Ouagadougou, 19 December 2024 - The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through its Market Institutions Section (MIS), supports member countries in promoting trade in services and integrating the services sector into regional and global value chains. A new technical assistance project is being implemented to unlock and stimulate the potential of financial services trade in Africa, with a particular focus on the effective implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The project aims to strengthen national institutional capacities to measure the added value of regional services value chains, assess the impact of services sector development on international trade, and facilitate the development of public policy frameworks for the sustainable growth of the financial services sub-sector. Building on the success of a pilot project implemented by ECA and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria and Togo (2018-2022), the current phase focuses on strengthening financial services value chains in Burkina Faso and Burundi, in response to requests for technical assistance from their respective governments. The project launch kicked off with a Training of Trainers seminar was held from May 6 to 10, 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya for both countries.
The workshop combined theoretical and practical approaches to train participants in trade in services and value-added trade, with a particular focus on methodological approaches to assessing participation in regional and global value chains. The theoretical phase explored issues relating to trade in services and conceptual frameworks for the study of value-added trade. The practical phase focused on applying this knowledge using the EORA and ORBIS databases.
The second phase began on August 28, 2024 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and lasted three days. It was an awareness-raising and training workshop on promoting trade in services and strengthening value chains linked to financial services in Burkina Faso.
The current phase is the third. It is devoted to the validation of study reports and an action plan over two days, on December 16 and 17, 2024.
The main objective of the project is to help African countries take advantage of the opportunities presented by the AfCFTA to strengthen their involvement in trade in goods and services and integrate their services sectors into regional and global value chains. This is in line with ECA's commitment to facilitating the structural transformation of African economies and strengthening the continent's competitiveness in the global marketplace.
The final phase will be the preparation and validation of the national action plan, and the organization of an international multi-stakeholder meeting to share experiences between countries. The project receives financial support from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA).