Commerce international et finance
Pause, Reflect, Restart: How one Ghanaian Company is staying afloat in a crisis
Local and natural – Freda Obeng- Ampofo would have it no other way. As long as the owner of Ghanaian cosmetics line KAEME can remember, she has been using shea butter and black soap (roasted cocoa pods, plantain bark and coconut oil) as her only two care products.
Sustainable tourism to sustain development
For many small developing countries, tourism is a major income earner. A growing number of the International Trade Centre’s (ITC) focus countries – smallisland developing states, small vulnerable economies, and least developed countries – regard the tourism sector as an important contributor to GDP and job creation, and as a platform for better developing backward and forward linkages in their economies. After all, worldwide tourism accounts for close to 10% of GDP, equivalent to around US$7.5 trillion, and is responsible for one in 11 jobs. The importance of tourism is also reflected in several of the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and recognized as a crucial tool in the global community’s effort to eliminate extreme poverty.
Turning the tide
Saparbek Asanov is the President of the Association of Light Industry Enterprises of Kyrgyzstan, Legprom. According to him, textile and clothing companies in Kyrgyzstan have suffered a severe blow from the coronavirus. Out of 1000 factories in the capital Bishkek, only around 17 have managed to continue operations.
Answering the effects of climate change with organic coconuts
Maria Genao’s gaze is hopeful while scanning her four acres of fields, covered in banana and coconut palm trees.
Africa and infrastructure: Charting the way forward
With Nigeria and Benin signing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) in July 2019, 54 of the 55 African Union member states have become part of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, the largest in the world by number of countries after the World Trade Organization.
Colours of Bhutan gets noticed in international markets
Small businesses in smaller countries such as Bhutan can benefit extensively from training and coaching aimed at building their capacity. These initiatives can help them adopt new and innovative ways of improving quality and skillfully presenting their products to attract the right buyers.
Cultural restoration as a catalyst for development
In the wake of the Industrial Revolution, the rise of capitalism and rapid urban expansion, many ancient mountain cultures worldwide were threatened with oblivion.
Agenda from 10 January 2019
Empowering youth in the Gambia
Earlier this year the Gambia celebrated when a new, democratically elected government led by President Adama Barrow took power. This seismic shift brought with it hopes and optimism among Gambians for a better and more sustainable future. However, building the new Gambia will be an uphill task requiring international support. One key challenge is to re-connect the Gambia with international markets to ensure economic growth and create jobs, particularly for the youth that make up 60% of the population.
Building talent for the future
An influx of new technologies and digitization has transformed the way in which we work, socialize and lead our lives. This phenomenon is often referred to as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Information and communication technology (ICT) has made significant change possible with respect to methods of production, consumption and global employment. ICT has also become a development imperative without which countries are unable to compete in world market and make significant economic progress.
Sustainable development and trade: The importance of multilateralism
This year we are all celebrating both the 75th anniversary of the UN and the 25th anniversary of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The Charter of the United Nations was signed 1945 at the San Francisco Conference. Delegates from 50 states drafted it with the aim of maintaining peace, guaranteeing international security and promoting the development of friendly relations among nations.
Saving our small businesses
In many economies, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises either are the economy or account for a huge proportion of economic and employment activity.
Efficient harvests, effective transport can eliminate hunger
Post-harvest management is closely related to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 – ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition worldwide by 2030. The post-harvest system should be thought of as encompassing the delivery of a given crop from the time and place of harvest to the time and place of consumption, with minimum loss, maximum efficiency and maximum return for all involved.
Harnessing a data-driven circular economy
Paul Hawken, an American environmentalist, entrepreneur, author and activist who has dedicated his life to environmental sustainability and changing the relationship between business and the environment, has estimated that nearly 99% of the goods we buy will become waste after six months of use.
Local expertise creates global footprint
In February 2018 International Trade Centre Executive Director Arancha González and her team entered a small building in a little village in Mandya, India, to see entrepreneurship at work.
Boosting youth confidence through skills training
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) provides vocational training for young people under the umbrella of the Youth Education Pack (YEP). It provides literacy and numeracy training, vocational skills and life skills targeting youth aged between 15 and 25 from both refugee and vulnerable host communities, and those with limited or no formal education. In Kenya, YEP is operational in the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps.
Agenda from September 2020
Enhancing the cotton value chain for the ‘Cotton Four’
Cotton is one of the world’s most actively traded commodities. It is also a product of vital importance to the economic development and poverty reduction strategies for a number of developing economies, and particularly the least developed among them.