within Côte d’Ivoire, outside of the capital city. Working with the

Ivorian federation, we established multiple new sales points throughout the country and met with

local political authorities and traders in each location to agree on the elements of the collaboration.

We facilitated a trade mission for Burkinabé traders so they could meet their counterparts in the

soon-to-be-established sales points within Côte d’Ivoire. The Hub also supported a strategic planning

session with traders from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Côte d’Ivoire to agree upon initial shipments

during the week prior to the holiday. Chapter 3 contains more information about our Operation

Tabaski 2016 activities.

A buyer and seller negotiating the price of a sheep during

Operation Tabaski sales at the market in Man.


Assisted COFENABVI in organizing first regional livestock trade show in Abidjan

As described more fully in Chapter 3, Hub staff provided significant technical and financial support to

help the regional livestock confederation, COFENABVI, plan and hold the first regional livestock

trade show, the Salon International Bétail-Viande de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (SIBVAO). This first show took

place in Abidjan, where COFENABVI is based. It brought together 4,000 visitors to create linkages,

develop synergy among livestock stakeholders, and create more visibility for the sector. The project

supported the release of a public tender for a marketing and communications company, while

COFENABVI handled logistics for this event. Livestock federations from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte

d’Ivoire, Mali, and Niger brought thousands of animals to the fair, where there were ample

opportunities for buyers and sellers to make connections and establish market relationships. Despite

some challenges (including the Nigerien federation and its animals not being able to arrive until the

fourth day, due to challenges en route), the event was very successful. A second regional livestock

trade show is planned for 2018 with countries vying to be the hosting location.

Finalized the MIS platform for the Abidjan-based COFENABVI

The Hub awarded a subcontract to

the Ghanaian firm Image-AD to

develop a new MIS platform for the

livestock regional value chain. The

contractor worked closely with

COFENABVI to ensure that

management of this platform can be

taken over in the medium term. Once

the platform was built and tested,

Image-AD trained 125 national

administrators and staff, who then

conducted cascade trainings for the

data collectors responsible for

providing information for the new

platform. One of these cascade

trainings took place in Abidjan for

representatives of the Ivorian livestock federation. The Internet site for the platform is open and

available in both English and French; the official launch will take place before the end of calendar year

2016. More information about this activity is presented in Chapter 9.

Organized a cereals exchange in Côte d’Ivoire to encourage more formal contracting and

transactions

As described in more detail in Chapter 4, the Hub carried out a regional cereals exchange in Abidjan

in July 2016—the fourth in a series that started in July 2015. More than 100 cereals value chain

actors from nine countries attended. The project’s strategy for these events was to stimulate

changes in cereals contracting behavior by providing opportunities for participants to have repeated

opportunities to interact and negotiate contracts. Understood in this way, the impact of one

exchange as a stand-alone event would be less than the impact of multiple events over a longer

period of time. Approximately 80 percent of the participations at the final exchange in Côte d’Ivoire

had attended all the previous exchanges. This was a deliberate decision on our part, as we aimed to

increase the regularity of business negotiation opportunities, with the expectation that further

contacts would be made and transactions negotiated outside of these events as part of regular

commerce. Participants at these events signed more than 100 contracts. We coordinated with

WAGN and Afrique Verte and are continuing to follow up to track actual execution of these

transactions. Future events will be mainly organized by WAGN and Afrique Verte as they take over

the local management of this activity.

H.E.M. Aloua Moussa, Ambassador of Niger, and his wife attended

Niger Day during SIBVAO 2016, after the arrival of the Nigerien

delegation.


Sponsored a training-of-trainers program on cereals contracting for WAGN members

WAGN has been a critical partner in the cereals exchanges and contracting workshops organized by

the Hub. As described in Chapter 4, following these activities, WAGN asked for help to strengthen

its member services by disseminating the knowledge and practices more widely in its member

countries. The project hired a specialist to develop a TOT program, prepare a training manual, and

deliver training to 18 cereals actors—two from each of WAGN’s nine members. The trainers were

active traders with a certain level of education and a sense of enthusiasm for sharing their

knowledge. During the TOT workshop in Abidjan from August 16–18, 2016, the participants

received the written tools and concepts they will need to organize cascade trainings in their home

countries for their own association members. The project will partially support the follow-up

cascade workshops to take place in each country.

16.2.3.2 Global Value Chains (Apparel and Shea)

Conducted scoping mission to identify and assess promising apparel companies

The Ivorian apparel landscape can be described as out of date, with a large number of small artisanal

apparel manufacturing companies that do not have the minimum production capacity or quality

required to play in the global market space. Furthermore, both the private and government sectors

have little understanding of the differences in the characteristics of a mass-producing apparel

industry set up for mass exports and the current state of the Ivorian apparel sector. In 2014, the

Ivorian government selected the apparel and textile sector as a priority manufacturing sector for

increasing the country’s exports, but the sector still suffers from a lack of basic infrastructure,

including affordable access to raw materials, availability of apparel training centers, access to a free

zone, and a financial system prepared to invest in the apparel sector. As we did in the mango sector,

the Hub quickly analyzed the characteristics of the Ivorian apparel industry to better understand the

constraints limiting its growth and to identify entry points that will enable us to provide the industry

with the highest return on its resources and energy targeted to the export market.

In June 2016, the Hub conducted its first apparel scoping mission in Côte d’Ivoire. Our Apparel

Sector Specialist and a technical expert visited and assessed 16 apparel companies. Only two met the

minimum standards for quality, production capacity, space, and machinery needed to qualify for

project assistance in upgrading operations and systems to meet international standards and secure

test orders. To receive support, the companies need to be in a strong enough position that we

would be able to facilitate long-term contracts (and ideally exports under AGOA) within our two-

year Côte d’Ivoire Trade Africa mandate.

Following this scoping mission, we developed a plan for FY17 that includes the following measures:

Selection of O’sey, an Ivorian apparel company with a regional presence, to receive technical

support in FY17. The Hub will assist O’sey in setting up its factory layout and plant for

acceptable efficiency standards, meeting international quality requirements, and managing

production and skills training. We will also help the firm with buyer-seller connections to

identify potential buyers for test orders and long-term contracts.

Identification of a number of apparel companies to pair with the Hub’s Financial Advisors,

who can assist them in accessing finance.

A partnership with the Ministry of Industry to organize an AGOA and apparel workshop to

take place during a two-day textile and apparel conference in April 2017.


Initiated work with Côte d’Ivoire’s shea value chain association

As described more fully in Chapter 12, the project facilitated a participatory organizational capacity

assessment exercise for the Filière Karité de Côte d’Ivoire (FIKA-CI), which represents the shea value

chain in six out of Côte d’Ivoire’s nine shea production zones. It is at an early stage, classified as an

“emerging” organization, with a wide range of capacity needs. The Hub is developing a plan now to

strengthen FIKA-CI in targeted areas, such as access to finance, financial sustainability, development

of member benefits, mobilization of internal resources and diversification of funding, and

communications and marketing. Our capacity building support will help FIKA-CI increase the value it

provides to its members, while also supporting the Government of Côte d’Ivoire’s national export

strategy, which highlights shea as a target value chain.

16.2.3.3 AGOA

Revitalized and strengthened Côte d’Ivoire’s AGOA Trade Resource Center

To increase AGOA utilization in Côte d’Ivoire, in June 2016, the project approved a one-year grant

for the Association pour la Promotion des Exportations de Côte d’Ivoire APEX-CI, which houses the

country’s AGOA Trade Resource Center (ATRC). The grant will help the ATRC deliver training and

assistance to Ivorian enterprises to build their capacity to export to the U.S. and regionally. To date,

the ATRC has hosted five workshops for a total of 50 companies, covering the following topics:

How to leverage trade shows as a sales prospecting tool, September 8, 2016. The training

provided guidance to seven Ivorian companies attending the AfrICANDO expo in Miami

September 24–28. The companies learned practical tips for attending trade shows, including

marketing strategies, packaging, samples, booth displays, and media-friendly communications.

Food safety systems—Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), July 26, 2016.

How to acquire new clients and develop distribution channels through internet and social media, July

19, 2016.

Two trainings on AGOA documentation, opportunities and requirements, June 28 and July 12.

Supported the Government of Côte d’Ivoire’s efforts to develop a National AGOA

Strategy

On August 19, 2016, the Hub entered into a tripartite agreement with the African Development

Bank (AfDB) and the Ministry of Commerce to collaborate on the development of a National

AGOA Strategy. Over a period of three months, we will work jointly to identify three Ivorian

economic sectors with high economic impact and with the greatest potential to benefit from AGOA.

The strategy will produce a five-year action plan to improve capacity, infrastructure, and the business

enabling environment for the selected sectors.

Two sectors have already been selected: apparel, and agribusiness food processing. The Hub’s role

during the development of the strategy is to provide guidance and technical direction and to

organize three stakeholder workshops for key influencers from the private sector and the

government—one for each of the selected industries. The purpose of the workshops will be to

review the main elements of the National AGOA Strategy. The first workshop will take place

October 18–19 in Abidjan. The strategy is scheduled to be released before December 2016, with

the rollout of an action plan that will be communicated through a national conference.

16.2.3.4 Finance and Investment

As described in much more detail in Chapter 11 of this report, in FY16 the Hub facilitated $8.8

million in financial transactions in FY16 by carrying out both demand-side and supply-side interventions

to increase access to finance. The demand for financial services comes from agribusinesses in search


of financing to grow their businesses; therefore, our demand-side activities directly support these

firms. The supply of financial services comes from financial institutions seeking to expand and

diversify their portfolios, so supply-side activities involve our working directly with financial

institutions.

During our first six months under the Trade Africa program in Côte d’Ivoire, we built our approach

and finalized the details of our finance and investment strategy. We both strengthened the demand

side of our approach and created our supply-side work in Côte d’Ivoire to increase the number of

deals and stimulate the banking and financial sector’s appetite for investment in the Hub’s target

value chains.

Carried out demand-side finance and investment activities

Expanded the Hub’s network of Financial

Advisors in Côte d’Ivoire to a total of five. In

addition, the project’s best-performing Ghanaian

Financial Advisor will add a regional office in

Côte d’Ivoire to support the project’s activities

in FY17.

Created a database of more than 100 companies

looking for healthy opportunities for financing

that can be supported through our network of

Financial Advisors. The database also provided

us with the invitation list for a finance and

investment business-to-business (B2B) workshop

we organized in September 2016. Out of the 100

companies, we visited and pre-assessed 31. We

then selected 23 to introduce to the Hub’s

Financial Advisors and to invite to the B2B event.

Hosted a finance and investment B2B workshop on September 22 to build linkages between

three financial institutions, five Financial Advisors, and 23 companies in search of investment

to grow their companies and exports. The financial transactions discussed during the B2B

event have the potential to generate $20 million.

Carried out supply-side finance and investment activities

The table below summarizes the main activities the Hub implemented on the supply side of financial

services.

Table 27: Finance and Investment Activities, Côte d'Ivoire

Strategy Partner Activity Results to Date Feb. 2018

Targets ($)

Supply-Side Activities

Collaboration with

a regional bank to

facilitate DCA use

Coris Bank: Côte

d’Ivoire

Technical assistance and training on

Hub value chains and DCA utilization

and structure

Just starting

DCA to start in

November 2016

3 million

Collaboration with

impact lender to

facilitate DCA use

Oikocredit:

regional, including

Côte d’Ivoire

Technical assistance and training on

Hub value chains and DCA utilization

and structure

Just starting

DCA to start in

October 2016

1.5 million

Gender Access to

Finance

NSIA Bank: Côte

d’Ivoire

Strategy development, product

development technical assistance and

training with NSIA

Launching in

Oct.–Nov. 2016

0.5 million

(25 loans)

Cumulative Investment Target Totals (Supply-Side) $ 5 million

Jacques Memel, Development Manager at

CODITRANS, exhorts banks to find flexible

solutions to respond to Ivorian companies’

financial needs, during the Hub’s September

22, 2016, finance and investment B2B

workshop in Abidjan.


Established a Gender Access to Finance program with a local bank, NSIA Bank

In November 2015, a joint team of staff from the project’s investment and finance, capacity building,

and gender components conducted an assessment of the needs of women-owned businesses in Côte

d’Ivoire. The needs assessment identified the specific constraints Ivorian women-owned SMEs face

when trying to access financing and assessed potential partners—both financial institutions and

producer organizations—to help implement a Gender Access to Finance Strategy in Côte d’Ivoire.

The team met with microfinance institutions (Advans, Celpaid, Coopec, and Raouda), business

support organizations, producer associations, and some individual women-owned businesses in and

around Abidjan, Bouaké, Korhogo, and Yamoussoukro. During the discussions, we identified a

number of significant challenges:

Rigid processes and documentation and guarantee requirements by financial institutions

Inflexible payment terms—unreasonable grace periods between loan disbursement and

commencement of loan repayment, unreasonably short loans terms that do not conform to

time needed for producers’ activities to generate revenues

High interest rates

Limited knowledge of the agricultural sector among financial institutions

Informal nature of businesses

Limited financial management skills of women business owners

Lack of guarantees from borrowers to secure loans

Drawing on the information gathered during these meetings and on financial information from the

microfinance institutions, we determined that it would be difficult to find a microfinance institution

to work with, without bringing a credit line, which is not in the Hub’s tool box. The project did find

a willing bank and brokered a deal with NSIA Bank, which is eager to develop its services to better

serve businesswomen. Chapter 11 contains more information about this activity.


The Hub rolled out the Trade Africa program in the middle of 2016, and given that much of the

learning relating to success of elements of the overall Hub strategy had already been achieved,

adjustments that were being identified and carried out in the rest of the Hub activities were

implemented immediately in Côte d’Ivoire.


ANNEX A: PROJECT PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

INDICATOR AND

DISAGGREGATIONS BASELINE

FY16

TARGET

(Oct 2015 -

Sep 2016)

FY16

RESULTS

(Oct 2015 -

Sep 2016)

FY14-FY16

CUMULATIVE TARGET

(Mar 2014 -

Sep 2016)

FY14-FY16

CUMULATIVE RESULTS

(Mar 2014 -

Sep 2016)

FY17

TARGET (12 Months)

(Oct 2016 -

Sep 2017)

FY18

TARGET (3 Months)

Assumes Close

Out Dec 2017

(Oct 2017 - Feb 2018)

FY17-18

TARGET (15 Months)

Assumes Close

Out Dec 2017

(Oct 2016 - Feb 2018)

FY 14-18

CUMULATIVE TARGET

(Mar 2014 -

Feb 2018)

ORIGINAL

FY14-FY18 CUMULATIVE

TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Feb 2018)

INDICATORS COMMON TO ALL TRADE HUBS

Development Objective: Expanded Trade and Investment

1

Value of exports in targeted non-agricultural and agricultural commodities from Hub-supported firms/associations/entities

Total target All

$0

$42,500,000 $33,567,200 $ 68,000,000 $88,627,172 $40,000,000 $11,000,000 $51,000,000 $119,000,000 $119,000,000

FTF Value chains All $29,750,000 $19,712,979 $51,000,000 $64,142,335 $20,000,000 $4,000,000 $24,000,000 $75,000,000 $86,700,000

Non-FTF Value

Chains All $12,750,000 $13,854,221 $17,000,000 $24,484,837 $20,000,000 $7,000,000 $27,000,000 $44,000,000 $32,300,000

2

Value of new private sector investment in the agricultural sector or food chain leveraged by USAID implementation (FTF 4.5.5-38)

Total target All

$0

$31,500,000 $18,093,077 $50,000,000 $19,046,559 $36,000,000 $5,000,000 $41,000,000 $ 60,046,559 $80,000,000

Women Only $4,725,000 $4,307,193 $7,500,000 $5,193,838 $5,500,000 $1,250,000 $6,750,000 $11,943,838 $12,000,000

FTF Value chains All $12,600,000 $1,745,570 $20,500,000 $2,632,216 $18,000,000 $3,000,000 $21,000,000 $23,632,216 $32,500,000

Women Only $1,890,000 $805,078 $3,075,000 $1,691,723 $1,500,000 $750,000 $2,250,000 $3,941,723 $4,875,000

Non-FTF Value

Chains

All $18,900,000 $16,347,507 $29,500,000 $16,414,343 $18,000,000 $2,000,000 $20,000,000 $36,414,343 $47,500,000

Women Only $2,835,000 $3,502,115 $4,425,000 $3,502,115 $4,000,000 $500,000 $4,500,000 $8,002,115 $7,125,000

3

Value of new private sector investment in non-agricultural targeted sectors leveraged by USAID implementation

Total target All

$0 $3,500,000 $12,000 $3,500,000 $312,000 $2,000,000 $500,000 $2,500,000 $2,812,000 $3,700,000

Women Only $300,000 $12,000 $525,000 $312,000 $0 $0 $0 $ 312,000 $442,500

4

Number of jobs created with USG assistance (Cumulative Indicator)

Total target All

0

12,000 8,395 12,000 13,905 17,000 18,250 18,250 18,250 18,250

Women Only 1,800 3,643 1,800 6,883 2,250 2,525 2,525 2,525 2,525

Continuing All 6,000 2,466 6,000 7,976 12,000 17,000 17,000 17,000 17,000

New All 6,000 5,929 6,000 5,929 5,000 1,250 6,250 6,250 5,000


INDICATOR AND


FY16

TARGET

(Oct 2015 -

Sep 2016)

FY16

RESULTS

(Oct 2015 -

Sep 2016)

FY14-FY16

CUMULATIVE TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Sep 2016)

FY14-FY16

CUMULATIVE RESULTS

(Mar 2014 - Sep 2016)

FY17

TARGET (12 Months)

(Oct 2016 - Sep 2017)

FY18

TARGET (3 Months)

Assumes Close Out Dec 2017

(Oct 2017 - Feb 2018)

FY17-18

TARGET (15 Months)


(Oct 2016 - Feb 2018)

FY 14-18

CUMULATIVE TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Feb 2018)

ORIGINAL


TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Feb 2018)

5

Number of firms/associations that are more profitable due to USG assistance (FTF 4.5.2-43)

Total Target All 0

50 33 80 33 30 8 38 71 118

Women Only 10 7 16 7 6 2 8 15 24

Intermediate Result 1: Increased capacity of targeted ag sector entities to trade

6

Number of farmers and other agricultural sector entities who have applied new technologies or management practices as a result of USG assistance (FTF 4.5.2-5)

Total Target All

0

140 851 260 982 80 20 100 360 360

Women Only 70 81 130 101 40 10 50 180 180

FTF Value chains All 56 199 104 224 32 8 40 144 144

Women Only 28 64 52 71 16 4 20 72 72

Non-FTF Value

Chains

All 84 652 156 758 48 12 60 216 216

Women Only 42 17 78 30 24 6 30 108 108

7

Number of buyer/seller linkages established in targeted agricultural sectors as a result of Trade Hub assistance

