The East Africa Trade and Investment Hub's Work Plan, Year One

EAST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB

ANNUAL WORKPLAN AUGUST 20, 2014–AUGUST 19, 2015

OCTOBER 31, 2014 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by DAI.

EAST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB ANNUAL WORKPLAN AUGUST 20, 2014–AUGUST 19, 2015

Program Title:

East Africa Trade and Investment Hub

Sponsoring USAID Office:

USAID Kenya and East Africa

Contract Number:

AID-623-C-14-00006

Contractor:

DAI

Date of Publication:

February 12, 2015

The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................................................... V A. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 7 BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................................. 7 STRATEGIC APPROACH................................................................................................................. 7 Facilities, Techniques, and Tools .......................................................................................... 7 Cross-Component Integration ............................................................................................... 8 PROJECT OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................ 11 Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 11 YEAR 1 WORKPLAN .................................................................................................................... 12 CROSSCUTTING .......................................................................................................................... 12 Communications ................................................................................................................. 12 Monitoring and Evaluation ................................................................................................... 13 Gender and Youth ............................................................................................................... 13 Environmental Considerations ............................................................................................. 14 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE .................................................................................................... 14 OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................... 15 TECHNICAL APPROACH ............................................................................................................... 15 Component 1 Strategy and Approach ................................................................................. 15 ACTIVITIES ................................................................................................................................. 23 Activity 1: High-Impact Sector Assessment Validation ......................................................... 24 Activity 2: U.S. Tools and Incentives and New Tools ........................................................... 25 Activity 3: Partnership Fund................................................................................................. 27 Activity 4: Private Sector Network and Partners .................................................................. 28 Activity 5: Opportunity Assessment and Transaction Pipeline Creation ............................... 29 Activity 6: Chokepoints and Intervention Strategies ............................................................. 31 Activity 7: Public Private Dialogue ....................................................................................... 31 Activity 8: Investment Promotion Partnerships..................................................................... 32 Activity 9: Information Outreach .......................................................................................... 32 Activity 10: Communications ............................................................................................... 33 COMMUNICATIONS ...................................................................................................................... 34 MONITORING AND EVALUATION ................................................................................................... 34 GENDER CONSIDERATIONS ......................................................................................................... 34 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................................ 34 C. COMPONENT 2: COMPETITIVENESS OF SELECTED REGIONAL AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS INCREASED ................................................................................................. 35 OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................... 35 Life of Project ...................................................................................................................... 35 EAST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB ANNUAL WORKPLAN

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TECHNICAL APPROACH ............................................................................................................... 35 Investment Lens .................................................................................................................. 35 Component 2 Strategy ........................................................................................................ 35 ACTIVITIES ................................................................................................................................. 39 Activity 1: Promote Structured Trading Systems and Regional Market Linkage for Staple Foods .................................................................................................................................. 39 Activity 2: Enhance Access to Financial Services for Regional Staple Foods Value Chains 41 Activity 3: Implementation of Staple Foods Quality Standards ............................................. 43 Activity 4: Further Investment in Regional Food Balance Sheet (RFBS) .............................. 45 Activity 5: EAC Trade Facilitation Instrument and Policy Awareness Raising ...................... 48 Activity 6: Support Enhancement of SPS Capacity in the EAC Region ................................ 50 Activity 7: Support Implementation of EAC Food and Nutrition Security Policy .................... 53 Activity 8: Seed Systems in Eastern and Southern Africa .................................................... 54 COMMUNICATIONS ...................................................................................................................... 57 MONITORING AND EVALUATION ................................................................................................... 62 GENDER CONSIDERATIONS ......................................................................................................... 62 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................................ 63 D. COMPONENT 3: EXPORTS AND TRADE PROMOTION, PARTICULARLY WITH THE U.S. UNDER AGOA, INCREASED................................................................................................... 65 OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................... 65 TECHNICAL APPROACH ............................................................................................................... 65 Investment Lens .................................................................................................................. 65 Component 3 Strategy ........................................................................................................ 65 Cross-Component Integration ............................................................................................. 68 ACTIVITIES ................................................................................................................................. 69 Activity 1: AGOA Information Dissemination ........................................................................ 69 Activity 2: Develop AGOA Strategies ................................................................................... 69 Activity 3: Build Capacity of National Export Promotion Agencies........................................ 70 Activity 4: Deliver AGOA Workshops and Seminars ............................................................ 70 Activity 5: Foster Greater Linkages Between Key Business Groups .................................... 71 Activity 6: Targeted Technical Assistance and Cost-Sharing Grants to Support Increased Value Chain Competitiveness ............................................................................................. 71 Activity 7: Trade Shows and Buyer Missions ....................................................................... 71 Activity 8: Firm-level Technical Assistance .......................................................................... 72 Activity 9: Uganda Cotton Value Chain Study ...................................................................... 72 COMMUNICATIONS ...................................................................................................................... 73 MONITORING AND EVALUATION ................................................................................................... 73 GENDER CONSIDERATIONS ......................................................................................................... 73 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................................ 74 E. COMPONENT 4: POLICY ENVIRONMENT FOR EAC INTEGRATION, TRADE AND INVESTMENT IMPROVED AND IMPLEMENTED .................................................................... 75 ii

EAST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB ANNUAL WORKPLAN

OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................... 75 TECHNICAL APPROACH ............................................................................................................... 75 Investment Lens .................................................................................................................. 75 Component 4 Strategy ........................................................................................................ 76 Cross-Component Integration ............................................................................................. 77 Project Year 1 ..................................................................................................................... 77 ACTIVITIES ................................................................................................................................. 77 Activity 1: Strengthening the Enabling Environment-Identification of Key Chokepoints and Establishment of Policy and Regulatory Networks ............................................................... 78 Activity 2: Implementation of Selected Policies and Regulations for Selected Sectors and Commodities ....................................................................................................................... 78 Activity 3: Advancing Regional Trade and Investment Agreements and Their Support Institutions ........................................................................................................................... 79 Activity 4: Advancing Regional Trade and Investment Through Implementation of Key Elements of the EAC Common Market Scorecard ............................................................... 81 COMMUNICATIONS ...................................................................................................................... 82 MONITORING AND EVALUATION ................................................................................................... 83 GENDER CONSIDERATIONS ......................................................................................................... 83 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................................ 83 F. EAST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB YEAR 1 WORKPLAN TIMELINE ........... 85

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TABLES AND FIGURES TABLE Table 1: Notional USG Toolbox to Attract New EAC Investment .............................................................. 25 Table 2: Component 2 Activities and Tools ................................................................................................ 59 Table 3: Year 1 Workplan Timeline ............................................................................................................. 85

FIGURE Figure 1: EATIH Stakeholder Engagement Methodology ........................................................... 9 Figure 2: EATIH Investor Lens Approach ..................................................................................10 Figure 4: Private Capital Investment Constraints.......................................................................16

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ABBREVIATIONS AAFA ACEF ACTESA ACTIF AFSTA AGOA AGRA CCA CGA CMS COMESA DCA EABC EAC+ EAFF EAGC EAPEA EAPIC EATH EATIH EMPEA EMU ESRF FNSP ICTB ILRI KAM KenInvest KEPSA KIPPRA MEAC NTB OPIC ReNAPRI RFBS RIA ROI

American Apparel and Footwear Association Africa Clean Energy Facility Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa African Cotton and Textile Industries Federation African Seed Trade Association African Growth and Opportunity Act Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa Corporate Council on Africa Cereal Growers Association Common Market Scorecard Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Development Credit Authority East Africa Business Council East African Community plus Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles and Ethiopia East Africa Farmers Federation Eastern Africa Grain Council East African Private Equity Association East African Phytosanitary Information Committee East Africa Trade Hub East Africa Trade and Investment Hub Emerging Markets Private Equity Association EATIH Economic Monitoring Unit Economic and Social Research Foundation EAC Food and Nutrition Security Policy Information, Communications and Technology Board of Kenya International Livestock Research Institute Kenya Association of Manufacturers Kenya Investment Promotion Agency Kenya Private Sector Alliance Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research Analysis Ministry of East African Cooperation Non-Tariff Barriers Overseas Private Investment Corporation Regional Network of Agricultural Policy Institutes Regional Food Balance Sheet Regulatory Impact Assessment Return on Investment EAST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB ANNUAL WORKPLAN

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SCO SCT SPS STS THD TICB TMEA USTDA USTR WCO WRS WTO YALI

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Simplified Certificate of Origin Single Customs Territory Sanitary and Phytosanitary Structured Trading System Trade Help Desk Trade and Investment Capacity Building Steering Group TradeMark East Africa U.S. Trade and Development Agency Office of the United States Trade Representative World Customs Organization Warehouse Receipt System World Trade Organization Young African Leaders Initiative

EAST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB ANNUAL WORKPLAN

A. INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND The USAID East Africa Trade and Investment Hub (EATIH) is the flagship project under the presidential Trade Africa initiative. A recent Presidential Memorandum aims to establish a comprehensive or wholeof-government approach to expanding Sub-Saharan Africa’s capacity for trade and investment. Following the memorandum and the African Leaders Summit in August 2014, the Trade and Investment Capacity Building (TICB) Steering Committee was established to develop a plan to coordinate USG agencies, chaired by the Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics.

The overarching focus of the EATIH is to deepen regional integration; increase the competitiveness of select regional agriculture value chains; promote two-way trade with the U.S. under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA); and facilitate investment and technology that drives trade growth intraregionally and to global markets, particularly the U.S. The project achieves this by partnering with the private sector and national governments to find practical solutions for trade and investment constraints that lead to a pro-investment environment. It also builds awareness around opportunities for African and U.S. firms to increase trade, expand business partnerships, and invest in East Africa.

By increasing private sector investment and creating business linkages, the EATIH also expands opportunities for economic growth in East Africa’s agricultural sector through the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative - Feed the Future (FTF).

STRATEGIC APPROACH The EATIH project is designed to build upon the fifteen-plus years of USAID investment in the East African Trade Hub facilities and the wider U.S. Government (USG) development support initiatives in the region; especially the FTF integrated programs. The purpose of the EATIH is to unleash the power of the East African and U.S. private business sectors to drive economic growth and transform business communities of East Africa into vibrant trading partners with their U.S. counterparts. The project also endeavors to accelerate efforts of private sector business organizations to engage in dialogue with public sector policy makers and regulators to streamline and enhance the East African Community’s (EAC) “business environment” for trade and investment and its regulatory management system.

The EATIH will work in partnership with the private sector to help define a “pro-investment” regulatory reform agenda. This agenda will be based on evidence that makes business sense for driving trade competitiveness of East African countries. This includes employing convening power within the context of private-public partnerships to improve the policy and regulatory environment for the EAC to promote trade and investment. EATIH programming will cover the EAC Partner States, plus the AGOA eligible states of Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles, South Sudan and Ethiopia (EAC+).

FACILITIES, TECHNIQUES, AND TOOLS The EATIH is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, and will consist of four components: 1. Investment and Technology (component one /C1); 2. Agriculture and Agribusiness (component two /C2); EAST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB ANNUAL WORKPLAN

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3. AGOA/U.S. Export andTrade Promotion (component three /C3); and 4. Policy and Regulatory Reform (component four /C4).

The project will also have a full-time Country Representative operating in each of the four other EAC Partner States (Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi) who will counterpart with USAID Trade Africa officers designated at bilateral USAID missions as Trade Africa points of contact. This group, the EATIH representatives and Trade Africa focal points, will function as the Economic Monitoring Unit that monitors and reports on key policy and regulatory issues related to EATIH interventions and ensures close coordination with USAID bilateral programming.

This group will work in tandem with the Policy and Regulatory Reform team, collaborating with the other EATIH components as relevant, to gather, collate and assess evidence for trade and investment policy and regulatory reform dialogue with policy makers and regulators from the perspective of an investor.

The four components of the EATIH will support increased East African competitiveness by identifying and then reducing or eliminating specific, targeted constraints within the business environment to East African trade and investment. This business environment reform approach uses proven business, organizational and policy reform techniques, including (among others): •

Public-private dialogue platforms for policy review

•

Sector competitiveness analysis for trade and investment

•

Regulatory management system for review of economic impact (preliminary regulatory impact assessment)

•

Political economy analysis

Achieving productive results through these tools and techniques requires that private business organizations engage openly with public sector regulators to renew, in a mutually accountable manner, the policy framework and its regulatory management system to promote economic and business competitiveness. By building and reinforcing private-public partnerships among interested and willing stakeholders, the EATIH can help ensure measureable impact of both increased trade and growth in jobs—an impact that can only develop through greater competitiveness and engagement with global markets.

CROSS-COMPONENT INTEGRATION The four EATIH components are fully integrated by design and share a common overarching approach informed by the above techniques and the following practices: The EATIH approach, first and foremost, employs an investors lens to seek out and address trade impediments and investment constraints; and All component activities will focus on and organize around the three flows of commerce: a) product flow, b) information flow, and c) investment flow.

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FIGURE 1: EATIH STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT METHODOLOGY

The graphic above illustrates EATIH’s methodology for using convening power to identify chokepoints and solutions while cultivating stakeholder engagement. Investment Convening Events include partner consultations where EATIH, with USAID and other agencies, would assemble public and private partners around a potential investment to coordinate appropriate interventions to close or accelerate an investment. Policy Convening Events include working groups and roundtables. AGOA and agriculture Sector Convening Events include workshops, seminars and B2B meetings.

Applying the investor lens (Figure 1 above), product flow will be viewed as a combination of goods and services within the so-called “value chain” that a business investor – different from a development perspective –will view in terms of insights and opportunities to help make an investment decision.

Information flow spans the spectrum from raw data to actionable business intelligence whereby investors constantly seek information to take decisions that make business sense. Investment flow lubricates the commercial process and, following our investor perspective approach, the EATIH will continually seek to help balance at the margin the risk-return equation and find the appropriate financial instruments and resources to support a positive decision by the private sector to invest.

The more efficient the three flows, the more competitive the business, and the more restrictions in flows the greater the reduction in efficiency and thus competitiveness. Going forward, EATIH activities will

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refer to trade and investment constraints as choke points which are by definition any combination of constraints that restrict the flow of products, information or investment. Stated from an investor’s perspective, a choke point is a constraint that raises investment risk or reduces the expected return on investment (ROI).

Lastly, the logical flow of this first workplan of the EATIH begins with the new addition to the USG trade hub facilities under Trade Africa; namely the promotion of investment and technology acquisition in East Africa from U.S. firms. Setting the stage with this investor lens approach, the document highlights the activities in Agriculture and Agribusiness aligning with the on-going goals and objectives of USAID’s regional FTF program, as well as the transaction-focused trade promotion activities leveraging the benefits of AGOA. It then addresses the demand-driven policy and regulatory reform actions to measure and improve the benefits of the evolving EAC and its common market.

FIGURE 2: EATIH INVESTOR LENS APPROACH

The graphic above illustrates how the EATIH will attract and increase US-EAC investment by applying an “investor lens” approach.

