Trade promotion capacity building - UNCTAD

UNCTAD provides a range of statistical capacity building services. As UNCTAD statistical capacity building programme is demand driven, activities vary over time. As of 2017, there are three key projects consisting in:

A project to develop the statistical capacity of the member countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union with regard to the compilation of international trade in services statistics. Specifically, this project is designed to develop a harmonized IT system, including harmonized questionnaires for the collection, treatment, and dissemination of imports and exports of internationally traded services. This project will run until the end of 2019. This project is being managed jointly with the Statistical Commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union.

A project to develop an e-learning tool designed for those involved in the collection, compilation, and dissemination of statistics on international trade in services (in English). This tool was developed in cooperation with the World Trade Organization and with the support of the Inter-agency Task Force on Statistics of International Trade in Services. The English version has been built and is now available. A French version is now under development.

A project to develop an e-learning tool designed for those involved in the collection, compilation, and dissemination of statistics on international merchandised trade (in English). This tool is being developed in cooperation with the World Trade Organization and with the support of the Inter-agency Task Force on Statistics of International Trade in Services.

For more information: http://unctad.org/en/Pages/Statistics/Statistics-Capacity-Building.aspx

Enterprise development:

UNCTAD aims at enhancing the understanding and capacity of developing countries to develop policies aiming at stimulating enterprise development. The Enterprise Development Programme answers the need to formulate new enterprise development strategies by providing policy advice to governments and by working with local institutions to spur the creation and healthy growth of enterprises in developing countries. The programme assists the Member States in creating a conducive and enabling policy and regulatory environment and helps them support the outstanding role SMEs play in the economy in general and, more particularly, in job creation.

The main objectives are:

• Improving SMEs’ growth and international competitiveness; and

• Stimulating entrepreneurial potential.

For more information: http://unctad.org/en/Pages/DIAE/Enterprise%20Development/Enterprise-Development.aspx

Entrepreneurship Policy Framework

UNCTAD promotes entrepreneurship in developing countries and economies in transition through its Entrepreneurship Policy Framework and implementation guidance. This provides the basis for a comprehensive, coordinated and inclusive approach to promoting entrepreneurship and the formulation and implementation of national entrepreneurship strategies and policies.

The EMPRETEC programme aims at fostering entrepreneurial skills and the mindset to facilitate SME development, job creation, and economic growth. The project seeks to:

• Develop individual entrepreneurs' leadership skills so that they may expand their businesses and promote entrepreneurial culture by example.

• Build the country-level institutional capacities needed to deal with businesses'start-up, development, and closure.

• Promote entrepreneurship policies and the dissemination of best practices.

• Encourage employment-creating investment and linkages between SMEs, and between large and small enterprises.

For more information: http://empretec.unctad.org/

Business linkages

The UNCTAD Business Linkages Programme is a multi-stakeholder initiative that transforms linkages between SMEs and TNCs into sustainable business relationships to improve the performance, productivity and efficiency of the entire supply chain through training, mentoring, information exchange, quality improvements, innovation and technology transfer. The Business Linkages Programme helps TNCs reduce costs through local sourcing and specialization; at the same time, it offers SMEs access to markets, training opportunities, inter- national business practices, business information and financial resources. Business Linkages covers policy advice designed to facilitate sustainable business linkages, but also helps to identify business linkage opportunities, the upgrading of SMEs to meet foreign affiliates’ requirements, and to provide ways of accessing credit, and has programmes designed for supply chain management and entrepreneurship training.

For more information:

http://unctad.org/en/Pages/DIAE/Enterprise%20Development/Business-Linkage-Programme.aspx

Business facilitation

UNCTAD has developed a series of e-government systems to help developing countries and countries in transition improve their investment and business climate through transparency, simplification and automation of rules and procedures relating to enterprise creation and operations. The eRegulations system is a turnkey solution allowing administrations to publish their procedures online, helping developing countries promote good governance. The Global Enterprise Registration Portal benchmarks countries’ company creation and registration processes and provides direct access to online platforms. eRegulations and eRegistration systems have been installed in more than 30 countries.

For more information: https://businessfacilitation.org/