Total target All

0

150 1,279 168 1,382 100 25 125 293 293

Women Only 30 977 37 995 15 4 19 56 56


Women Only 22 106 25 124 11 3 14 39 39

Non-FTF Value Chains

All 40 1,037 50 1,043 25 6 31 81 81

Women Only 8 871 12 871 4 1 5 17 17

8

Number of assisted agricultural sector firms/farmers meeting international grades and standards to export

Total target All

0

500 692 620 1394 400 100 500 1,120 1,120

Women Only 75 5 135 123 60 15 75 210 210


Women Only 22 0 46 4 18 5 23 69 69

Non-FTF Value

Chains

All 350 692 422 1369 280 70 350 772 772

Women Only 53 5 89 119 42 11 53 142 142


INDICATOR AND


FY16

TARGET

(Oct 2015 -

Sep 2016)

FY16

RESULTS

(Oct 2015 -

Sep 2016)

FY14-FY16

CUMULATIVE TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Sep 2016)

FY14-FY16

CUMULATIVE RESULTS

(Mar 2014 - Sep 2016)

FY17

TARGET (12 Months)

(Oct 2016 - Sep 2017)

FY18

TARGET (3 Months)


(Oct 2017 - Feb 2018)

FY17-18

TARGET (15 Months)


(Oct 2016 - Feb 2018)

FY 14-18

CUMULATIVE TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Feb 2018)

ORIGINAL


TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Feb 2018)

Intermediate Result 2: Increased capacity of targeted non ag firms and associations to trade

9

Number of non-agricultural firms who have applied new technologies or management practices as a result of USG assistance

Total target All

0 5 3 8 5 4 1 5 13 13

Women Only 3 2 4 2 2 0 2 6 6

10

Number of buyer/seller linkages established in targeted non-agricultural sectors as a result of Trade Hub assistance

Total target All

0 3 101 5 106 100 10 110 216 8

Women Only 1 36 2 37 40 2 42 79 3

11

Number of assisted non-agricultural sector firms meeting international grades and standards to export

Total target All

0 5 2 8 4 4 1 5 13 13

Women Only 3 1 4 2 2 0 2 6 6

Intermediate Objective 2: Improved regional trade and investment enabling environment

Intermediate Result 3: More efficient/cost effective movement of traded goods across borders

12

Time required to trade goods across borders and along corridors as a result of Trade Hub assistance (F 4.2.1-1)

Cattle

Tema-Ouagadougou 1.8 days

-5%

1.72 -4.4%

-5%

-4.4%

To be determined, based on survey of cost and time to obtain certificates of origin, phytosanitary certificates, and veterinary

certificates

-10%

Bamako-Abidjan 2.3 days 2.30 0.0% 0.0%

Bamako-Dakar 2.9 days 3.02 4.1% 4.1%

Small

Ruminant

Tema-Ouagadougou 1.8 days 1.70 -5.6% -5.6%

Bamako-Abidjan 2.3 days 2.30 0.0% 0.0%


Millet/

Sorghum

Bamako-Abidjan 4.3 days 4.25 -1.2% -1.2%


Maize

Tema-Ouagadougou 3.5 days 1.50 -57.1% -57.1%

Bamako-Abidjan 4.3 days 4.25 -1.2% -1.2%


Average 3.0 days 2.86 -3.9% -3.9%


INDICATOR AND


FY16

TARGET

(Oct 2015 -

Sep 2016)

FY16

RESULTS

(Oct 2015 -

Sep 2016)

FY14-FY16

CUMULATIVE TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Sep 2016)

FY14-FY16

CUMULATIVE RESULTS

(Mar 2014 - Sep 2016)

FY17

TARGET (12 Months)

(Oct 2016 - Sep 2017)

FY18

TARGET (3 Months)


(Oct 2017 - Feb 2018)

FY17-18

TARGET (15 Months)


(Oct 2016 - Feb 2018)

FY 14-18

CUMULATIVE TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Feb 2018)

ORIGINAL


TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Feb 2018)

13

Cost to trade goods across borders and/or along corridors as a result of Trade Hub assistance

Cattle

Tema-Ouagadougou $44 /head

-5%

$47 7%

-5%

7%

To be determined, based on survey of cost and time to obtain certificates of origin, phytosanitary certificates, and veterinary

certificates

-10%

Bamako-Abidjan $54 /head $52 -4% -4%

Bamako-Dakar $57 /head $50 -12% -12%

Small Ruminant

Tema-Ouagadougou $10 /head $11 10% 10%

Bamako-Abidjan $10 /head $10 -3% -3%

Bamako-Dakar $13 /head $13 0% 0%

Millet/ Sorghum

Bamako-Abidjan $79 / MT $70 -11% -11%

Bamako-Dakar $38 / MT $42 11% 11%

Maize

Tema-Ouagadougou $50 / MT $48 -4% -4%

Bamako-Abidjan $79 / MT $70 -11% -11%

Bamako-Dakar $44 / MT $46 5% 5%

Average $43 $42 -4% -4%

Intermediate Result 4: Regional trade and investment agreements and their support institutions advanced

14

Number of reforms / policies / regulations / administrative procedures in each of the five stages of development (FTF 4.5.1-24)

Total 0 12 8 19 16 5 2 7 23 38

Stage1: Analyzed 0 5 4 6 7 0 0 - 7 15

Stage 2: Drafted and presented for

public/stakeholder consultation 0 3 0 4 - 3 1 4 4 11

Stage 3: Presented for legislation/decree

0 2 0 3 1 0 1 1 2 7

Stage 4: Passed/approved 0 1 1 3 2 1 0 1 3 4

Stage 5: Passed for which

implementation has begun 0 1 3 3 6 1 0 1 7 3






INDICATOR AND


FY16

TARGET

(Oct 2015 -

Sep 2016)

FY16

RESULTS

(Oct 2015 -

Sep 2016)

FY14-FY16

CUMULATIVE TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Sep 2016)

FY14-FY16

CUMULATIVE RESULTS

(Mar 2014 - Sep 2016)

FY17

TARGET (12 Months)

(Oct 2016 - Sep 2017)

FY18

TARGET (3 Months)


(Oct 2017 - Feb 2018)

FY17-18

TARGET (15 Months)


(Oct 2016 - Feb 2018)

FY 14-18

CUMULATIVE TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Feb 2018)

ORIGINAL


TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Feb 2018)


15

Value of new sales of assisted firms/members of associations due to USG assistance

Total target All

$0

$50,000,000 $ 49,412,364 $ 80,000,000 $107,311,091 $ 50,000,000 $10,000,000 $60,000,000 $140,000,000 $140,000,000

FTF Value chains All $35,000,000 $31,535,618 $60,000,000 $76,625,071 $ 35,000,000 $7,000,000 $42,000,000 $102,000,000 $102,000,000


All $15,000,000 $17,876,746 $20,000,000 $30,686,020 $15,000,000 $3,000,000 $18,000,000 $38,000,000 $38,000,000

16

Number of private enterprises, producers organizations, water users associations, women’s groups, trade and business associations receiving USG assistance (Cumulative Indicator)

Total target All

0

220 498 220 773 320 345 345 345 345

Women Only 88 154 88 227 128 138 138 138 138

Continuing All 120 216 120 216 220 320 320 320 245

New All 100 282 100 557 100 25 125 125 100

17

Score in percent of combined key areas of organization capacity amongst USG direct and indirect local implementing partners (CBLD-5, now archived)

RESIMAO

N/A

2.4

N/A

4.1 70%

60% 56%

Will improve capacity in areas targeted by 2016 OCA, however, per the PMP, the next OCA is in Year 5, so there are no targets for the work plan

period.

NA NA

COFENABVI 3 3.5 17%

WAGN 1 3.9 289%

Borderless 3.6 5.1 41%

ACA 4 5.3 32%

GSA 3.9 N/A

Average 2.8 (not incl.

GSA) 4.4 56%

18

Number of individuals who have received USG supported short-term agricultural sector productivity or food security training (FTF 4.5.2-7)

Total target All

0 600 1,137 640 2,152 400 100 500 1,140 1,140

Women Only 90 200 106 342 60 15 75 181 181

19

Number of participants in Trade Hub-supported capacity building events related to improving trade or attracting investment

Total target All

0 2,500 3,244 2,900 6,215 2,000 375 2,375 5,275 5,275

Women Only 625 971 785 1,639 500 94 594 1,379 1,379


INDICATOR AND


FY16

TARGET

(Oct 2015 -

Sep 2016)

FY16

RESULTS

(Oct 2015 -

Sep 2016)

FY14-FY16

CUMULATIVE TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Sep 2016)

FY14-FY16

CUMULATIVE RESULTS

(Mar 2014 - Sep 2016)

FY17

TARGET (12 Months)

(Oct 2016 - Sep 2017)

FY18

TARGET (3 Months)


(Oct 2017 - Feb 2018)

FY17-18

TARGET (15 Months)


(Oct 2016 - Feb 2018)

FY 14-18

CUMULATIVE TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Feb 2018)

ORIGINAL


TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Feb 2018)

20

Number of new dues paying members in private business associations as a results of USG assistance

Total target All

96 300 Not available.

Will be collected

FY17.