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The EATIH investor lens approach includes: •

Evidence-based assessments (that make business sense) to provide the basis for EATIH engaging EAC and U.S. private enterprise in both new and traditional sectors and of greatest interest to EAC and U.S. investors;

•

Verification and updating where needed, recent reviews and action items from current and previous USAID/FTF supported programs at the regional level (East Africa Trade Hub, Africa Lead II, ReSakss, and direct grant to the EAC Secretariat) as well as sister programs from USAID Bilateral Missions;

•

Robust outreach will identify the private sector landscape of new and potential investors in the EATIH key sectors. Through this outreach, the EATIH will develop a private sector network to drive identification of the most potent opportunities, their chokepoints, and the most effective intervention strategies to support directly private enterprise;

•

Intervention strategies developed through private sector engagement will draw from a full “toolbox” of possible USG, EAC, EATIH and private sector tools and instruments (e.g., development finance, capacity building, technical assistance, aggregator funding) to mitigate risks and otherwise help address constraints, incentivizing both investors and policy reform;

•

Where chokepoints require more complex, multi-step solutions, the EATIH will convene Private Public Working Groups to engage both investors and public stakeholders in the joint development of time-bound action plans. This will unlocked new investment opportunities and strengthened private sector capacity to accomplish sustained investor-driven reform.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES OBJECTIVES The overall objective of the EATIH is to increase intra-regional and international trade that contributes to increased regional economic growth, resilience, and integration.

Development Objective: Expanded Trade and Investment •

•

Intermediate Objective 1: Increase regional value chain competitiveness −

Intermediate Result 1: Intra-regional trade in staple foods

−

Intermediate Result 2: Increase global export competitiveness

−

Intermediate Result 6: Increase intra-regional export competitiveness

Intermediate Objective 2: Improve the regional trade and investment enabling environment −

Intermediate Result 3: Efficient/cost effective movement of traded goods across borders

−

Intermediate Result 4: Advancing regional trade and investment agreements and their support institutions

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Goals •

Integrated market with full implementation of the EAC Common Market and Customs Union;

•

Increased regional competitiveness driving growth in trade, investment and agriculture; and

•

Increased two-way trade and investment between the U.S. and East and Sub-Saharan African.

Impact •

Double the value of intra-regional trade in the EAC

•

Increase non-oil exports to the U.S. under the AGOA by 40 percent

•

Foster 10,000 new jobs through firms assisted by EATIH and its partners

•

Facilitate $100 million of new investments in target sectors in the EAC

•

Increase the EAC’s intra-regional trade in staple foods by 40 percent

YEAR 1 WORKPLAN This workplan was developed based on counterpart meetings, meetings with USAID, and strategic planning sessions with the EATIH Chief of Party and technical staff. The resulting technical approach and activities are presented below.

The workplan is organized by the four EATIH components. We have moved “Investment and technology acquisition between Eastern and Sub-Saharan Africa and global markets” into component 1, to reflect the investment-focused approach that overlays and guides the EATIH’s technical strategy and sector prioritization. We have removed “transfer” and added “acquisition” to the component title. We have shifted “Policy environment for EAC integration, trade and investment improved and implemented” to component 4 to demonstrate this component’s role as a foundational service provider to the other EATIH components.

The component sections begin with the contract-based Objectives, followed by the EATIH Technical Approach to reaching these objectives and the related Activities. This includes cross-component coordination, as each component will be highly integrated with others to maximize impact, and contains sub-sections on Communications, Monitoring and Evaluation, Gender, and Environmental Considerations.

Annex A contains a matrix for quick cross-referencing of where contract tasks are reflected in the EATIH activities.

CROSSCUTTING COMMUNICATIONS EATIH’s external communications objective is to build awareness around opportunities for African and U.S. firms to increase trade, expand business partnerships, and invest in East Africa and AGOA-eligible countries. As detailed in the Program Communication Strategy, EATIH will improve the information flow of beneficial EAC trade policy and systems, including improved technology, to East African crossborder traders and potential cross-border traders, from smallholder farmers to larger commercial entities.

It will also build awareness of how to take advantage of the AGOA preferential trade agreement; create networking opportunities for increased partnership and new business; increase the flow of information 12

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regarding the benefits of trade and investment in East Africa; and work with government stakeholders to build awareness of select trade constraints and suggest solutions for overcoming them, including implementation of established EAC policy.

The primary audience for EATIH’s external communications plan is the private sector; both in East Africa and in the U.S. EATIH will also engage the governments of East Africa and the East African people. To maximize impact, the project will collaborate with and communicate to multiple U.S. Government agencies and development partners who have a shared interest in advancing investment and trade, including the U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. Trade and Development Agency, Oversees Private Investment Corporation, Ex-Im Bank, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Millennium Challenge Corporation, U.S. Treasury, and USAID missions, regional, bilateral, and Washington.

EATH will also make sure to mention and promote cross-over U.S. government initiatives, including AGOA, FTF, Grow Africa, Young African Leaders Initiative, National Export Initiative, U.S.-EAC Trade and Investment Partnership, and G8 New Alliance.

As with all USAID projects, EATIH will also tailor some of its communications materials to the American people, the ultimate funders of the project. In general, the project’s communications products will be repackaged multiple times to effectively target its many audiences.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION The EATIH has based the Development Objective, Intermediate Objectives, Intermediate Results, and their associated Indicators presented in this workplan on the ACTE Results Framework. We used this for work planning purposes to demonstrate the flow of our activities to desired results and the greater objective, but recognize that EATIH’s pending Performance Management Plan will be the guiding document to formalize our objectives, results and indicators. Per contract requirements, the project PMP was submitted November 20, 2014.

GENDER AND YOUTH Per contract section H.47 “Gender Consideration,” EATIH will integrate gender considerations into both our strategic approach and specific activities to ensure that women and youth are engaged both as beneficiaries and decision-makers. As directed in the contract, “the contractor will complete an analysis of gender as part of its initial stages of implementation.” In support of genuine gender integration, EATIH Gender Manager, Lydiah Ojiambo, and STTA Gender Specialist Jill Sackett will work with Component teams to ensure a gender lens is applied to activity design and prioritization. In addition, they will develop a Gender Strategy for Women’s Business Empowerment which synthesizes the findings from the initial sector assessments to identify near-term opportunities at the activity level and to provide an overarching strategy to guide future programming.

The strategy will ensure EATIH is inclusive in its processes and provides targeted, tailored support to women beneficiaries and partners. This will include identification of key stakeholders to ensure that women are represented as decision-makers in EATIH’s private sector network and working groups. The strategy will help the project understand and overcome obstacles to successfully engaging women in training and capacity building and will identify where additional support, such as mentoring, is needed.

The project will capitalize on successful women in the EATIH sectors by promoting them as role models, demonstrating their positive impact to both male and female peers. The project will also link these women

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to other EATIH partner women and women’s organizations to promote networking. This document will be submitted following the EATIH components’ sector assessments, on March 31, 2015.

In addition, the EATIH PMP will define gender indicators and will include gender-disaggregated data where appropriate.

To support gender equalily in EATIH programming, wewill:

• Capitalize on and highlight successful women in business.

• Connect women to information, networks,

Under the guidance of the Gender Manager, EATIH will also and decision-making opportunities. proactively incorporate youth in its programming. The • Identify new entry points in value chains project is currently exploring engagement with the Young for women's engagement.

African Leaders Initiative (YALI), to potentially provide • Encourage the private sector to target YALI interns with opportunities to connect with EATIH women through increased financial and Component teams to fulfill YALI experiential learning technical cost sharing. requirements while supporting EATIH sector choke point and • Tailor capacity building that overcomes opportunity identification activities. EATIH will also engage barriers to economic engagement. with innovative youth and young entrepreneurs through places like the IHub, which host events and provided working space for ICT-focused web and mobile phone programmers, developed and researchers. The Gender Manager will collaborate with the technical teams to identify opportunities for youth engagement within their components.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS EATIH does not anticipate direct environmental impacts from the Component 1 (Investment) and Component 4 (Policy) activities, as the project will not be providing direct firm-level support in these areas. Per the contract, the Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) for EATIH designated some anticipated activities as “Categorically Excluded.” Some activities, under Component 2 (Agriculture) and Component 3 (AGOA/ Trade and Export) may fall under the selected activities the IEE categorized as “Negative Determination with Conditions.” Should potential environmental concerns be identified in proposed activities, EATIH will plan any necessary mitigation in compliance with USAID and host country standards. EATIH will support the COR and the Mission Environmental Officer or Bureau Environmental Officer in reviewing all planned and ongoing activities under this workplan to determine if they are within the scope of the approved 22 CFR 216 environmental documentation. Any new activities requiring an amendment to the environmental documentation will be submitted to USAID for review and approval.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE The EATIH organizational structure is shown below. The project team is organized into four components, with each component under the direction of a component lead. The Chief of Party overseas all four component teams, works directly with a Knowledge Management/Monitoring and Evaluation Manager to implement the Performance Monitoring Plan(PMP), and with the Senior Communications Director to implement the Project Communications Strategy. The COP also supervises the Gender Manager, who will implement the EATIH Gender Strategy, and the Director of Operations and Finance.b. Component 1: Investment and technology acquisition between Eastern and Sub-Saharan Africa and global markets, particularly the U.S., increased.

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OBJECTIVES The overarching goal of this component is to attract and accelerate U.S./EAC investment and technology acquisition, and strengthen two-way trade and investment between the U.S., East and Sub-Saharan Africa more broadly. We will achieve this goal by applying an investor lens to ascertain market-based solutions to economic development issues in East Africa, in sectors where the U.S. can contribute most in the way of management skills, capital and transformational technology to EAC+ firms.

TECHNICAL APPROACH Activities in component 1 will focus on attracting or accelerating investment to high-impact sectors, to be determined through an evidenced-based sector analysis, validated through private sector outreach and in consultation with USAID and its partners.

A continuous investor-led process across all the EATIH sectors will identify opportunities, key choke points to their realization, and an understanding of their contribution to investor returns. It will identify how targeted combinations of USG tools and incentives with other private instruments can mitigate risk and facilitate new investment. In addition to achieving overall project targets of $100 million in new investment and promoting new businesses, jobs, skills and technology, the process outlined throughout this component will strengthen the capacity of the EAC+ private sector to effectively advocate for investment-related policy reforms, long after the project is complete.

The investment component is the pillar that will support the other three components and will provide the basis from which the other EATIH components will operate in performing their activities and achieving their goals. New high-impact sectors, priority agriculture value chains and FTF staples, along with AGOA priority sectors will be connected to a toolbox of public and private incentives and instruments developed by the investment team, in consultation with USG agencies and private partners. While activities and outcomes will vary by sector, all components will benefit from the economy of a shared process and tools.

COMPONENT 1 STRATEGY AND APPROACH The EATIH will determine priority crosscutting sectors through a sector assessment using an approach grounded in extensive market research and private sector consultation and through leveraging existing investment and trade data. There are a myriad of investment constraints and a lack of adequate businessfriendly investment policies that restrict investment flows in the region. Our approach to facilitating $100 million in new investments over five years will focus on reducing the constraints at the investor/firm level. From our initial engagement with private sector partners, the following constitute some of the major investment constraints that prevent increased investment and trade flows in the EAC: •

Individual and institutional investors may not see EAC as a high investment potential destination mainly due to informational disadvantage. This reduces their proactivity in seeking investment opportunities.

•

Investors require independent validation on investment opportunities in the EAC region. This may mean that they need investment opportunities to come to them to give them a sense of security in the specific market/sector.

•

Potential investors—whether private, sophisticated or institutional—lack strong partners in the EAC that would be pivotal in facilitating successful transactions and investments.

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FIGURE 4: PRIVATE CAPITAL INVESTMENT CONSTRAINTS

Therefore, a clear gap exists at the investor level that may prevent intra-regional trade and investment from occurring. Our approach will involve the use of tactical and direct intervention by a team of skilled transaction advisers who will be able to bridge this investment gap and catalyze investment in the region.

We have initially selected three highly regarded financial advisory firms to support EATIH in unlocking investment into the region. Their primary role will be: •

Identify investment opportunities in the region and generate a strong pipeline of transactions within the selected high-impact sectors.

•

Carry out market research and opportunity assessment on behalf of potential U.S. investors identified through their existing networks.

•

Provide transaction support including market due diligence, risk analysis, financial modelling and forecasting in behalf of investors and target firms.

•

Capital raising activities which will include sourcing equity and debt from local, regional and international investors. In addition, these firms will also source investment-enabling products such as facility guarantees and political risk insurance instruments.

Sector Strategy

Our sector prioritization work will focus on using already existing trade flows and investment data flows to validate our hypothesis on the high-impact sectors to focus our investment efforts. Examples of the sources of this data are: •

World Bank, IFC and USAID reports.

•

U.S. Department of Commerce and interagency working group.

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U.S. Department of Commerce statistics and market intelligence.

•

East Africa Private Equity Association reports on EAC+ investment flows.

•

Deloitte survey on East African Investment Confidence (2014).

•

Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA) proprietary database for investments and fundraising in Emerging markets.

•

EAC data on trade and investment flows.

•

Engagement with our EAC+ networks and partners.

These sectors, once broadened, deepened and expanded through EATIH facilitated support, will drive new investment to the EAC region and increase the appetite on the part of U.S. and diaspora investors for the EAC region.

From our initial data review and consultations, our central hypothesis is that we will expect that the following three high-impact sectors will form the core of our investment facilitation work: •

Biotechnology

•

ICT and innovation

•

Agribusiness (with a focus on the staple food products per the FTF Multi-year strategy 2011-2015)

The AGOA-related sectors, cotton, textiles and apparel (CTA) and potentially renewed support to the fine coffees sector, are linked within this component via the Partnership Fund activities, which in collaboration with our component three Trade Promotion and AGOA team, we will use as a platform to facilitate trade and accelerate investment in the region.

The brief analysis below provides an overview of these sectors and the basis of our thinking in their selection.

Biotechnology

We anticipate biotechnology to be our first high-impact sector. Biotechnology is defined as the use of genetic engineering to improve an existing living organism. In this context, we have selected biotechnology as a high impact sector because it is seen as critical for food security. Its adoption in East Africa would help to significantly increase agricultural production, increase trade, and attract investment in technology research and development. The current blanket ban in the EAC that restricts the importation of genetically modified products is seen as an investment constraint as this has prevented the entry of a number of large investors especially in the area of BT cotton and GM maize. Our intervention will mainly consist of policy work with stakeholders in the sector. We will also act as convener of biotechnology stakeholders with a view to increasing awareness of the impact of the blanket ban on restricting trade and investment in the region.

We have identified the following key partners to work with in the sector: -Kenya University Biotechnology Consortium -International Service for the Acquisition of Agr-Bio Tech Applications -Open Forum on Agricultural Bio-technology in Africa.

