In March 2010, USAID/EGAT held a week-long training in Pretoria, South Africa, on trade and investment. Participants included USAID economic growth officers and other interested USAID employees, with the majority from USAID Missions in Africa.
The purpose of the training was to provide practical instruction for understanding trade and investment issues in order to program resources more effectively. Specifically, the course covered trade capacity building, including trade facilitation and trade policy issues, and the business enabling environment and how it is influenced by commercial law and regulation.
The two days of training focusing on trade were conducted by the Worldwide Support for Trade Capacity Building project (TCBoost), and the BizCLIR project conducted the two days of training on the business enabling environment. One day of the course was devoted to the USAID's experience with the African Global Competitiveness Initiative (AGCI) and lessons learned from its five years of work. Throughout the week, the relationship between trade, the business environment, and food security was also addressed both in discussion and in small group interactive exercises. During the interactive sessions, participants were placed on teams and given a case study of a fictional African country challenged by a variety of trade and business enabling environment issues. In each interactive session, participants were tasked with identifying issues and outlining projects or reforms to address prioritized concerns.
Presentations and other materials from the training are available below:
DAY 1
Trade Policy and Negotiations, Jim Waller
SADC Case Study, Kathleen Montgomery
Regional Trade, Matthew Stern
Trade Agreements and RECs in Africa, Paulina Elago
Republic of Cuanza Case Study
Washington Resources on Trade, Wade Channell
Trade & Investment in Africa, Yash Ramkolowan
DAY 2
Transport and Customs, Godwin Punungwe
Trade Facilitation Resources, Lisa Yarmoshuk
Customs Reform, Tim Chisembwere
Washington Resources on Trade, Wade Channell
DAY 3
Enterprise Development Diagnostic Tool, Carlton Jones
Best Practices in REC, Kathleen Montgomery
Regional Integration & Food Security, Lynette Chen
Next Generation Economic Growth Programs Group Exercise
SAIBL, Paul Jackson
Best Practices in REC, Shemmy Simuyemba
Enterprise Competitiveness, Shemmy Simuyemba
Engagement with ECOWAS & COMESA, Sutherland Miller
Effect of Policy Reform on Export-Oriented Businesses, Todd Thompson
DAY 4
Labor, Louise Williams
Best Practices from the Field: Mozambique TIP
Collateral Valuation Case Study
Property Rights, Elizabeth Shackelford
Programming Reform, Wade Channell
Why Banks Don’t Lend, Wade Channell
Commercial Law and Business Regulation, Wade Channell
DAY 5
BEE and Food Security Case Study
Licensing and Regulation, Elizabeth Shackelford
Commercial Dispute Resolution, Louise Williams
Gender, Louise Williams
