Boosting Competitiveness of West African Producers – Stories of impact
Since 2018, the EU-funded West Africa Competitiveness Programme (WACOMP) has boosted the competitiveness of West African Producers by promoting quality and strengthening related quality infrastructure.
In The Gambia, for example, the programme has constructed the country’s first ever onion curing and storage facilities in communities in order to significantly reducing post-harvest loss.
In Ghana, the programme has provided technical support in strengthening the competence of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) Cosmetics Laboratory to test and certify cosmetic products of the country.
In Guinea, support has been provided to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and MSMEs in promoting the country’s National Industrial Development Policy (PNDIG), a key milestone in the country's economic development.
In Sierra Leone, the programme has - through a cocoa farmer coaching initiative - procured 29 tool banks in addition of the development of 4 school farms and 4 centralized nurseries, benefiting 1,000 cocoa cooperative farmers; and in Guinea Bissau, the 1st Quality Week with the slogan ‘Quality as a development factor for Guinea-Bissau’ has been organized.
For each country, priority value chains have been identified and the type of activities selected involves a combination of long- and short-term technical assistance, training, coaching and equipment support. The achievements registered are going a long way in alleviating poverty and improving the people’s standard of living through strengthening of local industries and promoting trade competitiveness and market access.
The WACOMP, since its inception in 2018, has been a valuable partner in relentlessly supporting the West African region and beneficiary countries in fulfilling their national development goals and the AU Agenda 2063. The programme, under which UNIDO has been entrusted in the amount of 29 mio € for the (co-) implementation of the regional component and national components in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Senegal and Cabo Verde has strengthened the competitiveness of West Africa and enhanced the ECOWAS countries’ integration into the regional and international trading system, including the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The 5th UNIDO WACOMP Newsletter focuses on concrete impacts of WACOMP to its various beneficiaries. Happy Reading!
For more information, please contact Bernard Bau (b.bau [at] unido.org)