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ICT and Innovation

The ICT and innovation sector in East Africa has undergone a significant transformation within the last five years, especially with regard to mobile connectivity which has unlocked the potential of the region to connect with billions of people. Two key areas that have been particularly important for the economic and investment environment are: 1) the improved fiber optic links between the region and the rest of the world, which includes construction of the first under-sea fiber optic cable network, SEACOM, which serves Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda that has increased internet use exponentially and spurred innovation and growth in the ICT sector: 2) is the related expansion of mobile telephony and related services, notably mobile money.

Our approach in this sector will focus on engaging with selected partners within the ICT and innovation ecosystem in East Africa to support and promote ICT and innovation development in the region as a catalyst for attracting investment as well as promoting trade in the region. EATIH sees a direct relationship between a developed ICT sector with high levels of innovation and higher levels of investment more broadly into the region. An excellent example of an ICT innovation in East Africa that has had a significant impact on increasing trade is M-Farm. This is a mobile application that connects farmers with up-to-date prices for their produce, which increases their access to markets and increases the flow of 42 agricultural crops grown by farmers in the region. The number of small scale farmers using the application is now at 20,000 and is expected to continue to increase exponentially.

We have identified leaders in the ICT and innovation space in the EAC that will play a central role in attracting investment flows.

An example of one of our planned partners is iHub, East Africa’s first and largest ICT and innovation center that has already helped create more than 100 new start-ups, creating over 5,000 jobs in just five years and attracting private and investment capital to the region estimated at over $50 million. The White House and the UN have recognized the role that iHub can play as a center of innovation and investment in East Africa.

Our engagement with centers of innovation, such as iHub, and others will seek to achieve the following results: •

Foster growth in innovation and entrepreneurship within the EAC region, using this as a basis to continue to attract private capital and investment. An example of this type of innovation is PingApp, a two way, multi-channel commercial application developed at iHub, which acts as a group safety system to help companies increase the safety of their employees in dangerous regions.

•

Support these centers of innovation to help fuel the expansion of the ICT sector which will in turn lead to the creation of new jobs, which matches the overall objectives of the EATIH. For example, AkiraChix is an innovative company that has emerged from iHub that focuses on increasing the number of female tech entrepreneurs in the region. Supporting this initiative would be in line with the EATIH’s gender focus which centers around the empowerment of women in business

•

Support and help facilitate the creation of new technologies that could serve to solve problems in the region, which, in turn, could lead to the creation of successful businesses that can attract investment.

For example, one start-up created at iHub, Ushahidi, which is an open source data management/crowd data collection platform, has developed and launched over 60,000 maps for the African region across 159 countries and has attracted over $10 million in private capital from the U.S. and U.K.

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Our approach in this sector will be to engage our partners from an investor lens, validating known investment constraints, identify of new constraints and work with our financial advisory partners to identify deal transactions and match them with investors with an overall aim of increasing trade and attracting investment to the region.

Agribusiness

Agribusiness includes businesses in the input sector, food processing, harvest and distribution, marketing and the financing of inputs. Agribusiness and its related activities accounts for more than 50% of the EAC’s GDP and over 70% of employment in the region. While we have reviewed available data for investment and trade flows, it is evident that most private sector investment is focused on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and a large proportion is directed towards high-value crops and non-traditional products destined for the international market. Activities directly linked to agricultural production are also attracting significant FDI, such as food processing, transport and marketing.

The EATIH’s focus for the agribusiness sector will be on the priority areas singled out by the FTF program in East Africa as articulated in the FTF 2011-2015 multi-year strategy. For example, one of the core investment areas within the FTF strategy is to support the use of sophisticated technologies for production, market logistics, storage and packaging and marketing of staple foods in the region. In addition, the need for structured trading systems is included as a core area of focus for facilitating the increase in the trade of staple foods across the region. Structured trading systems would significantly help farmers in the observance of commodity standards as well as the application of technology in enhancing the trade of staple foods.

Our investment focus within Agri-business will be to attract investment in these sectors as exemplified in the entry into East Africa of Buhler AG which is a German firm that specializes in the optimization of grain milling, sifting and grading technologies. Our hypothesis is that there is huge potential to attract investment in this sector which will ultimately lead to the increase in trade in staples foods across EAC. Available data (World Bank, FAO) shows that, at 35 percent, food producers and processors form the largest percentage of agribusiness enterprises in the EAC region. Textiles form 20 percent of the enterprises, fisheries 5percent, and forestry 15percent with the remainder of firms in the marketing, distribution, and storage and input supply sectors (UNIDO 2007). While we will focus on validation of this hypothesis, our initial targeted activities in this sector will be: •

Food processing and production

•

Input supply (e.g. fertilizer, seeds)

•

Post- harvest activities such as marketing, distribution and transport

•

Storage, warehousing and market logistics for staple foods.

For each of these sectors and their associated value chains, the EATIH will develop private sector networks from existing and nascent private sector associations, anchor investors, and other stakeholders.

These stakeholders will include engagement with Grow Africa.

Our initial engagement has already identified our strategic partners and we are in the process of defining our future engagement with them. These networks will be the foundation for EATIH efforts, serving as a resource to ground-truth validation for the selected sector assessment in terms of real-time investor appetite. They will identify key regulatory choke points and address these and other constraints inhibiting EAST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB ANNUAL WORKPLAN

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new investments. This will help identify opportunities for EATIH to focus tools and incentives, and become focal points to strengthen capacity of the private sector to drive reform unlocking investment in each sector. We envision this will become a sustained network to push investor-led reforms throughout the project, and beyond.

Leveraging USG to Transform Opportunities into Investment

A key element of the EATIH is the strategic application of U.S. government tools as “tipping points” in potentially viable transactions, enabling new investment. Capacity gaps in projects and value chains are often the greatest risk of an investment at the outset, and targeted use of technical assistance and development finance by government agencies can tip the balance to allow an investment to move forward.

Traditional U.S. government tools could be used when appropriate (see table below). However, the EATIH pipeline will present the opportunity for the EATIH and U.S. government agencies to apply and combine tools in innovative ways where existing tools are insufficient to meet the need of a specific transaction to bring it to close or to scale. For example: combining USAID resources with OPIC and private insurers for credit and political risk mitigation, combining OPIC debt finance with USAID or U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) technical assistance or feasibility support; creative use of grant funding for reimbursable guarantees; using a Development Credit Authority (DCA) product to address gaps identified by investors and governments in a specific project; third party grant agreements to provide patient capital; sharing pre-feasibility or project development costs for smaller companies; providing partial risk guarantees to mitigate payment risk; and risk mitigation products (e.g. crop insurance) for agriculture. EATIH will develop a pipeline of opportunities for U.S. agencies to innovatively deploy or develop new products around specific transactions, providing a laboratory for agencies to combine their products – both with other agencies and private sources—in a way that reflects the specific needs of the investors most interested in high-impact EAC sectors.

Technology and innovation adoption in the EAC region will be accelerated through the expansion of investment in cross-cutting sectors, which frequently brings with it private sector capacity building and training. The EATIH can also serve as a platform when needed to facilitate public-private partnerships to encourage development of domestic supply chains and global market linkages.

Cross-Component Integration •

An investment lens will be applied to all EATIH components, to ensure economies of scale are achieved to facilitate $100 million of new investment and create 10,000 new jobs in EAC+ targeted sectors.

•

The EATIH will operate with the underlying understanding that recent studies indicate that most trade (up to 80 percent) occurs within the context of investor networks, mostly within supply chains.

Attracting and accelerating investment to the EAC region will necessarily increase EAC trade and technology acquisition. Most international investors provide some kind of capacity building that can be leveraged and enhanced with USG tools.

•

The EATIH “toolbox,” developed by the investment team, will include both USG tools and incentives from EAC+ member states and potential private instruments that can be leveraged, alone or in combination, to mitigate risk of a particular investment opportunity across all sectors and components.

•

The EATIH will work within the priority core investment areas identified by the Feed the Future program (Per the FTF strategy for 2011-2015) to attract and encourage investment in services and

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facilities that will improve small holder farmer production (E.g. warehousing, storage, logistics, and inputs).

•

Investment-related outreach will, when possible, leverage EATIH AGOA/trade promotion outreach events and where appropriate, keeping in focus that 2015 is the year for the extension of the AGOA Act which will expire in September 2015.

•

The EATIH will utilize U.S. government U.S.-Africa trade and investment events and tools to promote EATIH goals, including gender focused-initiatives.

•

The EATIH will work with U.S. Department of Commerce and with businesses to promote goals.

Investment choke points identified by the private sector in priority sectors will drive the regulatory reform agenda under component one, so that all policy and regulatory reform efforts will be through an investor lens, private sector-led and transaction-based.

Year 1

Within the first year of the project: •

The EATIH will conduct sector validation work on the pre-selected sectors above, with USAID concurrence, on the highest-impact cross-cutting sectors within the EAC+ (EAC plus Ethiopia, Seychelles Mauritius and Madagascar) on which to focus EATIH investment-related activity and take full advantage of potential synergies between these priority sectors and AGOA and FTF priority value chains. The investment component will focus on agribusiness sectors, i.e. food processing and production, input supply, marketing, distribution, and storage, warehousing and market logistics. .

The sector validation process will include those sectors that could be most catalytic in stimulating “EAC-plus” global competitiveness, and serve as a magnet to attract additional investment, particularly U.S. investment, to the EAC. The high-impact research process will leverage existing reports that examine investment flows into the EAC region rather than seek to perform a reassessment of high-impact.

•

Sector selection criteria will include current appetite on the part of investors and anticipated investment rate of return, levels of required investment, national government prioritization (i.e., EACplus prioritized sectors); opportunities for leveraging the support of other USG agencies, levels of trade, production, investment and employment. At the same time verification is undertaken, outreach will occur via one-on-one meetings with potential investors and discussions with private sector associations, to identify key investment opportunities and the constraints.

•

The EATIH will develop a $20-25 million pipeline of investment opportunities that could be transaction-ready by March 31, 2015. EATIH will do this working with highly visible sector specialist financial advisory firms. These firms will provide U.S. investors with market and investment opportunity research, financial advisory, capital raising and sourcing for the EAC market.

•

Once this pipeline of opportunities is generated, EATIH will determine which projects could benefit most from U.S. agency assistance and other available support. The second deliverable, due April 15, 2015, will be a menu of risk mitigation and capacity building needs for each transaction, which USG agencies and other partners could potentially provide, alone or in combination with other products.

EATIH’s goal will be to facilitate the meeting of these needs with U.S. government tools, that once incorporated, could increase the project’s likely investment return or bankability, and/or accelerate the timeline for commercial viability, so that the investment opportunity is a “go.” This transactionEAST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB ANNUAL WORKPLAN

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based approach is consistent with other innovative U.S. government strategies that are being applied to transformative sectors, such as Power Africa, and is based on the assumption that more investors would be attracted to development priorities if they could receive the right mix of risk-sharing instruments and capacity building provided by the U.S. government and other partners.

•

The third deliverable, to be developed between March 15 and August 1, 2015, will be the integration of U.S. agency products into the most viable transactions, in coordination with USAID and the interagency. To do this, in addition to the TICB, the EATIH will work closely with new U.S. government platforms with reinforcing objectives such as the new Private Capital Group and the Africa Private Capital Group. These initiatives are designed to coordinate U.S. government tools around specific transactions to attract new investment in high-impact, transformative sectors using a network of field investment officers on the ground. In addition to developing a pipeline of late-stage potential transactions throughout Africa in agriculture and health, many of which will likely be in the EAC region, the group can be a valuable partner for combining tools in a way that meets market needs and in brokering U.S. agency support. EATIH and PCG could also leverage each other’s capacities to attract investment to U.S. development priorities, including investor maps and networks, innovative finance tools, capacity building to support investment and investment promotion, and a stable of best practice models to achieve a region’s development priorities. This integration will also be done with an eye toward ongoing TICB efforts to catalogue and examine existing and potential trade and investment capacity building efforts, including trade-related efforts to enhance regional integration, USG programs to strengthen development of supply chains, support the development of hard and soft infrastructure and promote and enabling environment for investment.

•

The EATIH will develop private sector networks for each priority sector and related supply chain from relevant private sector associations, nascent associations, anchor investors, and other private sector stakeholders and aggregators in the EAC region, as well as in diaspora communities in the U.S. These networks will be formed in coordination with the TICB steering group ongoing consultation process. Building blocks for these networks include East Africa Business Council, Kenya Private Sector Alliance, Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kenya Association of Manufacturers, East Africa investment promotion agencies, as well as the Corporate Council on Africa. We have engaged extensively since start-up with Rwanda Development Board, Tanzania Investment Authority and Uganda Investment Authority. Private sector associations engaged with include KEPSA and the Private Sector Federation of Rwanda.

•

From these networks, private sector-led intervention strategies and action agendas will be strengthened with both existing and new networks which identify the most significant investment choke points in each sector and opportunities to address them, focusing the application U.S. government tools and capacity building to address or mitigate their impact on investment. For example, new networks and organizations not previously utilized include the Rwanda Private Sector Federation and the OAU. As CCA already has an MOU in place with the African Union Commission (AUC), the EATIH will focus on leveraging this relation to promote our objective to increase trade in the region. The overarching goal of this MOU signed in 2010 was to assist the AUC in establishing the first Pan African Chamber of Commerce, which has since been established and which is seen as a potential catalyst for promoting trade and investment in region. The networks will identify specific investment opportunities at the sub-sector level, in which the EATIH will apply both U.S. tools and incentives, private instruments and partner resources, including cost sharing, technical assistance, public-private partnerships or targeted capacity building and training, to facilitate and accelerate

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investment in value chains in these key sectors. Intervention strategies will be developed as a result of this process with partners, using public and private tools.

•

EATIH will establish partnerships with each EAC investment promotion agency, including promoting the sharing of information, best practices and data on investment opportunities. Where priorities overlap, investment agencies can participate in EATIH activities. We have already initiated contact with key investment promotion agencies in EAC such as KenInvest and The Rwanda Development Board and the Tanzanian Investment Authority. The engagement has revealed an immense appetite for intra-regional trade and investment and helped us identify investment constraints or choke points that we will continue to crystallize in the next quarter. We intend to leverage the partnership between CCA and the AUC (African Union Commission) in our investment facilitation efforts through their extensive membership network in the U.S. and East African region.

•

The EATIH will be available where appropriate as a facilitator to promote opportunities for public – private partnerships, to enhance opportunity-related training, and to encourage backward local economic linkages.

•

EATIH will utilize the Partnership Fund along with other USG development finance tools, to develop innovative financing structures to facilitate investment in each sub-sector. The partnership fund will focus on supporting business associations within the selected high-impact sectors that have potential for investment. The overall vision of the partnership fund is to be the partner of choice for the mobilization of grant funding for EAC+ business associations that require increased capacity to serve their members and increase their member’s capacity to catalyze trade investment in the EAC region.

EATIH’s focus will be sector-driven and our funding will remain results focused and outcome based, ensuring that we mobilize funding to associations that have the potential to contribute to increased trade and investment and the creation of jobs.