500 300 200 50 250 750 750

Women Only 100 160 50 100 25 125 285 285

21

Total number of users of new MIS services

Total target

N/A 0

40,000 11,969 40,000 20,189 8,000 3,000 11,000 31,189 87,500

FTF Value chains 30,000 11,969 30,000 20,189 6,000 2,500 8,500 28,689 65,625

Non-FTF Value

Chains 10,000 0 10,000 0 2,000 500 2,500 2,500 21,875

22

Value of new loans made to clients in targeted sectors (FTF 4.5.2-29) (Cumulative Indicator)

Total target All

$0

$10,000,000 $9,992,406 $20,000,000 $10,879,052 $25,200,000 $4,000,000 $29,200,000 $40,079,052 $43,250,000

Women Only $2,000,000 $866,888 $4,000,000 $1,753,534 $4,400,000 $1,000,000 $5,400,000 $7,153,534 $8,750,000

FTF Value Chains All $4,000,000 $1,618,644 $8,000,000 $2,505,290 $12,600,000 $2,400,000 $15,000,000 $17,505,290 $17,250,000

Women Only $1,000,000 $ 805,078 $2,000,000 $1,691,723 $1,200,000 $600,000 $1,800,000 $3,491,723 $4,250,000


All $6,000,000 $8,373,762 $12,000,000 $8,373,762 $12,600,000 $1,600,000 $14,200,000 $22,573,762 $26,000,000

Women Only $1,000,000 $ 61,811 $2,000,000 $61,811 $3,200,000 $400,000 $3,600,000 $3,661,811 $4,500,000

23

Number of MSMEs receiving business development services from USG assistance (FTF 4.5.2-37)

Total target All

0

40 179 110 249 50 15 65 314 194

Women Only 8 131 22 163 40 10 50 213 39

FTF Value Chains All 24 123 66 167 40 10 50 217 116


All 16 56 44 82 10 5 15 97 78

24

Number of firms in targeted sectors receiving loans from partner banks (FTF 4.5.2-30)

Total target All

0

25 25 60 28 40 10 50 78 70

Women Only 8 19 13 22 16 4 20 42 19

FTF Value Chains All 8 19 30 22 28 7 35 57 20

Women Only 5 17 7 20 13 2 15 35 8


All 17 6 30 6 12 3 15 21 50

Women Only 3 2 6 2 3 2 5 7 11


INDICATOR AND


FY16

TARGET

(Oct 2015 -

Sep 2016)

FY16

RESULTS

(Oct 2015 -

Sep 2016)

FY14-FY16

CUMULATIVE TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Sep 2016)

FY14-FY16

CUMULATIVE RESULTS

(Mar 2014 - Sep 2016)

FY17

TARGET (12 Months)

(Oct 2016 - Sep 2017)

FY18

TARGET (3 Months)


(Oct 2017 - Feb 2018)

FY17-18

TARGET (15 Months)


(Oct 2016 - Feb 2018)

FY 14-18

CUMULATIVE TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Feb 2018)

ORIGINAL


TARGET

(Mar 2014 - Feb 2018)

25 Number of actions (audit, reports, presentations, tools developed, etc.) taken to facilitate compliance of member states with ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme

Total target All 0 5 8 10 14 7 2 9 19 19

26

Number of individuals who have received USG trainings on trade and transport enabling environment

Total target All

0 50 347 90 423 60 10 70 160 160

Women Only 20 92 36 100 24 4 28 64 64

Context Indicators will be provided under separate cover.


ANNEX B: MEDIA COVERAGE,

ONLINE CAMPAIGNS, AND

VIDEO LINKS

Examples of television coverage, Hub online campaigns and video links:

Livestock Trader's Update on ETLS Required Documentation

ACA Training Workshop in Abidjan, May 2016

Atelier de formation des femmes transformatrices de céréales pour l'amélioration du commerce

SIBVAO coverage, video, Business 24

Examples of online coverage:

L’USAID soutient le commerce américano- burkinabè

L’USAID soutient le Centre de Ressources Commerciales (CRCA) dans la stimulation du commerce

entre le Burkina Faso et les Etats-Unis

Commerce entre le Burkina Faso et les Etats-Unis : L’USAID soutient le Centre de Ressources

Commerciales (CRCA)

L’USAID soutient le Centre de Ressources Commerciales en vue de stimuler le commerce entre la

Côte d’Ivoire et les Etats-Unis

USAID enhances West African export potential to US

USAID trade hub equips coordinators to boost businesses under AGOA

Une foire des formalités administratives d’exportation des produits vivriers à Bouaké

Lancement du programme pour le renforcement de capacité du CNFE

Programme de Renforcement des Capacités du Comité National de Facilitation des Echanges de

Cote d‘Ivoire

SIBVAO 2016 sample coverage:

SIBVAO 2016 : L’ANADER PARTAGE SON EXPERIENCE DE L’ENCADREMENT DES FILIERES DE

PRODUCTION ANIMALE

Filière Bétail-Viande : Abidjan abritera un salon international début septembre

SIBVAO : LE 1ER SALON DES BÉTAIL- VIANDE OUEST AFRICAIN LANCÉ

Lancement du Salon International Betail Viande de l'Afrique de l'Ouest SIBVAO 2016 (video)

La délégation nigérienne pour le SIBVAO à Abidjan , victime des coupeurs de route et de

tracasseries policières

Afrique de l'Ouest: Ouverture du premier salon ouest-africain de bétail et de l'élevage

Filière bétail: Le 1er Salon ouest-africain a ouvert ses portes à Abidjan mercredi


https://youtu.be/WPH3oQ2IHEw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i72ztNh_SE&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px1LtC-tLww&list=PLHlxlD4C5k5DJQbqGps9lc5OgQbwSVaQr&index=9

http://burkinademain.com/2016/04/18/lusaid-soutient-le-commerce-americano-burkinabe/

http://lesechosdufaso.net/lusaid-soutient-le-centre-de-ressources-commerciales-crca-dans-la-stimulation-du-commerce-entre-le-burkina-faso-et-les-etats-unis/

http://lesechosdufaso.net/lusaid-soutient-le-centre-de-ressources-commerciales-crca-dans-la-stimulation-du-commerce-entre-le-burkina-faso-et-les-etats-unis/

http://lefaso.net/spip.php?article70688

http://lefaso.net/spip.php?article70688

http://news.abidjan.net/h/589413.html


http://cajnewsafrica.com/2016/04/13/usaid-enhances-west-african-export-potential-to-us/

http://globalnewsreel.com/news/business/usaid-trade-hub-equips-coordinators-to-boost-businesses-under-agoa

http://www.agrici.net/2016/05/06/une-foire-des-formalites-administratives-dexportation-des-produits-vivriers-a-bouake/

http://www.commerce.gouv.ci/actualite.php?id=541

http://infosnews.net/?p=3467

http://infosnews.net/?p=3467

http://www.anader.ci/sibvao2016.html

http://www.anader.ci/sibvao2016.html


http://www.event225.ci/articles/sibvao-le-1er-salon-des-betail-viande-ouest-africain-lance-e11827200.html

http://www.jda.ci/videos-14-lancement-du-salon-international-betail-viande-de-l-afrique-de-l-ouest-sibvao-2016.html

http://nigerdiaspora.net/les-infos-du-pays/societe/item/75199-la-delegation-nigerienne-pour-le-sibvao-a-abidjan-victime-des-coupeurs-de-route-et-de-tracasseries-policieres

http://nigerdiaspora.net/les-infos-du-pays/societe/item/75199-la-delegation-nigerienne-pour-le-sibvao-a-abidjan-victime-des-coupeurs-de-route-et-de-tracasseries-policieres

http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/201609010938.html

http://www.fratmat.info/economie/filiere-betail-le-1er-salon-ouest-africain-a-ouvert-ses-portes-a-abidjan-mercredi


ANNEX C: STORIES OF IMPACT

The Hub produced the following case studies and snapshots over the course of the year:

Quarter 1

Quarter 2

Quarter 3

Quarter 4: We produced the following stories of impact during Quarter 4:


ANNEX D: SIGNIFICANT

MEETINGS AND TRIP REPORTS

Trade and Transport Enabling Environment

Participation workshop by technical advisors to prepare ETLS status reports for all

ECOWAS members in advance of First ETLS Task Force Meeting. Ouagadougou, Burkina

Faso. June 30-July 1, 2016

Meetings with authorities to remove Certificate of Origin for ETLS agricultural products and

livestock and training on ETLS. Lomé, Togo August 21-25, 2016

Providing training to livestock traders on ETLS –export/import document requirements

during Livestock Salon. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Aug 30-Sept 6, 2016.

Organized and carried out Hub/UNCTAD capacity building workshop for National Trade

Facilitation Committee. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Sept. 5-8, 2016

Organized and carried out Hub/UNCTAD capacity building workshop for National Trade

Facilitation Committee. Dakar, Senegal. Sept. 28-29, 2016

Training of female cereal producers on regional trade protocols. Ouagadougou, Burkina

Faso. March 30-April 2, 2016

Meeting with Plant Protection Regulatory Service Directorate. Pokuase, Ghana. April 7, 2016

Organizing Fair on Enabling Environment for ETLS Foods Crops/ plus collection of

information on mutual recognition of SPS certificates in Côte d’Ivoire. Bouaké and Abidjan,

Côte d’Ivoire. May 1-14, 2016

Follow-up mission to identifying support for National Trade Facilitation Committee in

Senegal. Dakar, Senegal. April 11-15, 2016

Scoping mission to assesses capacity building needs of the National Trade Facilitation

Committee. Bamako, Mali. May 9-13, 2016

Attending Borderless Alliance annual conference. Cotonou, Benin. May 18-20, 2016.

Collecting information on the conditions for obtaining SPS certificates in Togo. Lomé and

other locations, Togo. May 23 - 30, 2016

Meetings for WTO Trade Facilitation Needs Assessment together with Nathan Associates.

Accra, Ghana. Feb. 22 – March 2, 2016

Meetings for WTO Trade Facilitation Needs Assessment together with Nathan Associates.

Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. March 2-11, 2016

Attendance of Learning and Validation Workshop of Sourcebook on One-Stop Border Post.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. March 7-8, 2016

Compliance training with livestock transporters. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. March 1-4,

2016

Training to improve compliance with transport regulation-truckers/transporters. Paga

border. Ghana. March 8-11, 2016


Meeting with the IFC/World Bank discuss cooperation. Accra, Ghana. October 10, 2015

Meeting with the Ghana Ministry of Trade & Industry to discuss support for National Trade

Facilitation Committee. Accra, Ghana. October 28, 2015

Regional Workshop on “Strategic Initiatives for Trade Facilitation” Lomé, Togo,

November17-19, 2015

Meeting with the Ghana Ministry of Trade & Industry. Accra, Ghana. November 25, 2015

Review and discussion with traders about strategies to reduce time and cost on Hub value

chain goods. Bouaké and other locations, Côte d’Ivoire. November 18-28, 2015

Regional Police Commanders Forum. Kumasi, Ghana. December14-16, 2015

Scoping mission to assesses capacity building needs of the National Trade Facilitation

Committee. Dakar, Senegal. December 14-17, 2015

Meeting with ECOWAS Commissioner for Trade and ECOWAS Customs Director to

discuss ECOWAS – Hub cooperation. Accra, Ghana. December 10, 2015

Value Chains

TABASKI strategic planning meeting with livestock federations from Burkina Faso, Mali and

Côte d’Ivoire. Ouagadougou. July 29, 2016

Regional Cereals Exchange. Abidjan. July 27-28, 2016

TOT for WAGN operators in the promotion of written contracts as a best practice.

Abidjan. August 16-18, 2016

Data collection training for TABASKI enumerators. Abidjan. August 28, 2016

Trip to Lomé and Abidjan to attend Togolese Business lunch (hosted by US Ambassador)

and Regional livestock salon. August 31-Sept 5, 2016

First Regional Livestock Salon. Abidjan. August 31-September 4, 2016

Technical support and monitoring for TABASKI marketing in Côte d’Ivoire. September 5-10,

2016

Trip to Burkina Faso to collect mango sales data and review cascade training completed. ,

September 6-16, 2016

Trip to meet with apparel companies to review certification needs and next steps. Abidjan.

September 15- 17

Trip to attend RESIMAO validation workshop, meet with partners and plan initial FY17

activities for livestock and cereals value chains. Ouagadougou. September 26-30, 2016

Monitoring trip to the project’s Ouagadougou office to review on-going and upcoming field

work to be completed within the cereals and livestock value chains during the balance of FY

16. Facilitation of exchange between the Executive Secretaries of RESIMAO and WAGN

about better coordinating efforts on cereals MIS platform. June 6-10, 2016

Trip Report to Burkina Faso to conduct GLOBALG.A.P. certification training for APEMAB

(exporter association) – to conduct the second phase of the processor led training program

on Best harvesting techniques for 160 harvesters in eight (8) new locations supplying fresh

mangoes to DAFANI SA for processing. April 18-May 6, 2016


Trip to Burkina Faso to participate in the training for women on best practices for

management of small ruminant fattening operations in Burkina. May 2-8, 2016

Trip to UNDP workshop to share experiences linked to agricultural marketing. . Accra,

Ghana. April 10-13, 2016

Workshop to create animal fattener’s network. Niamey, Niger. April 11-15, 2016

Trip to monitor mango TOT. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. April 17-May 2, 2016

Trip to meet with rice partners for new government program linked to increased

production and processing. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. April 27-30, 2016

Trip to assess apparel factories for establishing exports. Lagos, Nigeria. May 5-24, 2016

Trip to meet with Ivorian federation about TABASKI 2016 and support Regional Livestock

Salon Opening Ceremony. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. , May 28- June 4, 2016

Workshop to facilitate working group to discuss feasibility and creation of regional mango

alliance. Dakar, Senegal. May 31-June 4, 2016

Workshop to validate WAGN procedures manual. Lomé, Togo. May 31- June 2, 2016

Trip to Source Africa Trade Show with EAA. Johannesburg, South Africa. June 5-10, 2016

Trip to meet with WAGN and RESIMAO Executive Secretaries. Ouagadougou, Burkina

Faso. June 6-10, 2016.

Trip to monitor mango TOT. Dakar, Senegal. June 8 – 25, 2016

Trip with potential apparel companies and review of textile industry. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

June 16-25, 2016

Trip with Ivorian Federation to identify new sales points for Operation TABASKI 2016.

Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. June 27- July 4, 2016

Trip to strategic planning with WAGN for direct assistance. Lomé, Togo. . February 2 -3,

2016

Trip to Sourcing at MAGIC Show. Las Vegas, U.S.A. Feb. 15-18, 2016.

Kick off meeting with COFENABVI and Service Provider for livestock salon. Abidjan, Côte

d’Ivoire. . Feb. 22-24, 2016

B2B for Mali and Ivorian livestock actors. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. . Feb. 25-26, 2016

Regional workshop for best practices in contracting. Dakar, Senegal. . March 7-9, 2016

Regional Cereals Exchange. Dakar, Senegal. March 10-11, 2016

Trip report. Meeting with FEBEVIM to discuss 2016 Operation TABASKI. Bamako, Mali.

March 28-31, 2016


Trip Report. ANC Benin factory visit; Ministry of Trade. Cotonou, Benin. March 20-22, 2016

Trip to conduct a Needs Assessment with COFENABVI members for MIS platform with

contractor IMAGE AD. Côte d’Ivoire and Mali, October 4-11 2015; Senegal, Burkina Faso

and Niger, October 25-November 6, 2015

Trip to attend Origin Africa Apparel Show, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. October 18-25, 2015.

Meeting to review grants process and template with WAGN Executive Secretary at Trade

Hub Office. Accra, Ghana. October 27-28, 2015

Trip to conduct scoping mission to expand apparel value chain activities under Trade Africa.

Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. November 15-20, 2015

Kick-off meeting for RESIMAO grant at Trade Hub offices. Accra, Ghana. November 19 and

20, 2015

Regional workshop to promote best practices in the use of written contracts in regional

cereals trade. Lomé, Togo. November 26-28, 2015

Regional Cereals Exchange to increase the amount of formal trade in the cereals value chain.

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. December 9 and 10, 2015

Trip to meet with Livestock Federation Presidents and COFENABVI to discuss the regional

livestock fair. Lomé, Togo. December 18, 2015

Trip to attend regional workshop to promote cereals value chain inter-professional

development and creation of cereals-specific MIS platform (organized by CTA). Abidjan,

Côte d’Ivoire. December 13-18, 2015

AGOA

Travel to sign LOC with TRADEINVEST of Cabo Verde government to promote AGOA

programming (witnessed by US Ambassador and Cape Verde Minister of Commerce). Praia,

Cape Verde. September 14-18, 2016

Workshop to promote AGOA awareness and documentation (managed by ATRC under

grant). Cotonou, Benin. August 18, 2016


grant). Accra, Ghana. August 12, 2016


grant). Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. July 19, 2016

Workshop about textile visa application. Accra, Ghana. May 13, 2016

Workshop with USDA about exporting to the US. May 17, 2016, Accra, Ghana

Workshop with AMCHAM and ATRC about AGOA. Lagos, Nigeria. May 20, 2016

Workshop with AMCHAM and ATRC about AGOA. Accra, Ghana. May 27, 2016


Workshop about AGOA and ETLS. Berthoua, Cameroon. June 8, 2016

Workshop about AGOA and ETLS. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. June 28, 2016

Business Forum to promote the US export market. Lomé, Togo. June 30, 2016

Meeting with USAID Dakar with John Gorlorwulu, Private Enterprise Officer, Moustapha Ly,

Investment and Trade Specialist, Seydou Kane, Agriculture Specialist, USAID Senegal. Dakar,

Senegal. February 4, 2016

Meeting with the Togo National AGOA Committee and the Ministry of Commerce and

Promotion of the Private Sector to review the draft textile visa arrangement for Togo.

Lomé, Togo. January 26, 2016

Trip report - AGOA/ETLS Customs documentation training and workshop, Nigeria and

Mauritania. December 12-16, 2015


Trip to participate in African Cashew Alliance event; B2B day in Access to finance; conduct

due diligence and compile list of potential apparel companies. Aba, Abuja, Osun and Lagos,

Nigeria. July 11-26, 2016

Trip to conduct follow-up on Finance and Investment activities in Côte d’Ivoire. Abidjan,

Côte d’Ivoire. July 3-8, 2016

Trip to participate in the Livestock Salon and follow-up on Finance and Investment activities

in Côte d’Ivoire. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. August 22-September 3, 2016

Meeting with Coris Bank to discuss terms of collaboration with the Trade Hub and work

with consultant. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. September 4-9, 2016

Trip to conduct due diligence on new task order company. Wa, Ghana. August 24-25, 2016

Follow up on on-going activities in Burkina Faso Gender program, Financial Advisors, direct

transactions. Bobo Dioulasso and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. August 25-September 2, 2016

B2B in Abidjan. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. September 19-23, 2016

Participated in the Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce SME Conference and

followed-up on on-going Investment and Finance work. Abuja and Lagos, Nigeria. October

3-15, 2016

Trip report to Nigeria to identify potential agricultural and apparel companies within

northern Nigeria that exporting or planning to export to the U.S. markets or other markets

and assist with access to finance or capacity building. April 11-22, 2016

Trip Report. Meetings with Financial Advisors, Financial Institutions and Task Order

Businesses. . Côte d’Ivoire. February 1 -5, 2016

Trip Report. Follow up trip on Gender Access to Finance Strategy and SSG deals in Burkina

Faso. Burkina Faso. March 6-18, 2016


Trip Report. Trip to Nigeria to conduct due diligence on task order businesses, train new

financial advisor, and meet with financial institutions and project partners.