ACTIVITIES We have aligned activities under Component 1 with the Development Objective of Expanded Trade and Investment and the Intermediate Results of: •

Intermediate Result 1: Intra-regional trade in staple foods

•

Intermediate Result 2: Increase global export competitiveness

•

Intermediate Result 5: Increase global trade in non- staple foods

•

Intermediate Result 6: Increase intra-regional export competitiveness

To address the contract task “Work with USAID to explore establishing an incentive payment structure or other scheme under which a TIH employee would receive payment or benefit beyond his/her regular salary or compensation in order to further incentivize the employee bringing investment or technology transfer transactions to close” during Year 1 EATIH will explore and design where appropriate: •

An Export Managers / Buying Office Managers cost sharing support activity under Component 3; and

•

Working with our financial advisory partners to draft an incentive scheme for deal pipeline execution.

Our strategy will be to use an incentive scheme that means payment for services will be driven by delivery and closure of deals.

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ACTIVITY 1: HIGH-IMPACT SECTOR ASSESSMENT VALIDATION Project Partners: Research and Data Analysis Specialist; Investment Specialist; key partners, e.g., East African Private Equity Association, EAC Business Council, East Africa based challenge funds, highly active sector focused boutique advisory firms, commercial finance entities, Power Africa team , Grow Africa, Feed the Future and CCA, Connected Components: Components 2 and 3 Activity Description: Work with private sector actors, U.S interagency, and associations to validate the selection of high-impact sectors proposed by EATIH. This will include a focus on synergies with priority agriculture and AGOA sectors and value chains, and will identify sectors where the U.S. can contribute most in the way of management skills, capital and transformational technology. This will include: •

Market sector research and validation through outreach with identified stakeholders

•

Identification of existing work on investment and trade flows into these market sectors and development of a hypothesis on the high-impact sectors we will focus on. Analysis of anticipated returns on investment and obtaining an understanding of what investors are seeking within these sectors,

•

Analysis of EAC national government priorities within these sectors and how these priorities can help to increase and facilitate investment

•

Obtain full concurrence from USAID on the sector selections; ensuring that EATIH maintain a firm investment focus on the potential investment sectors with the FTF staple foods strategy.

•

Complete an analysis of the Grow Africa existing letters of commitment from private companies on investment in Agriculture and determine EATIH’s in helping unlocking these investments to promote trade in the region.

Expected Benefit: Validation statement developed for the sectors hypothesised by EATIH with the highest potential to attract investment into EAC. Where outcomes will be most relevant to U.S./EAC-plus market linkages strengthening intervention with our existing private sector network for each sector that will develop and drive the investment agenda will be confirmed.

Year 1 Milestones: •

Stakeholders who can provide the data required to provide an informed analysis of high-impact sectors identified.

•

Assessment and engagement of partners that will support EATIH to deliver a transaction pipeline that will reach investment amounting to $20m-$25m within the selected high-impact sectors.

•

Set-up contractual agreements with transaction pipeline partners, with USAID concurrence, including an agreed incentive plan for transaction close completion.

•

Validation and evidence based analysis of high-impact sectors on which to focus produced, with clear quantification of the agreed selection criteria.

•

Identify, with our advisory partners, potential investment opportunities and a strong deal pipeline with high probability of reaching financial close within the EAC-plus for U.S. and other investors.

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•

Potential investment returns for U.S. investors quantified in IRR terms.

•

Complete transactions within the deal pipeline in our targeted sectors with a value of at least $25m.

•

Review and validate Grow Africa’s private partner’s commitment to investment in Agriculture and determine whether EATIH has a role to play in unlocking these core investments.

•

Targeted outreach to potential investors in key sectors conducted to validate findings.

•

Key government actors within the EAC+ countries identified and national priority sectors reviewed (e.g. EAC national and regional agencies, Tanzania Investment Authority, Uganda Investment Authority and KenInvest).

•

Complete terms of reference and obtain full engagement with CCA as sub-contractor and set investment targets to achieve within the first year.

•

Assess the core investment priority sectors as envisioned in the overall Feed the Future multi-year strategy for 2011-2015, as a basis to attract private investment that will impact small holder farmers in the region.

•

EATIH priority sectors and EAC prioritized sectors (per its 2012-2017 5 year strategy) selected.

•

Assessment for USAID and TICP review drafted – January 31, 2015

•

Assessment finalized– 28 February, 2015

ACTIVITY 2: U.S. TOOLS AND INCENTIVES AND NEW TOOLS Project Partners: Component 1 team with TICB partners (USAID, USTR, CCA, USTDA, OPIC, Ex-Im, USDOC/CS, USDA/FAS, DOT/MDBs) and specialist financial advisory partners Connected Components: Components 2 and 3 Activity Description: From the generated pipeline developed with financial advisors, EATIH will determine which projects could benefit most from U.S. agency assistance and other available support. For those projects the EATIH will develop a menu of risk mitigation and capacity building needs for each transaction which USG agencies and other partners could potentially provide alone or in combination with other products. The EATIH will then work with USAID and other agencies to integrate U.S. agency products into the most viable transactions, alone or in combination with other DFI and private tools. To do this, in addition to the TICB, the EATIH will work closely with new U.S. government platforms with overlapping objectives.

Expected Benefit: The impact of U.S. agency tools to attract investment to the EAC+ region will be verified and opportunities identified for pilot innovative applications of existing tools will be launched.

From our engagement with USG partners, we have identified the following toolbox that we will leverage to facilitate $100m in new investment: TABLE 1: NOTIONAL USG TOOLBOX TO ATTRACT NEW EAC INVESTMENT Company Risks/Needs Patient/seed capital and mezzanine finance

Indicative Existing U.S. Government Tools USAID Sustainable Energy for Africa Trust Fund: Challenge Grants (e.g., PoweringAg - $27 million of available grants of up to $300,000 for clean energy that empowers smallholders.

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Company Risks/Needs

Capacity building: feasibility, e.g., country Public-Private Partnership (PPP) capability, negotiation of off-takes (energy), transaction advice for RFPs and PPP framework agreements, project development, legal, construction, trade, advisors, identification of PPP partners, address gaps in regulatory regime and develop regulatory and commercial strategies.

Guarantees (first loss/partial risk, credit risk (breach of payment contract) and termination

Insurance (political/currency risk) Long-term debt financing

Technical assistance

Policy/regulatory

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Indicative Existing U.S. Government Tools Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Africa Catalyst Fund: (up to $100 million for SMEs pan-Africa).

USAID Africa Infrastructure Program: (transactional, regulatory, and advisory support for countries); grants used as seed financing geared to technical assistance for initial start-up).

U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA):, preliminary feasibility studies, grants for training, support choosing PPP partners and developing frameworks, streamlining regulatory functions for private-sector participation).

USDOC Commercial Law Development Program: provides training and advice for business and governments to reduce project development cycle, PPP capacity, regulatory harmonization, core framework agreements (e.g. power). Also, International Trade Administration, (Global Markets, US Export Assistance Centers, and Industry & Analysis), Commercial Law Development Program, United States Patent and Trademark Office and National Institute of Standards and Technology USAID/OPIC Africa Energy Guarantee Fund: public/private reinsurance pool with MunichRe, Zurich, ATI, and others to share credit and political risk.

USAID/AfDB: set-aside for partial risk guarantees for power projects in Africa; risk capital funds that could be used for first loss.

Development Credit Authority (DCA): provides partial loan guarantees to local private finance institutions to lower perceived risk of financing underserved borrowers (loan guarantees for banks; partial credit guarantees; local bank credit for project development).

ExIm Bank: long-term loan guarantees for buyers of U.S. exports.

OPIC/USAID Africa Energy Guarantee Fund: public/private reinsurance pool to share political and credit risk on African renewables.

OPIC currency inconvertibility and political risk.

OPIC: Up to $1.5 billion committed to financing and insuring energy projects in Africa; SME and structured financing ($350,000–$250 million) up to 10 years.

OPIC/USTDA/ExIm Clean Energy Development and Finance Center (CEDFC) $20 million facility to help companies combine USTDA project planning and pre/postfeasibility with OPIC risk mitigation and Ex-Im Bank trade finance in the cleanenergy sector.

ExIm: fixed-rate loans directly to foreign buyers of U.S. equipment or services and for exporters involved in large-scale infrastructure projects.

USAID: technical assistance, grants and risk mitigation to advance private-sector energy transactions and help SSA governments adopt and implement policy, regulatory and enabling environment reforms necessary to attract investment in the power sector.

USTDA: project development and training grants; U.S. Africa Clean Energy Finance Initiative (U.S.-ACEF): Managed by OPIC, State, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. It provides early-stage project development to renewable power projects in Africa to cover technical and feasibility studies, legal and administrative fees, and other expenses that may stall progress of vital clean energy projects.

OPIC/USTDA CEDFC: $20 million facility includes technical assistance for projects.

USAID: technical-assistance, grants, and risk mitigation to support policy, regulatory, and enabling environmental reforms needed to attract investment.

U.S. Department of Commerce services USTDA: technical assistance that supports policy/regulatory reform; USDOC: Commercial Law Development Program provides both regional and country-specific training for both governments and business in intellectual property,

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Company Risks/Needs

Trade/project finance

Market linkages

Indicative Existing U.S. Government Tools core agreements for PPPs, regulatory harmonization, and commercial dispute resolution.

OPIC: limited recourse project finance.

Ex-Im Bank: Commercial guarantees for medium/long-term loans by banks to African buyers; working capital guarantees for U.S. exporters; export credit insurance; project financing for most African countries.

Short-term Africa Initiative: financing for African infrastructure-related transactions.

USTDA reverse-trade missions for African buyers of U.S. products (e.g., funding for African companies to come to United States to learn about U.S. technology and services to purchase).

U.S. Department of Commerce/State (and CCA) trade/policy missions.

Year 1 Milestones: •

Meetings held and research conducted with relevant agencies and programs, capturing existing and potential USG tools and initiatives.

•

Analysis of the implications of the existing CCA MOU with AU and assessment of the implications on its impact on EATIH overall goals.

•

Obtain from selected advisory firms available risk mitigation tools that could direct potential U.S. investment in the EAC and increase investment.

•

Potential private tools and aggregators assessed that could be combined with USG tools.

•

Draft “toolbox” generated for USAID and other USG agency input – March 2015

•

Final synopsis written and distributed –May 2015

ACTIVITY 3: PARTNERSHIP FUND Project Partners: Investment Specialist; Partnership Fund Director, Investment Committee and Team, local financial institutions.

Connected Components: Components 2 and 3 will access the fund as appropriate Activity Description: Institute under the Partnership Fund a window related to this component with appropriate procedures, criteria, and advertising, to assist African groups and firms to access and adapt new technologies through partnership, procurement or investment; and facilitate these relationships and transactions. The Partnership Fund will support the building of regional private sector and producer associations, facilitating the provision of US technology and investment through cost-sharing as well as supporting pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, trade show participation and other activities to bring business partners and associations together and bring transactions to fruition. The Fund will also support research and advocacy for the implementation of policy reforms. Our focus will be to link our institutional support with the high impact sectors identified and validated as part of activity 1: ICT, Biotechnology, and Agribusiness. Our initial engagement with various EAC partners in these sectors is further described in the initial concept notes received below.

The application process will include direct solicitation from pre-selected EATIH partners as well as unsolicited proposals. The Partnership Fund will be focused on supporting applications that demonstrate

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potential impact on the level of trade and investment in EAC-plus region and that fall within our validated high impact sectors.

Activities will also include: 1. Institute partnership fund governance, procedures and the overall investment vision of the fund.

2. Draft grant investment strategy and investment criteria.

3. Draft a set of measures of impact and reporting standards for the fund based on grants disbursed.

4. Institute an Investment Committee with appropriate representation in the targeted sectors.

5. Commence marketing activities to EAC forums and institutions and develop a strong pipeline of high potential business association that cut-across sectors that could benefit from the fund.

6. Utilise our knowledge management skills within EATIH to report on the impact of grant funding that could provide an evidence-based analysis of how the Partnership grant funding has contributed to our overall goal of increasing trade and investment in the region and the creation of jobs.

7. Engage with Food Trade ESA teams for lessons learnt in their partnership fund that could be applicable to EATIH. Expected Benefit: The partnership fund will increase EATIH capacity to attract investment and leverage private sector instruments to take full advantage of EAC-plus opportunities.

Year 1 Milestones: •

Completion of the governance documentation and the overall vision and ethos of the Partnership fund and appointment of the investment committee.

•

Determine clear investment criteria and grant strategy for the partnership fund.

•

Fund established and formally constituted by February 1, 2015.

•

Identification of potential pipeline associations and institutions in the EAC, with a cross-cutting component focus (Agriculture, AGOA and Regulatory policy components) with an overall goal of promoting trade, investment and regional integration that could benefit from the fund and provision of grants totalling $3m by the end of the first year.

•

Marketing the fund and its vision through our established networks of business associations across EAC.

•

Carry out an impact analysis with associations and institutions supported by the fund to establish the impact of the grant funding and its contribution to EATIH’s overall objectives to increase investment by $25m in year 1 and create new jobs.

ACTIVITY 4: PRIVATE SECTOR NETWORK AND PARTNERS Project Partners: COP; Component 3 Lead and Team; Investment Team and Partnership Facilitator; USG agencies, CCA Connected Components: Components 2 and 3

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Activity Description: Strengthen network(s) of African and U.S. partners for each target sector, in coordination with USG agencies and private partners.

Expected Benefit: Validation of priority sectors and private sector constituency engaged in high-impact sectors that will drive reforms most relevant to investors that can be sustained beyond the project.

Year 1 Milestones: •

List of private actors, associations, key contacts defined.

•

Participate and attend three key trade and investment delegations as part of the CCA drive to increase investment in the region and identify new investment opportunities within the selected sectors.

•

Propose, participate, attend and document on outcomes from the following conferences that will be key to cementing partnership contacts on a cross-sector basis: −

AFSIC 2015-Global forum for African financial services firms, investors and deal makers

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CCA Agri-business conference, a forum for investors, agri-business companies and government institutions focused on investment and regulatory constraints that prevent investment in the sector.

−

CCA Flagship Africa Business Summit 2015.

−

2015 Agri-business conference East Africa.

•

Outreach strategy for U.S. actors based on their potential offering and EATIH’s requirements drafted.

•

Outreach efforts combined with TICB stakeholder consultations. (USTR, OPIC, Ex-Im bank, USDOC, USDA, Foreign Agricultural Service, Foreign Commercial Service and U.S. Treasury).

•

Networks strengthened and reviewed July 2015 and ongoing through year 2.

ACTIVITY 5: OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT AND TRANSACTION PIPELINE CREATION Project Partners: COP; Component 1 Team; Key partners such as KNEC, EABC, KEPSA, East African Private Equity Association, Ken Invest, Rwanda development Board, Tanzanian Investment Authority and Financial advisory firms.

Connected Components: Components 2 and 3 will undertake similar assessments in their priority sectors Activity Description: After USAID concurrence on 3-4 focus sectors, with private sector partners, identify specific opportunities for U.S. investments ensuring that we strengthen core sectors and identify new sectors for U.S. private sector engagement. The project will target opportunities with the highest potential for the U.S. to contribute management skills, capital and transformational technology. It will also identify potential U.S. and African actors and stakeholders related to the opportunities and will solidify private sector network around these opportunities. Financial advisory firm partners profiled above will support EATIH’s overall objectives by: •

Sourcing investment opportunities in the targeted sectors and approaching investors and U.S. foreign agencies where appropriate.

•

Development of a prioritized pipeline of investment opportunities in the EAC within the selected high-impact sectors.

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•

Deal execution, including transaction structuring, deal ramp up and achieving financial close including the provision of deal structuring, financial modelling and due diligence where required.

Expected Benefit: The opportunities identified will help direct the investment strategy of our U.S. potential investors into EAC and help focus EATIH activity on the chokepoints of greatest interest to investors, ensuring both the best use of USG resources and relevant outcomes most likely to strengthen U.S.-EAC+ market linkages.

Year 1 Milestones: •

USAID concurrence on high-impact sectors obtained.

•

Determine key criteria for investment transactions with financial advisory partners and USAID.

•

Extensive outreach and validation of sectors selected with private sector partners and EAC stakeholders in each priority sector conducted.

•

Highest impact investment opportunities available for U.S. investors identified and quantified, on a sector basis.

•

A strong deal pipeline of investment opportunities and transactions including expressions of interest from investors and targets finalized. Focus will be maintained on the creation of a pipeline that provides a cross cutting focus on the core components Agriculture, Policy and AGOA.

•

Financial closure for a minimum of 2-3 investments within EAC totaling at least $15m reached.

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ACTIVITY 6: CHOKEPOINTS AND INTERVENTION STRATEGIES Project Partners: Investment team, private sector networks Connected Components: Components 2, 3, 4 Activity Description: Develop and implement concrete private sector-led intervention strategies to address identified opportunity chokepoints, including regulatory constraints, investment risk, financial risk, political risk, regulatory issues, capacity needs and technical assistance. This will involve taking learning points from prior investments in the region and previously identified constraints.

Expected Benefit: Intervention strategies and action plans to address them developed by potential investors will help focus USG interventions and private instruments, and will provide a basis for publicprivate dialogue to eliminate investment chokepoints.

Year 1 Milestones: •

Chokepoints limiting priority opportunities in early sectors identified and cross-cutting impact with other sectors (Agriculture, Policy AGOA) defined and understood.

•

Engagement with potential investors identified by our transaction pipeline partners to understand key constraints preventing execution of transactions.

•

Time-bound action plans with key actors drafted. This will be done as far as possible on a transaction basis from the deal pipeline provided by our financial advisory partners.

•

Draft intervention strategies in early sectors developed using USG toolbox and private instruments— July 2015; activities flow into year 2.

ACTIVITY 7: PUBLIC PRIVATE DIALOGUE Project Partners: All component teams; private sector networks and EAC stakeholders; CCA; EAC investment promotion agencies, where appropriate Connected Components: All components Activity Description: Facilitate public-private dialogue to eliminate chokepoints for identified opportunities in high-impact sectors; working groups established and joint commissions of regulated and regulators established where appropriate.

Expected Benefits: •

Specific high-impact opportunities to focus and leverage USG tools

•

Specific opportunities to strengthen EAC capacity, including private sector capacity

•

Specific opportunities to develop new financial and other instruments to incentivize investment, both USG and private

Elimination of chokepoints to enable realization of identified opportunities, as well as follow-on investment after project completion

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Year 1 and 2 Milestones: Milestones will vary by sector and opportunity. Depending on opportunity, the ability to deliver intervention strategies, and the difficulty of implementing private sector action plans to address chokepoints some may be achievable in Year 1; others may be Year 2 activity.

•

Private and public value chain stakeholders convened to attract new investment and fill gaps with USG and private sector tools and financing.

•

Transactions facilitated (e.g., innovative financing and capacity building where appropriate)

•

Joint Commissions established between regulated/regulators.

•

Time-bound action plans implemented through joint commissions/working groups and private sector advocacy efforts supported.

•

Capacity building support provided as needed for private sector network development and advocacy (will be an ongoing activity).

•

Dialogues/working groups launched and sector convening events (see # above) held where possible – June/July/August 2015 (will be ongoing Year 2 activity).

ACTIVITY 8: INVESTMENT PROMOTION PARTNERSHIPS Project Partners: Component 1 Lead and Team; KEPSA, CCA KNEC, ICT Kenya Board, EBAC. This will include the EAC investment promotion agencies (KenInvest, Rwanda Development Board, Uganda Investment Authority, Tanzania Investment Center, Burundi Investment Promotion Authority).

Connected Components: Components 3 and 4.

Activity Description: Provide assistance to improve national investment laws or development promotion bodies, both private and government, to attract U.S. investments, build business partnerships, and assist in transactions.

Expected Benefit: A survey of investment-focused opportunities to build on and coordinate with the EAC national development agenda. To develop partnerships which enable the exchange of data, information and opportunities and to cultivate the ability to engage national agencies as partners in EATIH private sector-led process to attract investment.

Year 1 Milestones: •

Develop Partnerships with EAC investment promotion agencies developed, and information, data, and coordination opportunities identified. Partnerships established by January 2015; data and information exchange throughout Year 1.

•

EAC investment agency participation initiated in EATIH activities where priorities overlap (throughout Year 1).

ACTIVITY 9: INFORMATION OUTREACH Project Partners: Investment Specialist and team; Senior Communications Specialist and Team; CCA; Private investors, Private equity investors, U.S. investors, and USG agencies.

Connected Components: Components 3 and 4

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Activity Description: Develop and execute informational campaigns, both general and to targeted sectors, to raise awareness among relevant African and U.S. firms of opportunities to increase U.S. trade and investment in and partnerships with EAC-plus businesses and business associations.

Expected Benefit: Proactive information campaigns will increase knowledge of high-impact investment opportunities and EATIH’s ability to mitigate risks for U.S. investors in high-impact sectors.

Year 1 Milestones: •

Investment promotion element incorporated into AGOA and trade promotion events, highlighting synergies between AGOA sectors and high-impact sectors.

•

Events attendee list developed to ensure participation by potential U.S. investors, U.S. companies, challenge funds, private equity funds and EAC firms that could be potential investee firms.

•

Leverage CCA’s extensive membership database to promote the EATIH work and identify new U.S. investments and firms.

ACTIVITY 10: COMMUNICATIONS Project Partners: Investment team; Communications specialist and team Connected Components: All components Activity Description: Communications support will be fundamental to the U.S. government’s Trade Africa initiative and its ability to achieve meaningful outreach outcomes. Outreach will be the primary input to develop private sector networks, action agendas, and future public-private dialogues to address chokepoints and identify opportunities, all of which will be key to achieving EATIH goals to attract and accelerate trade and investment. Highlighting best practices, once achieved, will be vital to maintaining momentum.

Expected Benefit: EATIH’s public face to potential investors and stakeholders will clearly signal USAID/USG interest in facilitating investment in high-impact sectors, and an established process to engage USAID/USG and private tools to mitigate risk so that opportunities can be realized.

Year 1 Milestones: •

Communications strategy developed by November, 2015.

•

Marketing and advertising of the Partnership fund across EAC.

•

Website inclusion of EAC investment, partnership and trade opportunities, interested U.S. companies and technology offered, financing possibilities and approaches, highlights of EATIH “toolbox,” including USG and private options, and mechanisms to facilitate specific transactions; June, 2015.

•

Attendance, participation with potential investors at the key EAC investment promotion conferences in Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia. (Kenya Investment Conference 2014, Africa Investment conference 2015 Addis Ababa)

Note: Contract requirement C4.11regarding cooperation with the Standards Alliance to ensure adoption of global standards is addressed under Component 4.

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COMMUNICATIONS Per “Activity 10: Communications” above, strong communication will be crucial to the success of this component. Target audiences for investment-related communications strategy include current and potential investors in the EAC, particularly U.S. (often located internationally), EAC private sector associations and potential partners, and U.S. companies, and EAC government and regulatory stakeholders.

The focus will be communications from the investor perspective as well as making a determination regarding data sources for investors and ensuring that the EATIH website includes the tags that will draw investors to the website based on searches.

Social media strategy will principally include LinkedIn and Twitter, as these avenues are a target for investors searching for data. Facebook will be used as a source of information for other groups in the start-up technology ecosystem who are active users of this platform. Communications will also be targeted to gender-based groups to ensure they are aware of all opportunities. See Program Communications Strategy for more details.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION EATIH has based the Development Objective, Intermediate Objectives, Intermediate Results, and their associated Indicators present in this workplan on the ACTE Results Framework. We used this for work planning purposes to demonstrate the flow of our activities to results and the objective, but recognize that EATIH’s pending Performance Management Plan will be the guiding document to formalize our objectives, results and indicators.

GENDER CONSIDERATIONS A gender lens will be integrated into both the sector assessment and the synopsis of the available investment tools and incentives. The project will cultivate women’s inclusion in the private sector network and stakeholder engagement groups to ensure women’s voices are heard in the sector dialogue, and that they are included in the decision making process. This Component will identify opportunities to target outreach and support to build potential women investment client’s investment-readiness and improve their awareness of the various available tools and funds, highlighting those that may have a specific focus on women clientele. For example, our ICT and innovation sector strategy will work with private sector players such as the EAC ICT and innovation hubs, IBM or MLAB in their activities designed and directed to increase the number of female technology businesses in the region. We will also focus our investment facilitation efforts in women-centered business in the region leveraging the Partnership Fund or co-sponsoring business competitions.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS While there may be some tertiary environmental implications imbedded within EATIH-prioritized investment opportunities, we do not anticipate any direct environmental impacts from activities under this component.

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C. COMPONENT 2: COMPETITIVENESS OF SELECTED REGIONAL AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS INCREASED OBJECTIVES LIFE OF PROJECT The purpose of this component is to increase intra-regional trade in staple foods to enhance food security and safety as part of promoting regional integration. The outcome of this component's activities will contribute towards realization of the FTF Regional Strategy's goal: 'Increased Access, Availability, and Utilization of African-grown staple foods in Regionally Integrated Markets on the Northern and Central Corridors.' Further, component 2 activities will directly contribute to the overall EATIH objectives, and in particular Sub-Intermediate Results of the current draft East Africa Mission Regional Development Cooperation Strategy (RDCS) namely: •

Trade and Investment Increased

•

Food Security Enhanced

•

Policy and Regulatory Framework Harmonized

•

Capacity of Regional Partners Strengthened

TECHNICAL APPROACH INVESTMENT LENS All the EATIH components will apply an investment lens to identify key opportunities and chokepoints that impact integrated trade and competitiveness in their respective areas. This investment lens will be reflected both in each component’s initial activity prioritization and integrated throughout their technical approach.

COMPONENT 2 STRATEGY Component 2 will support intra-regional trade in inputs and staple foods in complement to bilateral and regional FTF programs. Increased trade of inputs will serve as an enabling factor to increase production and trade of staple foods. In the USAID/East Africa FTF Strategy, staple foods include maize and other grains, beans and legumes, fruits and vegetables, and animals and animal products. Livestock (with a focus on harmonized regional standards and rules for livestock health) and Horticultural crops traded within the region will also be included in the EATIH focus areas of support.

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EATIH component 2 will build on extensive programming in regional integration and intra-regional trade in staple foods. These are two of the three areas implemented by the East Africa Trade Hub (EATH) – formerly the Competitiveness and Trade Expansion (COMPETE) program.1 The activities of component 2 will contribute towards achievement of EATIH’s impact target of 40 percent increase in EAC intraregional trade in staple foods by volume and value.

Key Barriers to Regional Trade in Food Staples

Despite the EAC’s determination to dismantle trade restrictions to create a common market and customs union, barriers to intra-regional trade still persist. The development and strengthening of efficient borders, adherence to international obligations, and transparent, efficient regional markets face numerous challenges, among them are: •

Debilitating impact of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to trade—rules and regulations that unduly restrict trade—continue to negate the positive impact of successful tariff reductions within the EAC, as implementation of harmonized policies and procedures agreed to by EAC Partner States under the Common Market and Customs Union has been slow;

•

Export/Import bans or restriction through NTBs of agricultural produce;

•

Inadequate understanding of markets, price formation, lack of transparent and reliable market and price data at all levels, and farmer and consumer behaviours exacerbate bans and tariff policies and fail to accomplish their near-term objectives;

•

Tariff, NTBs, and local barriers can lead to corruption and creation of special interests;

•

High transport costs on major transit corridors;

•

Inconsistent and overlapping policies, competition among ministries for dominance in decision making in cross cutting concerns (e.g. Health Ministry getting involved I biotechnology) lead to unnecessary red tape and paperwork required for trade;

•

Poor quality roads along main corridors and important feeder routes;

•

Long clearance processes at borders caused by poor border infrastructure and inefficient customs and clearance procedure;

•

SPS requirements which are not standardized and/or are applied inconsistently;

•

Logistical inefficiencies including poor quality trucks, cartel-like behavior on the part of trucking companies, lack of proper facilities for bulking and storage in transit, theft, and the large number of informal road blocks that cause delays and create opportunities for corruption;

•

State enterprises engaged in trade or state trade interventions and subsidies can also present problems such as violating international agreements or impeding development goals;

•

Strong and relatively open regional trade policies adopted by regional economic organizations have not been fully domesticated and implemented at the national level; and,

1

The third area is African exports to the U.S. under AGOA.

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•

Small trader challenges, including security at borders, foreign exchange/currency limitations and women’s security in cross border trading.

To achieve the objective of increasing intra-regional trade in food staples, Component 2 proposes to address some of these key barriers to trade by focusing on the following broad areas: 1. Support the elimination of policy, regulatory and administrative barriers and disincentives impeding or raising the unit cost of staple foods across borders, with focus on the removal of NTBs as proposed in the EAC Common Market Scorecard.

Major issues in the region inhibiting an increase intra-regional trade •

Unpredictable government intervention in staple food markets, and especially ad-hoc import and export as a tool to achieve food security

•

Failure to implement regional trade policies

•

Lack of knowledge and access to trade facilitation instruments and services such as the simplified certificate of origin, recent EAC Single Customs Territory trade facilitation system and other pertinent trade facilitation/trade policy information

•

Lack of reliable and transparent market and price data to support correction of market dislocations.