Event. Global Shea Conference. Presentation on Bookkeeping for Small Business. Accra,

Ghana. March 23, 2016

Meeting. DCA Assessments of Businesses and Financial Institutions in Ghana. February 2016

Trip Report. Meetings with Financial Advisors, task order businesses, and partner

organizations in Mali. March 14-24

Trip to present on the Investment and Finance Component and its network of Financial

Advisors at the Best Practices on Contracts for Regional Trade; Meeting with FAs, Lomé,

Dakar, Bamako, December 2015

Trip to conduct B2B meeting. Nigeria. November 14-24, 2015

Trip to support EM Consulting on a livestock and rice large company. Côte d'Ivoire.

November 2015

Trip to conduct Invest in Animal Workshop Preparation. Nigeria. October 25-November

03, 2015

Trip to conduct task order due diligence. Ghana. October 4-8, 2015

Capacity Building

Trip to perform the Organizational Capacity Assessment for the National Association of

shea value chain of Côte d’Ivoire called Filière Karité de Côte d’Ivoire (FIKA-CI). Abidjan,

September 19-21, 2016

Operation Tabaski follow-up in the field. Côte d’Ivoire. September 5-10, 2016

Trip for “Operation Tabaski 2016”, Data collection Training. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. August

23, 2016

Data collection training. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. August 23, 2016

Organizational Capacity Assessment within the partner organizations (WAGN,

COFENABVI-AO and RESIMAO). Lomé, Togo, Ouagadougou- Burkina Faso and Niamey-

Niger. July 19- August 1, 2016

Workshop for validation and restitution of Procedures Manual and Communications Plan for

RESIMAO. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. September 26-30, 2016

GSA warehouses monitoring visits. Ghana, Burkina and Côte d’Ivoire. July 11-24, 2016

Trip to Côte d’Ivoire for prospecting mission of Burkinabe traders in Côte d’Ivoire. July 20-

28, 2016


Trip to conduct Organizational Capacity Assessment. Carol Yee and Dalia Haj Omar,

Kanava International, LLC. Accra, Ghana; Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Lomé, Togo; and

Niamey, Niger. July 16-August 9, 2016

Learning event for women in cereals processing on improved agri-business Management

practices and entrepreneurship. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. March 30-April 2, 2016

Workshop on improved practices for commercialized livestock fattening enterprises.

Niamey, Niger. April 10-15, 2016

Meeting with Cattle Fatteners’ Network Coordinator and Focal Points. Ouagadougou, Fada

N’Gourma and Pouytenga, Burkina Faso. May 2-8, 2016

Workshop on creation of regional mango alliance. Dakar, Senegal. May 31-June 4, 2016

Trip to Niger to participate in the workshop on improved practices for commercialized

livestock fattening enterprises. April 10-15, 2016

Trip to Ouagadougou, Fada N’Gourma and Pouytenga. Burkina Faso. May 2-8, 2016

GSA warehouses monitoring visits. Ghana. February 1-5, 2016

Trip to review progress of implementation of COFENABVI grant activities and of the

financial and management capacity building plan. Burkina Faso. March 8- 12, 2016

Trip to GSA warehouses monitoring visits. Northern Region, Ghana. February 1-5, 2016

Trip to conduct workshop on Improved Agri-business Management Practices and

Entrepreneurship for Women in Cereals Processing. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. March 30

to April 2, 2016

Trip to meet COFENABVI to develop capacity building plan. Burkina Faso. Oct. 12-16, 2015

Monitoring and Evaluation

Mango Data collection in Ghana and Senegal. September 5-13, 2016

Tabaski data collection training. Abidjan. August 2, 2016

Meeting with Global Shea Alliance team to discuss South Africa exhibition, monitoring visits

to shea warehouses, and general M&E issues relating to supporting documents for grantees’

activities. Accra, Ghana. June 27, 2016

Meeting with Ethical Apparel Africa (EAA) team to discuss: their grant Indicators’ Table and

the Targets establishing, the follow up on the activities’ impact and the expected success

stories. Accra, Ghana. June 29, 2016

Trip to Cereals Exchange workshops in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. June 6-11, 2016

Meeting with ACTE DQA team and TTEE component to assess the performance,

methodology and supporting documentation of the baseline data collected so far for

Indicators 13 and 14. April 21, 2016

Trip to conduct Cereals Exchange follow-up. Côte d’Ivoire & Ghana. November 16-20, 2015


ANNEX E: DOCUMENTS AND

PRESENTATIONS

Trade and Transport Enabling Environment

Presentation on TTEE’s Trade Africa activities in Côte d’Ivoire for FY16 and FY17. August

2015

Presentation to USAID West Africa Economic Growth Office. December 2015

Presentation to Bureau for Food Security and Department of Agriculture on TTEE activities

with ECOWAS. January 2016

Presentation to Bureau for Food Security and Department of Agriculture on TTEE activities

on corridors and specific countries. January 2016

Presentation of TTEE component to US Trade Representative (USTR) and Department of

State. April 2016

Presentation on Trade Hub’s contribution to USAID’s Trade Facilitation agenda. June 2016

Presentation to USAID – West Africa on FY 16 activities and need for direction for FY17.

September 2016

Note on Customs Systems interconnection. April 2016

Report on feasibility of a multi-functional trailer. October 2015

Country fact sheets on ETLS implementation. July 2016

Value Chains

Short-term technical assistance (STTA) final report – Scoping mission for Mango value chain

in RCI and planning of TOT for mango value chain in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Senegal

(January – March 2016). July 2016

STTA for TOT program for Mango Harvesters in RCI – May 2016. July 2016

STTA for Apparel: Review of textile industry in RCI – May 2016. July 2016

B2B Meeting with Mali and RCI operators for fattened livestock. February 2016

Scoping Mission for Mango Value Chain in Côte d’Ivoire. February 2016

John Holtzman and Seydou Sidibe. STTA report for a Malian livestock trade mission to

negotiate a test contract for the export of fattened beef from Mali to the Abidjan market.

December 2015.

Patrick Nuguwela. Identification of opportunities for trade hub interventions to promote

trade and value addition in Mali’s mango value chain. October-November 2015


AGOA

Fall, Abou, “Opportunities to Expand AGOA Exports in Seven West African Countries.”

Prepared for the USAID West Africa Trade and Investment Hub by Abt Associates Inc.,

Bethesda, MD. May 2016


Component Overview: Finance & Investment. PowerPoint. September 2016

Quelles perspectives et stratégies pour le financement de la chaine de valeur bétail et

viande? PowerPoint. September 2016

Capacity Building

Organizational Capacity Assessment (OCA) report on ACA. September 4, 2016

Organizational Capacity Assessment (OCA) report on Borderless Alliance. September 4,

2016

Organizational Capacity Assessment (OCA) report on COFENABVI. September 4, 2016

Organizational Capacity Assessment (OCA) report on RESIMAO. September 4, 2016

Organizational Capacity Assessment (OCA) report on WAGN. September 4, 2016

Presentation on Panel 2: Capacity Building for livestock value chain stakeholders-Regional

Livestock Salon (SIBVAO). Abidjan Côte d’Ivoire. September 1, 2016

Presentation during Mango week on Networking and Regional Mango Alliance creation.

Dakar, Senegal. June 1, 2016

Regional Commodities

Monitoring and Evaluation

Formation des Points Focaux sur la collecte des données de Tabaski 2016. August 23, 2016

Mécanisme de suivi des bourses céréalières Abidjan. July 27-28, 2016

Monitoring and Evaluation Presentation for ATRC Network. April 13, 2016


ANNEX F: TRADE HUB

FINANCIAL ADVISORS

BURKINA FASO

AFRICANA FINANCES: Yacouba Romba, [email protected], +226 7820 1166, +225

5412 2202

AGRIGROWTH MANAGEMENT: Abdoul Zongo, [email protected], +226

7642 7105

IMEXTRA : Ali Saib Diallo, [email protected], + 226 75 83 97 58, + 233 264 414 862

STRATEGONE: Wilfried Kaboré, [email protected], +226 1547 5082

COTE D’IVOIRE

AIMS: Charles Polet, [email protected] , +233 266 308 678, +225 4797 3399

EM CONSULTING: Emmanuel Diabaté, [email protected], +225 2001 1020

FINANCE PLUS: Guy Abby Nogues, [email protected], +225 0856 5624

GROUP’O: Valérie Kouakou Adjoumani, [email protected], +225 7749 2488

IMEXTRA: Ali Saib Diallo, [email protected], + 226 75 83 97 58, + 233 264 414 862

GHANA

AIMS : Charles Polet, [email protected], +233 266 308 678

DAB CONSULT GHANA LTD: Windfred Torgby, [email protected], +233

204 751 842

GROWTH MOSAIC: Wayne Miranda, [email protected], +233 302 902

270

mailto:[email protected]













IESO AGRIBUSINESS: Francis Osei, [email protected], +233 208 508

800

TMI CONSULT: Sydney Casely-Hayord, [email protected], +233 548 762 706

MALI

ADG CONSULTING: Moctar Traoré, [email protected], +223 7645 4084

7 CONSULT: Joseph Yalcouyé, [email protected], +223 6659 3182

NIGERIA

GAPRIS CONSULTS: Gabriel Etim Umoren, [email protected], +234 803 595 7060

GEORGES DAVIDSON & Ass.: Dr. Bola Onasayna, [email protected] , +234

803 305 8847

HIGHNET RESOURCES: Vivian Ani, [email protected], +234 803 517 9897

LIGHTHOUSE INVESTMENTS: Bode Oladapo, [email protected] +234 803

429 5964

PEARL MUTUAL: Funmi Adepoju, [email protected], +234 802 315 5122

SENEGAL

LA FINANICIÈRE AFRICAINE : Abdoulaye DIENG, [email protected] , +221 77

674 2958







ANNEX G: ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION AND

MONITORING PLAN UPDATE

COMPONENT: FEED THE FUTURE VALUE CHAINS

SUBCOMPONENT: UPGRADING THE CEREALS AND GRAINS SECTOR

Activity Possible Adverse

Impact

Monitoring

Indicators

Responsible

Parties

Observations and/or Verification

Checklist

Actions Taken This year

A more robust cereal

marketplace may

encourage producers

to increase their use of

fertilizer

Site contamination

and run-off into

nearby surface

water bodies

Verify mention of

these key topics in

technical assistance

reports and

training workshop

reports

Feed the Future

Value Chain Leader,

Consultant Advisor

(if any) & Trade Hub

Training

Coordinator

Ensure electronic copies of the USAID

Africa Bureau Fertilizer Fact Sheet, in

both English & French, are on the Trade

Hub Common Share Website.