2. Raising competitiveness and expanding food staples trade in regional markets with focus on FTF priority staple foods.

Major issues in raising competitiveness and expanding trade in domestic and regional markets are: 1. Regulatory and administrative barriers and disincentives that raise the unit cost of movement of staple foods across local and cross-border markets; 2. Lack of quality management and certification services systems, harmonized standards, norms and grades or poor implementation of harmonized standards, norms and grades; 3. Absence or underdeveloped modern national and regional trading systems, including the development of commodity exchanges; 4. Access to finance not only to farmers but also for other actors along the value chain, including in particular operators in the agribusiness and processing sectors dealing with traditional commodities targeting rapidly expanding domestic and regional markets; 5. Lack of trade surveillance and knowledge systems to monitor policies and barriers to trade and provision of information on trade dynamics and long term trends in regional markets; and, 6. Poor trading infrastructure, both physical and soft (infrastructure related information and communication technology – ICT – and knowledge management system), to link high potential production zones and major market areas within and across regions.

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3. Promoting access to agricultural services and inputs at regional level.

Major issues in access to agricultural services and inputs are: 1. Fragmentation of staple foods value chains at production segment level with many geographically dispersed smallholder farmers who produce limited surplus quantities; 2. Limited availability of adapted financial services products: 3. Lack access to improved varieties, seeds, fertilizers as well as crop, soil, water and animal management practices; and, 4. Lack of harmonized seed legislation and regulations across the region impedes the distribution and sale of improved seed in the region, and a key barrier to productivity growth.

Cross-Component Integration

EATIH component 2 activities will be implemented closely with component 4 especially in areas where policy reform as well as removal of administrative and regulatory bottlenecks will be needed to spur cross border trade in staple foods. In addition, component 2 will work closely with component 1 in support of investments in staple foods value chains.

The EATIH Policy Team has assisted with the design of all component 2 policy enabling environment and policy implementation activities. For example, while the majority of work on staple foods value chains will be done under component 2, efforts to fully develop the Regional Food Balance Sheet as a tool to promote sustainable, informed policy on staple foods will be done under the guidance of and in close collaboration with the Policy Team.

Similarly, the agricultural sector will be a prime recipient of component 1 investment support. This will include: applying an investment lens to target agricultural value chains to ensure economies of scale are achieved to facilitate overall EATIH targets of $100 million of new investment and creation of 10,000 new jobs; operating with the underlying understanding that recent studies indicate that most trade (up to 80 percent) occurs within the context of investor networks, mostly within supply chains; utilize U.S. government U.S.-Africa trade and investment events and tools to promote EATIH goals; and assist the component 2 team to identify investment choke points prioritized by the private sector in agricultural value chains or subsectors that will drive the regulatory reform agenda under component 1, so that all policy and regulatory reform efforts will be through an investor lens, private sector-led and transactionbased. EATIH is however cognizant of the fact that some of the policy interventions will be of public good nature such as in ensuring food safety. All agricultural investment activities will benefit from the same EATIH toolbox of USG development finance and capacity building incentives identified by the investment team, and will share the same EATIH investor-led process to determine opportunities, chokepoints, and appropriate action plans and interventions.

Year 1 Within the first year of the project, the EATIH component 2 team, in collaboration with an array of public and private sector actors, will support: 1. Promotion of structured trading system 2. Enhance access to financial services for regional staple foods value chains

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3. Implementation of the Staple Foods Quality Standards 4. Further Investment in Regional Food Balance Sheet 5. EAC Trade Facilitation Instrument and Policy Awareness Raising 6. Enhancement of SPS capacity in the EAC region 7. Implementation of EAC Food and Nutrition Security Policy 8. Seed Systems in Eastern and Southern Africa 9. Support Market and Trade Information Systems for promotion of regional trade in staple foods

ACTIVITIES We have aligned activities under Component 2 with the Intermediate Result: •

Intermediate Results 1: Intra-regional trade in staple foods

ACTIVITY 1: PROMOTE STRUCTURED TRADING SYSTEMS AND REGIONAL MARKET LINKAGE FOR STAPLE FOODS Project Partners: EAGC, Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF), Cereal Growers Associations, Food Trade Program, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and EAC Connected Components: Component 1 and 4 Activity Description: Structured trade has been singled out by the FTF strategy as one of the key areas in support for enhanced trade in staple foods. The FTF defines structured trade as "a set of facilities and services that facilitate the movement of commodities along value chains from the farm gate to final retail markets within a country and between countries." Key facilities include stores at the village level and larger warehouses in strategic locations along the value chains where commodities of standard quality are aggregated and stored at known locations.

The Structured Trading System (STS) provides a solution to the myriad of challenges that staple food producers and traders have been facing. These include: •

Lack of warehousing/storage facilities, which has been singled out as a key factor behind high postharvest losses and low profitability

•

Lack of visibility of surplus staple foods due to lack of organized structure easily noticeable by traders.

•

Price instability associated with glut in the market as a result of inadequate storage facilities

•

Lack of access to financial services due to risks associated with an unstructured trade system.

Therefore, while STS is not a panacea to the promotion of intra-regional trade in staple foods, it plays a pivotal role. This system is, for instance, very crucial for promoting national and regional market linkages for staple foods as it promotes observance of commodity standards, promotion of WRS as a financial intermediation tool, and promotion of application of technology in enhancing trade of staple foods. The system could also be very instrumental in promoting private sector advocacy for policy change and implementation of regional policies.

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A lot of investments have already gone into structured trading systems in the EAC region spearheaded by USAID through support to EAGC and through other development partner programs such as SIDA, DFID Food Trade program, among others.

Structured trading system will therefore play a central role in EATIH goal of promoting intra-regional trade of staple foods. The entry point for EATIH is to establish existing opportunities for collaboration with on-going initiatives, building on their experiences and taking advantage of such opportunities for enhanced capacity building that directly contributes to intra-regional trade and investments, EATIH Interventions EATIH will seek to collaborate with other partners to further develop structured trading system in the EAC region aimed at improving intra-regional trade in food staples. In order to build on emerging structured trading system in the region and to boost the development of domestic and trans-border trade, EATIH proposes to initially invest in better understanding of the status of structured trading system in the region including lessons learned to date. A prime example will be how we could support the expansion of DFID’s Food Trade initiative “G-Soko” in collaboration with the EAGC to support structured trading in staple grains scheduled for launch on January 22, 2015 to industry, DFID and USAID. EATIH also proposes to support private commodity trading enterprises in staple food surplus countries of Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda to fill gaps in the supply chain and to create scale and promote small producer / SME integration into staple food formal/commercial markets. By creating awareness about the Simplified Certificate of Origin (SCO), EATIH hopes to channel informal cross border trade that is rampant at borders into formal channels thus boosting statistics on formal or recorded intra-regional trade in food staples.

Sub-Activities •

Establish through collaboration with other partners, existing structured trading systems and map out STS networks for collaboration during implementation of the EATIH workplan;

•

Identify capacity requirements including opportunity for application of technology for enhancing market linkages;

•

Support capacity improvement of the mapped out STS networks to ensure their effectiveness in increasing intra-regional trade in staple foods (training, availing market information and linkage with financial institutions);

•

Provide a catalytic role to the private commodity trading enterprises to establish buying offices (commodity trading houses) in grain surplus areas (Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania) to fill gap in the supply chain and to create scale and promote small producer / SME integration into staple foods formal/commercial markets

Expected Benefits: Further integration of regional staple foods markets and increased food security as well as create scale and promote small producer / SME integration into staple foods formal/commercial markets. This should contribute to improving facilities and services for market access and structured trade I target commodities (especially maize).

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Year 1 Milestones: •

An assessment of existing STS networks with clear recommendations on where EATIH interventions could add value in increasing national and regional trade in staple foods;

•

A market demand study detailing capacity requirements including opportunity for the application of technology for enhancing market linkages;

•

At least 200 firms participating in STS assisted to ensure their effectiveness in increasing intraregional trade in staple foods are trained to avail of market information to identify investment and trade opportunities with linkage to financial institutions as needed;

•

Joint EATIH and private sector partners such as the EAGC program to enhance structured trading systems in the East Africa region;

•

At least one staple foods commodity trading houses promoted on a cost-share basis and established in Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania

ACTIVITY 2: ENHANCE ACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICES FOR REGIONAL STAPLE FOODS VALUE CHAINS Project Partners: EAGC, ReSAKSS, bankers' associations Connected components: 1 and 4 Activity Description: Access to financial services is a crucial lubricant for the trade flow of staple foods from surplus to deficit regions. Among the key services that USAID and other development partners have supported in the Eastern and Southern Africa region is the Warehouse Receipt System (WRS). WRS can be a key financial intermediation tool for staple foods value chain structured trading systems. WRS has been piloted in Eastern and Southern Africa for the about 5 to 8 years. EATIH proposes to undertake an impact study / investment strategy with a view to re-orienting further investment in this area.

Besides the WRS, there are other trade finance instruments which have potential for application in the promotion of staple foods trade. These include the conventional instruments such as Letters of Credit, Invoice Discounting, Trade Credit, among others. Exposure of traders to these instruments can play a key role in widening the scope of financial services that are accessible to staple foods traders.

The focus of the component 2 agenda in the area of financing for value-chain development is to establish partnerships and alliances to raise the necessary institutional, technical, and financial resource capacities to broaden the availability of and access to: •

sufficient knowledge among lending institutions about commodity value chain operators’ financial strengths, requirements, and risks;

•

lending facilities to adequately cover the working capital needs of commodity value chain operators, which determine their capacity to appropriately plan for and maintain uninterrupted production cycles; and

•

Long-term capital funding to support the investments in plants and equipment that are necessary for activity expansion and enterprise modernization.

EATIH Interventions

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In light of on-going consultation with key partner including Eastern Africa Grain Council, DFID’s Food Trade program, and the International Finance Corp, the EATIH will seek to commission a joint study with ReSAKSS aimed at assessing the impact of WRS at the regional basis, identification of challenges including the lag to fully implement EAC policies, draw lessons and possible interventions to enhance the effectiveness of the WRS or similar factor/forfeit arrangements that support small grower participation in regional grain trading .

In addition, with a view to broaden financial services for staple foods value chains, EATIH will work with financial institutions to take stock of financial services that are being extended to staple foods value chains, identify areas of innovation to enhance the availability of these services, draw lessons from experiences of financial institutions in the EAC region and other best case scenario regions. The outcome of the stocktaking exercise should also indicate the kind of opportunities for capacity building, partnerships, and business alliances to adjust the supply of financial services products by the banking sector and other financial services providers to the needs of staple foods value chains. EATIH will then work with financial institutions to design a comprehensive program for delivery of the targeted financial services to the staple foods value chains, taking advantage of technology and robust structured trading systems to spearhead innovations. Regulatory and policy framework that may be needed to promote these interventions will be identified and developed.

EATIH will take stock of the development of the commodity exchanges in the EAC region, drawing lessons and identifying potential and areas of possible intervention in order to enable commodity exchanges contribute to enhanced financial services access for staple foods value chains.

Sub-Activities •

Undertake a joint study with ReSAKSS on WRS geared towards establishing the impact of WRS, identification of challenges, drawing lessons and possible interventions to enhance the effectiveness of the WRS.

•

Undertake a joint study with financial institutions to take stock of financial services that are being extended to staple foods value chains, identify areas of innovation to enhance the availability of these services, draw lessons from experiences of financial institutions in the EAC region and other best case scenario regions.

•

Undertake a validation of the recent stock taking on the development of commodity exchanges in the EAC region in collaboration with component 1, drawing lessons and identifying potential and areas of possible intervention in order to enable them contribute to enhanced financial services access for staple foods value chains.

Expected Benefits: The ultimate benefit of this activity will be the expansion of financial services for staple food trade especially across borders. The immediate benefit is that the outcome will provide a way forward regarding whether more investments should go towards supporting WRS in the region or coming up with alternative financial products that are necessary for cross border trade.

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Year 1 Milestones: •

A study report of the assessment of the performance of WRS system in the region with clear recommendations on the way forward.

•

Joint EATIH/Financial Institutions program for diversification and deepening financial services to staple foods value chain

•

At least USD 2 million extended to traders by financial institutions in support of intra-regional trade in staple foods.

•

Validation of regional commodity exchange development program and areas of future EATIH support

ACTIVITY 3: IMPLEMENTATION OF STAPLE FOODS QUALITY STANDARDS Project Partners: Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) and its affiliates , National Standards Bureaus (NSBs), World Food Program (WFP), millers associations, traders associations, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Standards Alliance (roll out regional program – see Comp 4), phytosanitary agencies, other donor programs Connected Components: Component 4 Activity Description: Requisite capacity in the form of testing laboratories, testing equipment and skills is crucial to the successful implementation of staple foods quality standards. This need was underscored by the regional meeting that was held in July 2014 to consider the development of East African Standards (EAS) 2013 staple foods implementation guidelines. The meeting observed that one of the major challenges was lack of testing equipment and laboratories. Other challenges also noted are as follows: standards requirements; analysis of samples; inadequacy of capacity for standards implementation in EAC member countries.

Investment in the standards testing infrastructure and skills upgrading and other interventions geared towards addressing the standards implementation challenges is critical because it goes towards assuring investors in the STS and financial services that the region is capable of producing and availing staples foods that meet quality standards.

The meeting recommended the need for: 1. EAGC to finalize the grading guidelines and grading sheets in consultation with stakeholders; 2. Further review of staple food standards by National Standards Boards (NSBs) in collaboration with EAGC; 3. Standardized training and awareness raising among stakeholders and trade facilitation agencies in view of low awareness of the standards in the region; 4. Capacity building for laboratory services including personnel training; 5. Standardized training and grading reference materials for farmers and traders; 6. Standardized accredited certification scheme for graders;

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7. Enlist the support of the private sector and development partners in implementing these recommendations; and 8. The need to come up with accreditation mechanism.

A meeting of major millers on 17th July 2014 urged that implementation of the EAC staple foods standards be expedited.

EATIH Focus in Year 1 The focus in Year 1 is motivated by industry demand for fast tracking the implementation and use of the staple foods standards. The following interventions will therefore be focused on during the year.

1. Further assess impediments to adoption and implementation of the standards before committing further investments as well as devise a strategy for re-engaging with the private sector to speed up standards adoption and implementation.

2. Enhance the use of staple foods standards through dissemination of standards information via use of publicity material and User Guides developed under the previous EATH program.

3. Enhance capacity to comply with staple foods standards through training of suppliers (traders, warehouse operators and farmers who supply directly to the value chain).

4. Work with select stakeholder institutions, building on the recommendations of the staple foods standards implementation meeting of July 2014, to address technical limitations to effective implementation of staple foods standards including test equipment, analysis of samples, laboratory accreditation and any other issues of capacity concerns. This will be determined on a as-needed basis.

Sub-activities include: •

Undertake an assessment of whether the quality standards meet the various private sector players’ needs that support trade and their applicability by private sector actors.

•

Organize and facilitate at least 20 workshops for target suppliers and buyers in all the 5 EAC Partner States to disseminate the EAC Staple Foods Standards and demonstrate procedures and processes that are required to conform to the standards.

•

Support preparation of training manuals for staple foods standards and facilitate workshops of key stakeholder institutions (WFP, EAGC, millers associations and traders) to adopt and implement as SOP the training manuals.

•

Support training on EAC staple foods standards conformity targeting regional suppliers of staple foods. This training will also be extended to training of at least 50 trainers drawn from training institutions (e.g. universities focusing on agriculture, such as Egerton University in Kenya, Sokoine University in Tanzania, among others) from the EAC region in order to create a critical mass of human resource to conduct such trainings in the future and create sustainability of this intervention.

•

Support institutional assessment capacity building needs among institutions that are responsible for implementation of staple foods standards to establish capacity gaps for effective implementation of the standards, including testing equipment, testing procedures and processes for analysis of samples, etc.

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•

Work with the EAC and relevant accreditation agencies to support accreditation of select laboratories of reference for testing of staple foods standards.

•

Work with the private sector (traders, millers, and farmers) to better understand implementation opportunities, constraints, winners and losers of the policy.

•

Support preparation for and participation in the Seventh Triennial Review of the Operation and Implementation of WTO TBT Agreement for select team of experts of National Standards Bureaus (NSBs), key private sector stakeholders and relevant thematic managers from the EAC in collaboration with component 4 management.

Expected Benefits: 1. Quality improvement and quality assurance 2. Enhanced understanding of and ability to apply the staple food standards should increase domestic and regional trade 3. Improved market access for smallholders Year 1 Milestones: 1. EAC Staple Foods trainers manual jointly developed by EATIH in collaboration with EAGC 2. At least 300 traders trained on conformity to EAC Staple Foods Standards 3. At least 100 trainers on staple foods standards trained 4. Strengthened institutional and infrastructural capacity for implementation of EAC staple foods standards (investments in testing equipment, capacity for sample analysis and laboratory accreditation) 5. At least 1,000 trade deals concluded between buyers and cross border traders/suppliers who will have benefited from the EAC staple foods standards 6. A review of challenges, opportunities, benefits, and losers of the EAC staple foods standards 7. Seventh Triennial Review of the Implementation of WTO TBT Agreement Workshop convened ACTIVITY 4: FURTHER INVESTMENT IN REGIONAL FOOD BALANCE SHEET (RFBS) Project Partners: EAC Secretariat Agriculture Department, EAGC and WFP. Connected Components: Component 4 Activity Description: This activity will further invest in the Regional Food Balance Sheet (RFBS) as a policy tool to reduce import/export bans while encouraging intra-regional trade.

•

The EAC Regional Food Balance Sheet Cereals and Pulses component is designed to allow contributor institutions from the government and private sector, as well as the relief agencies, to post data on available supplies and projected utilization of the following target grains and pulses:

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•

Grains—maize, wheat, rice, sorghum and millet, beans

•

Pulses—dry peas, chick peas, cow peas, pigeon peas and green grams (mung beans)

The EAC, in collaboration with EAGC, WFP, EAC Partner States, and Ministries of Agriculture have put in place an elaborate institutional structure for pooling and uploading data on RFBS. USAID, under the previous EATH project, supported building of the database and training the focal points for EAGC country and regional offices, WFP, and the Ministries of Agriculture. As part of the capacity building initiative, EATH also developed a manual that helps users to easily navigate the RFBS or upload data. In addition EATH, working in collaboration with the USAID FTF team and EAC, developed an RFBS Monthly Bulletin template to disseminate information to the public and private sectors and relief agencies. This template of reporting was adopted at the last RFBS regional meeting in Arusha in July 2014 and is ready for use.

Key challenges surrounding the RFBS include the following: •

Lack of ownership of RFBS due to a lack of institutionalization in the Ministries of Agriculture and the private sector as well as value to the contributors/users that perhaps is yet to be demonstrated.

This has contributed to delays in data upload, largely because the workload of RFBS is not programmed for or monitored at the public sector or government department level. The gravity of this challenge is evident from the current state of the RFBS, where reporting has not been going on well especially from public agencies for some countries since the major effort preceding the July 2014 meeting. Responsible public sector officials view the RFBS as an added burden that has not been included in their job description and their performance contract/targets.

•

Lack of reports from the RFBS to inform the public and private sector and relief agency contributors on the status of food availability for policy and business decision making purposes. This compromises the very objectives of the RFBS to inform policy makers to avoid making ad hoc policies restricting trade or sourcing decisions by the private sector and WFP.

•

Weak institutional capacity, both in the private and public sectors, to guarantee sustainable upload of data to the RFBS. The main challenge is attributed to the mode of data collection and reporting from the district/county level and aggregation at the headquarters. Some countries, such as Burundi and Rwanda, also have challenges in reporting certain data, especially estimates for industry use, due to methodology that they apply.

The above challenges were deliberated upon during the EAC Regional Food Balance Sheet meeting of July 2014 and appropriate resolution measures were recommended, with a view to ensuring the sustainability of the RFBS. The measures include: •

Institutionalization of RFBS at the national and regional levels

•

Strengthening capacity for data collection and dissemination

•

Strengthening institutional capacity

•

Analysis and dissemination of the RFBS generated data

EAC has made efforts to follow up on the above recommendations, especially the institutionalization of RFBS at the Partner State level. The long term USAID funded RFBS ICT advisor at the EAC has helped to keep RFBS going. To move the RFBS to a sustainable level, interventions geared towards addressing 46

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the challenges identified in July, which EAC has been unable to fix, are needed. This includes the challenges that Rwanda and Burundi were facing in reporting elements of the RFBS that require estimates, institutionalization of the RFBS, production and dissemination of monthly the RFBS Bulletin, publicizing the RFBS in order to promote its use, and developing an RFBS based formula for use in the management of food security inspired export/import restrictions.

EATIH Interventions EATIH will work with EAC to provide technical assistance geared towards: •

Institutionalization of the RFBS. This will involve working with Ministries of Agriculture, through leadership of the Permanent Secretary, key private sector firms and associations as well as the WFP. The thrust of this engagement will be to anchor RFBS in the organizational structure and monitoring and evaluation frame of the respective institution.

•

Timely production of the RFBS monthly bulletin and synthesis of the feedback obtained to better improve the power of RFBS. Follow up with select target institutions will be done to gauge the utility of the RFBS in policy, business and investment decision making, especially in regard to food security policies and raw material sourcing.

•

Support to the Ministries of Agriculture for linking the RFBS system to national RFBS data collection structures to enhance the efficiency of data collection and upload at the Partner State level.

EATIH will further support country experience sharing missions to address limitations faced by some countries, such as Burundi and Rwanda.

•

Developing an RFBS based formula for use in the management of food security inspired export/import restrictions. RFBS structure includes private sector, who EATIH will be supporting to ensure that the bulk stock held by the private sector is reported in the RFBS.

Sub-Activities 1. Support EAC in the institutionalization of RFBS. 2. Support EAC in the timely production and dissemination of the RFBS generated reports, starting with the monthly RFBS Bulletin.

3. Support EAC in entrenching RFBS as a tool for policy and business making through publicity of RFBS and anchoring RFBS as a reference point in all cases of EAC duty remission scheme that touch on staple foods.

4. Support EAC in targeted capacity building activities to address institutional weaknesses at the EAC Partner States (public and private sector institutions), through linkage of the RFBS system to national RFBS collection structures and targeted country experience sharing missions designed to address specific challenges reported or being experienced by some EAC countries.

Expected Benefit: The RFBS will help resolve the ad hoc export/import bans or restrictions through provision of data that demonstrates food availability and allows for an orderly intervention. It will also help the business community as well as the relief agencies to make decisions for sourcing staple foods from within the EAC region, thus contributing to increased intra-regional trade in staple foods.

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Year 1 Milestones: 1. RFBS Institutional Structure formalized at national and regional level 2. RFBS monthly data reported by at least 90% of the registered contributors on time 3. RFBS Monthly Bulletin for dissemination of RFBS data to policy makers, private sector and the relief agencies (such as WFP). The monthly bulletin will be implemented effective March 2015 and subsequently the 10th of every following month, targeting reporting by at least 90% of the registered contributors.

4. RFBS institutional capacity strengthened at national level and regional level ACTIVITY 5: EAC TRADE FACILITATION INSTRUMENT AND POLICY AWARENESS RAISING Project Partners: EAC Secretariat Agriculture Department, EAC Customs and Trade Directorate, EAC Partner State Regulatory Agencies, Private Sector Associations and select firms, TradeMark East Africa, EAGC, EABC and Customs Authorities.

Connected Components: Component 4 Activity Description: This activity will enhance awareness and knowledge of EAC Trade Facilitation Instruments and policies among staple foods traders.

The EAC has developed robust instruments and policies for promoting intra-regional trade. Among the key instruments is the Simplified Certificate of Origin (SCO), which allows customs officials to not charge any import tariff on the goods that are cleared using this certificate. The certificate is designed for cross border traders of consignments of up to USD 2,000. USAID has in the past invested heavily in the development and application of the SCO under the RATES and EATH (COMPETE) programs. The latest intervention, geared towards publicity and awareness of the SCO, was support to the EAC in printing up to 2,000 user guides in May 2014. Although an assessment of the effectiveness of the SCO was done towards the end of the EATH project, it has yet had limited results. EATIH proposes an in-depth analysis of the adoption and use of SCOs as a precursor to further investments in this area. This could be focused on the FTF priority border areas and be jointly undertaken with Revenue Authorities, EAC and cross border trade associations.

The other latest trade facilitation initiative that the EAC has established is the Single Customs Territory (SCT) trade regime. The system entails declaration of goods and payment of duties at the country of destination, leading to drastic reduction in the cost of clearing goods associated with ports and border crossing delays. The cost-effective benefits of this system are poised to boost intra-EAC trade. Building knowledge and awareness of the SCT system and how it operates among staple foods traders will be an area of EATIH focus. USAID, through EATH, supported the EAC in the production of SCT manuals.

Building upon this, there is additional work to be done in ensuring that all traders are conversant with the SCT and are equipped to use the system for trading.

The other area of the policy and regulatory environment pertinent to the promotion of intra-regional trade in staple foods are non-tariff trade regulatory requirements. Lack of knowledge and information about these measures translates into market access barriers and breeds corrupt practices that undermine intraregional trade. These measures are usually under the custody of regulatory agencies which enact them at the borders or when goods are transiting a country. EATIH will focus on promoting transparency in the 48

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enforcement of such measures by building capacity among the regulatory agencies to post measures on the internet. The EAC Trade Help Desk (THD) could be a home to such information, because it already houses other trade facilitation information regarding tariffs and rules of origin. Timely upload of key EAC Council policy decisions affecting cross border trading of staple foods will be required. Currently there is a lag attributed to lack of capacity within the EAC to use the THD to appraise traders of such developments.

EATIH Interventions •

EATIH will work in collaboration with EAGC, TMEA Trade Facilitation program and regional traders associations to establish the extent to which the SCO has been integrated by EAC Revenue Authorities as a default trade facilitation instrument for trade below USD 2,000. A critical review of the traders’ awareness and demand for the SCO will also be undertaken as an entry point for EATIH to extend further support on SCO. Contingent on the outcome of the assessment, EATIH will support awareness and training on the SCO focusing on cross border traders. Effort will be made to introduce the SCO in all regional traders associations, to ensure that every new member is introduced to the SCO when joining. EATIH will also work with the EAC Secretariat to ensure online availability of the SCO for staple foods traders as well as other traders in general.

•

EATIH will work with the EAC Secretariat and Revenue Authorities to establish challenges and lessons learnt since the launch of the SCT and areas of further support to enhance effectiveness of the SCT. The assessment will also evaluate the extent of the uptake of the SCT by the private sector, especially the staple foods traders’ uptake of the SCT, intra-regional SCT regime, and specific challenges that EATIH could assist in their resolution. Based on the preliminary assessment EATIH will collaborate with EAC Secretariat and Revenue Authorities to disseminate information on the SCT through workshops geared towards imparting knowledge on the SCT export/import procedures and the overall benefit of the SCT system. Particular attention will be paid to cross border staple foods traders to ensure that the traders have access to the information on the SCT and skills to use the SCT system for cross border trading.

•

EATH will work with EAC and regulatory agencies to facilitate publicity of non-tariff measures related to staple foods trade. The medium of publicity to be used will be website and commodity specific handbooks (such as the maize traders guide that was developed under the RATES program) containing regulatory requirements specific to the commodity. This will require sensitizing agencies on the need for transparency and building institutional capacity to upload information to the EAC THD Portal for trade facilitation. EATH will also work with EAC to build institutional capacity for timely upload of trade policy information that affects staple foods to the EAC THD Portal.

Sub-Activities 1. Support EAC in the stock taking of the implementation and private sector uptake of the SCO and SCT. 2. Support EAC in the dissemination, through workshops, of information on SCO and SCT among staple foods cross border traders 3. Support EAC Regulatory Agencies in compiling and publishing information on non-tariff regulatory requirements that affect staple foods trade. This exercise will be linked to the implementation of the

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EAC CM scorecard. This information will be published in the THD and commodity specific handbooks co-authored with the regulatory agencies.

4. Support EAC in the synthesis of EAC Council periodic policy decisions that affect staple foods trade and timely upload on the THD Portal.

5. Establish five help desks in collaboration with EABC, the EAGC and Joint Border Committees at priority border posts in collaboration with EAC Secretariat and the private sector to serve as one stop point information centres for traders with an estimated 80% cost share from the EATIH. Expected Benefits: 1. Promoting transparency of trade regulatory requirements affecting staples foods trade. −

Timely upload of pertinent trade policies affecting intra-regional trade in staples on the EAC Trade Help Desk

2. Improved knowledge and implementation of the Simplified Certificate of Origin and Single Customs Territory system.

Year 1 Milestones: •

A brief report on the status of implementation and private sector uptake of SCO and SCT

•

At least 20% increase in the use of SCOs in priority borders

•

At least 200 staple foods traders start using SCT trading regime after awareness and training on its functioning.

•

At least 2 hand books on applicable non-tariff trade regulatory requirements for select 2 staple foods commodities developed

•

All current trade policy decisions of the EAC Council that affect staple foods trade posted to the EAC THD in timely manner.

•

At least 1,000 traders obtain assistance from the established help desks established in priority border posts established in cooperation with a joint EAGC/EABC program with Joint Border Committees.

•

At least 5% increase in intra-regional staple foods trade

ACTIVITY 6: SUPPORT ENHANCEMENT OF SPS CAPACITY IN THE EAC REGION Project Partners: USDA SPS Advisor (in Nairobi), EAC National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs), East African Phytosanitary Information Committee (EAPIC), Veterinary Departments and Agriculture Departments responsible for issuing regulations on trade in food, plant and animal products, East Africa Farmers Federation and its Affiliates, EAGC, Cereal Millers Association (CMA) and EABC.

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Connected Components: Component 4 Activity Description: The EAC Food Security Action Plan (2011-2015) singles out sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) as a key area in promotion of food and nutrition security in the EAC. Assurance of food safety encourages consumption, trade and investment in the food sector. The EAC has achieved the first milestone in developing a regional SPS Protocol. It provides a legal basis for resolving SPS related constraints to intraregional trade through various provisions that promote transparency, harmonization of measures, embrace the principle of equivalence of measures and the compartmentalization principle in the facilitation of trade in animal and animal products.