Project activities (contracting

workshops and cereals

exchanges) reinforced the

importance of adherence to

quality standards and correct use

of inputs during the production

cycle.

An improved regional

marketplace for

cereals may cause

producers to increase

their use of pesticides

Pollution, site

contamination and

poisoning cases

among farmers and

their families

Verify mention of

these key topics in

technical assistance

reports and

training workshop

reports

Feed the Future

Value Chain Leader,

Consultant Advisor

(if any) & Trade Hub

Capacity Building

and Training

Specialist

Should the Trade Hub take a more

favorable attitude toward pesticide

promotion, WATIH’s implementing

partners would be required to prepare a

Pesticide Evaluation Report and Safer

Use of Action (PERSUAP). The Trade

Hub staff will consult the Regional

Agriculture Office Umbrella PERSUAP

under review to determine its

applicability to project activities.

Project activities (contracting

workshops and cereals

exchanges) reinforced the

importance of adherence to

quality standards and correct use

of inputs during the production

cycle


More regional cereals

trade leads to greater

Aflatoxin occurrence

Aflatoxin toxicity

and health impacts

on people

Data on Aflatoxin

contamination

from regional

cereal trade

Feed the Future

Value Chain Leader,

Consultant Advisor

(if any)

As part of Trade and Transport Enabling

Environment activities, WATIH will

develop an Aflatoxin reduction protocol

in conjunction with efforts to establish

regional grades and standards for

Aflatoxin contamination limits for cross-

border cereal trade.

In WATIH’s activities to promote

contracts as a best practice,

Aflatoxin’s impact on regional

trade and human health is a major

training topic. These trainings

increased understanding of how

Aflatoxins develop and post-

harvest practices that can reduce

their incidence.

SUBCOMPONENT: UPGRADING THE LIVESTOCK SECTOR


Impact

Monitoring

Indicators

Responsible

Parties


Checklist

Actions Taken This year

Profitability of

livestock exports leads

to increased grazing

pressure

Continuous grazing

can lead to land

degradation and

desertification—

particularly in

Sahelian countries—

and greater

vulnerability to

global climate

change

Livestock export

statistics, although

infrequent

measuring of

average animal

weight remains a

gap

Livestock Value

Chain Specialist

Some measure of livestock quality should

be included in livestock sector trade

indicators and statistics collected by

WATIH and others.

WATIH livestock training during

peak export periods included

provisions for proper care of

animals prior to sale, including

food and water.

Butcheries, animal

processing plants,

slaughter houses and

meat chilling plants can

add to a dangerous

unregulated waste

stream

Unmanaged animal

waste and offal from

processing

operations fouls

nearby lands and

waters and creates

a health threat

Technical reports Livestock Value

Chain Specialist

WATIH staff will consult and share the

USAID/Ethiopia experience, including the

“Construction Guidelines for Export

Abattoirs” and the “Model

Slaughterhouse” Guidelines prepared on

behalf of USAID/Kyrgyz Republic.

Project staff works with buyers in

end markets to maximize the

amount of the animal that is

slaughtered for the market.

WATIH provides advice to

ensure compliance with local

regulations about waste

management after the slaughtering

is completed.


COMPONENT – SUPPORT TO GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS

SUBCOMPONENT: CASHEW


Impact

Monitoring

Indicators

Responsible

Parties


Checklist

Actions taken this year

Increased trade in

cashew leads to a larger

waste stream from nut

processing

Potential for land

degradation and

even contamination

of surface and

ground waters and

occupational health

and safety related

issues

Successful

development of

sustainable cashew

production and

processing

guidelines, and

their application

among the

partners network

Cashew Value

Chain Specialist

The guidance resulting from this study will

be used as part of the training, both for

industry management personnel, and

further incorporated into the

environmental oversight procedure (e.g.,

ESF) training for BSPs to better provide

assistance to cashew processors &

exporters (see below).

ACA’s factory management

training, included in the WATIH

grant, incorporates environmental

study recommendations for local

processors and how these

improve adherence to HACCP

requirements for global exports.

Increased trade in

cashew products leads

to more construction

of agro-processing

facilities

Accumulating plant

and processing

waste leads to land

contamination,

poor phyto-

sanitary conditions

and possible

pollution of surface

waters and ground

waters

Submission, review

and approval of an

ESF associated with

a request for loan

resources.

Cashew Value

Chain Specialist

Participants in the Trade Hub Partners

Network, taping financial resources for

developing new processing facilities will

also present an ESF and where indicated,

build their facilities following the USAID

Guidelines on Small-Scale Construction

and for use in the field, the USAID Africa

Bureau’s Environmental Compliance and

Management Support (ENCAP) Visual Field

Guide for Construction.

Trade Hub support has been

focused on access to finance for

new processing facilities. Included

is due diligence with the

companies to adhere to existing

environmental compliance rules

and that these impacts are

incorporated into the business

plans submitted for new

investment.

An expanding cashew

industry runs up against

known shortages of

experienced and trained

factory management

staff and will thus have

difficulty ensuring well-

run cashew processing

plants

Without effective

and efficient

production systems

(and therefore

sustainable

production), the

risk of localized

pollution and site

contamination rises

Number of

participants in

cashew production

training courses

that include an

environmental

management

module

Trade Hub

Capacity Building

and Training

Specialist with the

Cashew Value

Chain Specialist

Trade Hub grant has provided

targeted training to factory

managers from 20 processing

enterprises in the region. These

participants will be available to

share the results of this training

with other enterprises in their

respective countries.


SUBCOMPONENT: SHEA

Activity Possible Adverse Impact Monitoring

Indicators

Responsible

Parties

Observations

and/or Verification

Checklist


Increased shea

harvesting linked to an

improved market

Decline of the shea parkland

agro-ecosystems with

consequent loss of the

resources base and also adverse

impacts on the companion

agricultural crops, and greater

vulnerability to global climate

change

Study report, and the

development of a shea

butter resource

database among the

West African producer

countries

Shea Value

Chain Specialist

This study is already

underway and the

Trade Hub staff have

provided comments to

the GSA on the

Inception Report

GSA has incorporated this study into

its multi-year planning for the

warehouse initiative.

GSA sponsoring village

level shea nut storage

facility construction

Poorly designed storage facility

construction can lead to site

contamination and unnecessary

recurrent costs for producer

organizations

Occasional field

inspections of newly

constructed shea nut

storage facilities,

following the checklist

in the Small-Scale

Construction Visual

Field Guide

Training reports

prepared by the GSA

Shea Value

Chain Specialist

USAID Small-Scale

Guidelines and Visual

Field Guide have

already been shared

with GSA

WATIH’s grant supported a pilot

program with 20 warehouses in the

region, focused on capacity

development of the women’s

associations that manage these

warehouses, to provide a higher

quality shea nut for export. Project

staff has visited more than half of the

warehouses that were constructed

with private sector support within

this program.

SUBCOMPONENT: MANGO


Indicators

Responsible

Parties

Observations

and/or Verification

Checklist


Increased mango trade

leads to larger waste

streams

Potential land and surface water

contamination near agro-

industries

Technical assistance

reports and training

reports

Mango Value

Chain Specialist

N/A WATIH’s TOT program in four

countries focused on reducing waste

by increaseing the amount of mangos

harvested that can either be exported

or sold to the local market. Also

included are improved packing


techniques for workers at the pack

house level.

Expanded efforts to

control the Mango

Fruit Fly

Site (land & water)

contamination, building

immunity among pests and

possible pesticide poisoning

Technical assistance

reports and training

reports

Mango Value

Chain Specialist

The Mango producers

have been using

approved pesticides

for decades; WATIH

is not supporting

additional use. As

interest and demand

for a Safe Use

Pesticide training

course among partner

organizations, WATIH

will develop, organize

and sponsor such a

Training of Trainers-

based training course

on this theme

WAITH works with government

technical services and larger private

sector exporters to expand control

of fruit fly infestation during the

harvest and packing process prior to

exporting mangos to the international

market.

COMPONENT – IMPROVING THE TRADE AND TRANSPORT SECTOR’S COMPETITIVENESS

SUBCOMPONENT: RATIONALIZATION OF BILATERAL AGREEMENTS ON TRANSPORT


Indicators

Responsible

Parties

Observations and/or

Verification Checklist


Overburdened trucks

and an ageing truck

fleet serving the

increased export trade

These poorly maintained and

controlled vehicles damage the

road system and can cause road

failures which affect the local

environment and neighboring

communities

Transport sector

database which reflects

how the sector

operates

TTEE Team and

Staff

N/A WATIH supports regional

efforts to implement weight

load limits for regional trade.


COMPONENT – SUPPORT ACTIVITIES

SUBCOMPONENT: INCREASING FINANCIAL SERVICES


Impact

Monitoring

Indicators

Responsible

Parties

Observations and/or



Multiplier effect of

increased finance in

the agro-export

industry

Greater potential for

agro-processing related

environmental issues and

adverse impacts, e.g.,

water use and disposal

and a larger waste stream

Training report

and trainee

evaluations of

these courses

Finance &

Investment

Specialist in concert

with the Trade Hub

Capacity Building

and Training

Specialist

USAID has developed a

series of standardized

approaches to

environmental screening for

grants and financial support

which would be applicable

to this situation.

Project staff completes due diligence

with companies that contact financial

advisors for development of bankable

business plans. This includes field visits at

the site of the company itself to identify

potential environmental constraints.

COMPONENT – GRANTS UNDER CONTRACT


Impact

Monitoring

Indicators

Responsible

Parties

Observations and/or



Grant programs lead

to more active agro-

industries

Unforeseen adverse

environmental impacts

undermine the positive

developmental gains from

grants

Each grant

application will

be scrutinized to

be sure that the

ESF has been

completed and

makes sense.

Grant Manager Each project grantee completed an

analysis of potential environmental

impact within their grant application.

Project staff have completed follow up

visits with these grantees during

implementation and to identify

unexpected environmental issues that

have arisen.


Subcomponent: Shea

Activity Possible Adverse Impact Monitoring Indicators Responsible

Parties

Observations

and/or Verification

Checklist


Increased shea harvesting

linked to an improving

marketplace

Decline of the shea parkland

agro-ecosystems with

consequent loss of the

resources base and also

adverse impacts on the

companion agricultural

crops, and greater

vulnerability to Global

Climate Change.

Study report, and the

development of a better

Shea resource database

among the West African

producer countries

Shea Nut Value

Chain Specialist

This study is already

underway and the

Trade Hub staff has

provided comments

to the GSA on the

Inception Report.

GSA sponsoring village level

shea nut storage facility

construction

Poorly designed storage

facility construction can lead

to site contamination and

unnecessary recurrent costs

for producer organizations

Occasional field inspections

of newly constructed Shea

Nut storage facilities, follow

the checklist in the Small-

Scale Construction Visual

Field Guide.

Training reports prepared by

the GSA

Shea Value Chain

Specialist

USAID Small-Scale

Guidelines and Visual

Field Guide have

already been shared

with GSA

Subcomponent: Mango


Parties

Observations

and/or

Verification

Checklist


Increased mango trade

leads to larger waste

streams

Potential land and surface

water contamination near

agro-industries

Technical assistance reports

and training reports

Mango Value

Chain Specialist


Expanded efforts to control

the Mango Fruit Fly

Site (land & water)

contamination, building

immunity among pests and

possible pesticide poisoning

Technical assistance reports

and training reports

Mango Value

Chain Specialist

The Mango

producers have been

using approved

pesticides for

decades; Trade Hub

is not supporting

additional use. As

interest and demand

for a Safe Use

Pesticide training

course among

partner

organizations, the

Trade Hub will

develop, organize

and sponsor such a

Training of Trainers-

based training course

on this theme

COMPONENT – IMPROVING THE TRADE AND TRANSPORT SECTOR’S COMPETITIVENESS

Subcomponent: Rationalization of Bilateral Agreements on Transport


Parties

Observations

and/or Verification

Checklist


Overburdened trucks and

an ageing truck fleet serving

the increased export trade

These poorly maintained

and controlled vehicles

damage the road system

and can cause road failures

which affect the local

environment & neighboring

communities

Transport sector database

which reflects how the

sector operates.

TTEE Team and

Staff


COMPONENT – SUPPORT ACTIVITIES

Sub Component Increasing Financial Services


Parties

Observations

and/or Verification

Checklist


Multiplier effect of increased

finance in the agro-export

industry

Greater potential for agro-

processing related

environmental issues and

adverse impacts, e.g., water

use & disposal and a larger

waste stream.

Training report and trainee

evaluations of these courses

Finance &

Investment

Specialist in

concert with the

Trade Hub

Capacity Building

and Training

Specialist

USAID has

developed a series of

standardized

approaches to

environmental

screening for grants

and financial support

which would be

applicable to this

situation.

COMPONENT – GRANTS UNDER CONTRACT


Parties

Observations

and/or Verification

Checklist


Grant programs lead to

more active agro-industries

Unforeseen adverse

environmental impacts

undermine the positive

developmental gains from

grants

Each grant application will

be scrutinized to be sure

that the ESF has been

completed and makes

sense.

Grant Manager


ANNEX H: TRADE HUB

PARTNERS

Letter of Collaboration—Regional Partners

African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP)

Afrique Verte International (AVI)

Association Africa Agro Export (AAFEX)

Réseau des Organisations Paysannes et de Producteurs de l'Afrique (ROPPA)

West Africa Grains Network (WAGN)

Letters of Collaboration

Association Professionnels des Exportateurs des Mangue du Burkina Faso (APEMA-B)

Association Professionnels des Producteurs des Mangues du Burkina Faso (APROMA-B)

Dangme West Mango Farmers Association (DAMFA), Ghana

Yilo Krobo Mango Farmers Association (YKMFA), Ghana

Letters of Collaboration (Pending)

Coopérative Fédérative des Acteurs de l’Horticulture au Sénégal (CFAHS)

Letters of Collaboration with Bank Partners

Burkina Faso: Coris Bank

Côte d’Ivoire: Banque Atlantique, Coris Bank, Ecobank, Orabank, Diamond Bank, Afriland,

NSIA Bank

Mali: Coris Bank

Nigeria: Bank of Industry, Nexim Bank

Senegal: Coris Bank, Ecobank, Sahel-Saharan Bank for Investment and Commerce

(BSIC)

Letters of Collaboration with Non-Bank Partners with Regional Presence

AgDevCo Ghana

Databank Agrifund Manager Limited (DAFML) Ghana

GroFin Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria

Injaro Investments Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana

Investisseurs et Partenaires Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal,

Oikocredit Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Nigeria

Palladium Investments Ghana, Nigeria

Root Capital Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal

Master Agreements with Financial Advisors

See Annex F


AGOA Trade Resource Center Partners

Agence Sénégalaise de Promotion des Exportations (ASEPEX)

Association pour la Promotion des Exportations de Côte d’Ivoire (APEX-CI)

Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie des Mines et de l’Artisanat du Cameroon (CCIMA)

Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie du Bénin (CCIB)

Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie du Burkina Faso (CCI-BF)

Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI)

Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC)

Grantees

African Cashew Alliance (ACA)

AGOA Trade Resource Centers (ATRCs)

Borderless Alliance (BA)

Confédération des Fédérations Nationales de la Filière Bétail/Viande des pays de l’Afrique de l’Ouest

(COFENABVI)

Global Shea Alliance (GSA)

Réseau des Systèmes d’Information des Marchés en Afrique de l’Ouest (RESIMAO)

Regional Economic Community Partners

Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organization (ALCO)

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa (UEMOA)

Comité Inter-Etats de Lutte contre la Sécheresse au Sahel (CILSS)

Government Agency Partners

Conseil Burkinabé des Chargeurs (CBC)

Conseil Ivoirien des Chargeurs (CIC)

Conseil Malien des Chargeurs (CMC)

Département de Protection des Végétaux, Senegal (DPV)

Direction Générale des Impôts, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal (DGIs)

Direction de Transport, Burkina Faso, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire (DDTs)

Directorate of Transportation Planning, Ghana (DTP)

Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA)

Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA)

Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA)

Ministry of Trade and Industry, Directorate of Trade Facilitation, Ghana (MOTI)

National Association Partners

Association of Ghana Apparel Manufacturers (AGAM)

Associations Professionnels des Exportateurs des Mangue du Burkina Faso (APEMA-B)

Associations Professionnels des Producteurs des Mangues du Burkina Faso (APROMA-B)

Comité Interprofessionnel des Filières Céréales et Niébé du Burkina (CIC-B)

Coopérative Fédérative des Acteurs de l’Horticulture au Sénégal (CFAHS)

Fédération Bétail-Viande du Burkina (FEBEVIB)

Fédération Bétail-Viande du Mali (FEBEVIM)

Filière Karité de la Côte d’Ivoire (FIKA-CI)

Ghana National Livestock Federation of Inter-Professional s (GHAFLIP)


Other Partners

Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa AGRA

Cadre Intégré de Renforcement (CIR), Burkina Faso, Senegal

Ethical Apparel Africa (EAA)

International Fertilizer Development Center IFDC

Programme d’Appui aux Filières Agro-Sylvo-Pastorales, Burkina Faso (PAFASP)

USAID Bilateral/Regional Projects

Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement (ADVANCE) project, Ghana (Feed the

Future)

Agriculture Policy Support Project (APSP) (Feed the Future)

Agricultural Technology (ATR) project, Ghana (Feed the Future)

Cereal Value Chain (CVC) project, Mali (Feed the Future)

Financing Ghanaian Agriculture (FinGAP) project (Feed the Future)

Food Across Borders–ProFAB

Livestock for Growth (L4G) project, Mali (Feed the Future)

Naatal Mbay project, Senegal (Feed the Future, cereals)

Nigeria Expanded Trade and Transport (NEXTT) project

Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel–Accelerated Growth (REGIS AG) project, Senegal

(commercial level)

Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel–Enhanced Resilience (REGIS ER) project, Burkina Faso

(producer level)

WEST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB - USAID

Documents

Transcript of WEST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB - USAID