The EAC SPS is yet to be ratified, though Rwanda and Uganda are close. The SPS Protocol is one of the outstanding protocols expected to be ratified by July 30, 2015, according to the communique of the recent EAC Heads of State Summit held in February 2015. Initial support in this area will therefore focus on supporting EAC member countries to ratify the EAC SPS Protocol. Subsequent support should entail support to the enactment of the legal framework in the operationalization of the Protocol.

In addition, the recently (February 2015) signed EAC-USG Cooperation Agreement on Trade Facilitation, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, and Technical Barriers to Trade puts responsibility on the parties to the agreement to develop a work plan that prioritizes areas of work under the article on SPS by end of August 2015, to be reviewed annually thereafter. EATIH is expected to play a major role in this prioritization effort. Subsequently, EATIH will provide EAC Partners States technical assistances and support for capacity building in the identified shared priorities in the work plan.

Although EAC SPS capacity is limited and will need support in terms of capacity building, raising SPS awareness among EAC Sectoral Council on Trade and Agriculture, East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) and supporting private sector compliance, this will be done as the ratification of the EAC SPS Protocol (a legal platform) by Partner States progresses. The support will involve also assisting EAC and Partner States in domesticating the agreed but yet to be ratified SPS Protocol in the countries legal and regulatory frameworks. Thus, the immediate opportunity to address SPS related challenges, in absence of the regional SPS legal platform, is to build on the ongoing work of East African Phytosanitary Information Committee (EAPIC) through the successive support from USAID since 2006 under the following arrangements/programs: USDA-APHIS, UN-FAO and USAID-EATH (former COMPETE).

The support has been to facilitate the EAPIC to develop official country specific and regional pest reporting methods and internet-accessible databases that support SPS requirements for East Africa. Key regional achievements through this support include: 1. National pest lists for priority staple crops (maize, beans and rice).

2. Building the capacity of NPPOs to conduct national pest surveillance for rice in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Zambia.

3. Regional harmonization of pest lists for maize, beans and rice 4. Development of the regional PRA for rice through a national validation process 5. Development of the EAC Pest Information Management System (PIMS); and 6. Development of a regional Phytosanitary Expert Database (accessible through the EAC (maybe for sustainability considerations) and/or EAPIC portal) EAST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB ANNUAL WORKPLAN

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7. Establishment of the National Phytosanitary Working Groups (NPWG) in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda.

EATIH Interventions EATIH will work with EAPIC to align EAPIC to EAC SPS protocol institutional arrangement, in order to ensure that further support to EAPIC contributes towards integration of EAPIC to the EAC institutional framework. This is a crucial step in ensuring that the PRAs, such as the rice PRA are adopted and implemented at regional level. EATIH will collaborate with EAPIC to support further work, which has a direct link with the provisions of the SPS Protocol and immediate contribution to enhancing intra-regional trade in staple foods. The focal areas of work will include regional adoption and utilization of PIMS and SPS Expert database, pest list development of national priority crops, development of regional PRAs for beans and maize and adoption of rice PRA at the EAC level. There is also need to scale up phytosanitary capacity building and national awareness and publicity campaigns on SPS. EATIH proposes to work with Phytosanitary Authorities and private sector associations dealing with products that EATIH is focusing on to address SPS related challenges to intra-regional trade in these products.

Sub-Activities 1. Support EAC in the identification of SPS priorities in the context of the EAC SPS Protocol, as well as EAC-USG Cooperation Agreement on Trade Facilitation, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Technical Barriers to Trade, and support EAC in the implementation of select key SPS priorities.

2. Support integration of EAPIC into the EAC SPS regional institutional framework for purposes of ensuring timely adoption and implementation of policies and regulations emanating from EAPIC work.

3. Support national efforts of uploading of pest information into Pest Information Management System (PIMS) and revision of the Regional Expert Database to be more user friendly 4. Development of regional PRAs for beans and maize and adoption of rice PRA 5. Training of border SPS inspectors through collaboration with capacity building through Center of Phytosanitary Excellence (COPE) with EAPIC undertaking the implementation in collaboration with NPWG. 6. National awareness and publicity campaign through the National Plant Working Groups (NPWG) 7. Strengthen EAC Secretariat’s SPS capacity and EAC Partner States for WTO SPS notification in collaboration with strengthening of technical barriers to trade notification systems, including putting in place procedures that will enable them to notify SPS measures to the WTO and to respond to queries and comments from trading partners.

8. Raise private SPS awareness and support EAC enforcement efforts.

Expected Benefits: The PRA information helps to show pest risks and therefore serves as a very important tool for trade facilitation of agricultural produce that do not pose any pest risk to the importing country. The PIMS eases the access to this information for traders and regulators.

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Year 1 Milestones: 1. Work plan with EAC SPS priorities agreed and finalized.

2. PIMS adopted by EAC as the official pest database able to generate the required pest report, including GIS maps on pest free areas.

3. East Africa-wide expert database in phytosanitary matters adopted by EAC and popularized.

4. National awareness and publicity campaigns conducted to fast track ratification of the SPS Protocol.

5. Regional PRAs for beans and maize developed and PRA for rice adopted and utilized in facilitation of intra-EAC rice trade.

6. Training of agricultural inspectors and other relevant stakeholders conducted, geared towards creating efficiency in cross-border SPS inspections for enhancing market access for staple foods.

7. At least 2 EAC SPS National Enquiry Points notify SPS regulations to the WTO more frequently ACTIVITY 7: SUPPORT IMPLEMENTATION OF EAC FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY POLICY Project Partners: EAC Secretariat Agriculture Department, EAC Countries Ministries of Agriculture and Health Connected Components: Component 4.

Activity Description: The EAC, through support from USAID’s EATH, completed the development of the EAC Food and Nutrition Security Policy (FNSP).

The FNSP helps the region implement the provisions of the EAC Treaty (1999) Chapter 18 Article 110 which states: “Harmonize food supply, nutrition and food security policies and strategies” relating to stimulating agricultural development, eliminating hunger, eradicating poverty, and ensuring food security.

The FNSP responds to the current regional development and integration challenge in the EAC. It promotes food and nutrition security in the region through pursuit of appropriate policy measures that target negative causal factors.

The policy has been adopted by the EAC Council and is ready for implementation. The immediate steps towards implementation are development of regulations and the implementation plan. The EAC has programmed this to be done between February and April 2015. The EAC requires technical assistance to develop these two documents ahead of the EAC Sectoral Council in April 2014.

EATIH Intervention Through collaboration with Component 4 and the EAC Agriculture team, Component 2 will provide support towards the development of the FNSP Regulations and the Implementation Strategy Sub-Activity: Support EAC, through technical assistance, in the development of the FNSP Regulations and Implementation Strategy and presentation of these documents for adoption by EAC FNSP working group.

Expected Benefits: EAST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB ANNUAL WORKPLAN

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Finalization of the Regulation and Implementation Strategy will provide EAC Partner States with a tool for implementation of the FNSP in the EAC region.

Year 1 Milestones: EAC FNSP Regulations and Implementation Strategy developed ACTIVITY 8: SEED SYSTEMS IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Project Partners: Africa Seed Trade Association, National Seed Trade Associations, ACTESA, AGRA, Gates, DFID, Food Trade Connected Components: Component 4.

Activity Description: High quality seed is needed for good yields. In spite of its importance, accessibility remains a key challenge. Less than one in four smallholder farmers have reliable access to improved quality seed, with availability estimated at only 23% in the COMESA region. Affordability, availability, and crop and variety choice is a perennial challenge. An efficient and effective seed system that maximizes farmer’s choice and access to seed is required. This is especially important for small farmers, who make up the majority of farmers in the COMESA region.

In eastern and southern Africa, disparate seed legislation and regulations across the region have been identified as a major barrier to the local breeding, production, distribution and sales of improved seed varieties in the region, and a key barrier to farmer productivity growth. In addition this has resulted in slow investments in, and growth of local seed companies and the African Seed industry as a whole, with many countries in the region relying on imports, either from neighboring countries or from outside the region. Seed policy and regulations harmonization is thus imperative in the region.

Status of Seed Policy and Regulations Policy Harmonization in Eastern and Southern Africa In March 2008, the COMESA Council of Ministers declared that COMESA should urgently rationalize and harmonize seed regulations and policies in its 19 member-states within two years, to improve seed availability and flows, especially to small holder farmers. COMESA, with support from its Specialized Agency, the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA), and in conjunction with the African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA) led the baseline analysis development, stakeholder engagement and review and finalization of the COMESA Seed Trade Harmonization Regulations. The regulations are now in force after approval by the COMESA Council of Ministers in February, 2014.

The challenge now is to domesticate these regulations by adapting existing national regulations to bring them into regional compliance, or to support the development and/or finalization of compliant seed acts in countries that do not have existing or completed seed Acts. Ensuring full implementation of the seed regulations and policies is critical in ensuring development of a thriving seed sector in the region. Some of the identified obstacles to domestication include: vast differences in the status of regulations between countries; differences in farmer needs; local vested interests; non-tariff barriers; budgetary constraints; lack of human capacity; and poor communication.

To begin to address some of these challenges, COMESA/ACTESA has developed the COMESA Seed Harmonization Implementation Plan (COM-SHIP) to guide and support member states in domesticating

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the regulations. The vision of COM-SHIP is that within 5 - 7 years, all 19 COMESA member-states will have completed implementation of the approved COMESA Seed Trade Harmonized Regulations leading to increased seed production, reliability, trade and competitiveness of the Seed Industry in the COMESA region.

In East Africa, the EAC Secretariat is in the process of formulating a harmonized seed policy. A draft policy document has been drafted.

EATIH Interventions Ensuring consistency between the ongoing EAC Seed Policy Harmonization and the COMESA seed policy. This will be done through consultative sessions with COMESA and EAC to get best options for aligning EAC/Tanzania to COMSHIP/COMESA regulations.

Sub-Activities 1. Work with Trademark EA on seed information collection through the single window system that feeds into seed database for purposes of tracking seed trade flows and availing information on seed availability in the EAC region.

2. Support EAC in preparation of a comparative analysis of the EAC Draft SPS protocol and COMESA SPS Protocol in order to identify areas of divergence and work with EAC to ensure that such divergences are addressed in the course of finalization of EAC seed policy, in order to ensure consistency between the ongoing EAC Seed Policy Harmonization and the COMESA seed policy Expected Benefits: This intervention will contribute towards fast tracking implementation of the COMESA seed policy in select COMESA countries leading to increased intra-regional trade and availability of seed It will also ensure consistency between the EAC Seed Policy, which is being developed and the already developed COMESA seed policy.

Year 1 Milestones: •

Progress in development of an EAC seed policy that is consistent with COMESA seed policy

•

Trade flow data on seed availability disseminated to relevant seed stockists and traders that EATIH will have identified for collaboration.

Activity 9: Market and trade information systems

Project Partners: EAGC, G-Soko, M-Farm and E-Soko Connected components: Component 4 and Component 1 Activity Description: Timely, reliable market information is one of the key services to structured trade.

With proper data, producers, traders, and processors can make better decisions about when to buy and sell. Information on available volumes and areas of demand can help open national and regional markets.

Needed also is a transformational set up to market intelligence. Fortunately, there are sufficient technological avenues to improve market intelligence and the operations of markets. Exploiting such avenues will require collective action, which EATIH Component 2 is well placed to facilitate. Such action would involve improving knowledge on the conditions, trends, and outlooks in local, regional, and international markets, as well as on mechanisms to facilitate contacts between suppliers, facilitate EAST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB ANNUAL WORKPLAN

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contracting, and reduce the risks and costs associated with market transactions. EATIH component 2 will facilitate actions that will make it possible for market information to find its way into policy formulation processes.

In Eastern Africa, the information is inconsistent, inaccurate and unreliable and is hardly transformed into market intelligence that can be used by segments of value chain operators and policy makers for decision making; as a result, the information/intelligence systems are not trusted and are under-used. No wonder that policy-makers are often quick to respond to perceived potential staple foods shortages by imposing export bans, price controls, and other market interventions. Uncertainty about policy interventions is a major disincentive to investment, stifling the growth of regional trade. Reliable regional food balance sheets and other sources of information about food prices and availability at the regional level will help build a more stable, predictable environment.

Already huge investments have gone into the development of these systems and leading in this area is RATIN, E-Soko among others. Market intelligence is much needed to reduce business risk and for the development of structured trading system. To achieve EATIH Component 2 goal of increasing trade in staples, Market and Trade Information is expected to play a key role. The system should respond to the investors and policy makers’ needs in order to ensure stability of the staple foods market. There is need to establish what has worked or not worked well, extent of uptake of the systems and relevance to the segments of the value chain operators as well as policy makers. There is also need to undertake a stakeholders’ information needs assessment as a basis for commercializing some information services for purposes of sustainability and the sector’s long term development.

EATIH Interventions: •

Review of RATIN, E-Soko and other MIS with a view to establishing client (farmers, traders, processors, policy makers) uptake, appropriateness of these systems, challenges, lessons and areas of opportunity to enhance these systems to respond to the stakeholders needs;

•

Support enhancement of MIS systems with a view to promoting intra-regional trade in staple foods through access to market information/intelligence. This should include support to the development of GSM enabled applications system to track stocks in warehouses including issuing, pledging and transfer of warehouse receipts, and linking this to Regional Food Balance Sheet and commodity exchanges.

Sub-Activities: •

Undertake a review of market information systems with a view to identifying challenges, shortcomings, gaps, drawing lessons and possible interventions to enhance the effectiveness of these systems;

•

Undertake stakeholder information needs assessment as precursor to commercialization for purposes of sustainability:

•

Assess and determine need for real-time stock tracking system in warehouses that are participating in identified STS networks.

•

Support the development of a feature to tally number of hits by registered famers, traders, millers, policy makers, researchers and substantive users of the database. This feature will have capability for

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intake of feedback from the users and synthesis of the comments and the tally by the category of users.

Expected Benefits The intended outcome under the objective is that value chain actors and policy makers have access to market information/intelligence for decision making. Ultimately, this will lead to increased market transparency, increased market options and triggering establishment of market linkages. The immediate benefit is that the outcome will provide way forward regarding the support needed for further development of market information systems that should spur intra-regional trade in food staples. The GIS enabled warehouse grain tracking system will provide real time information on grain stock held in warehouses that are reporting under RFBS and thus trigger trade deals.

Milestones •

A Report of the assessment of the performance of market information system in the EAC region detailing what has / has not worked well, lessons learnt as well as recommendations on the way forward.

•

A stakeholder needs assessment report

•

A report of the assessment of the real time of stock tracking system in warehouse including the lessons learnt and the way forward,

COMMUNICATIONS Strategic Communications Objectives for Component 2 / Feed the Future (FTF) •

Improved information flow of beneficial EAC trade policy and systems to East African cross-border traders and potential cross-border traders, from smallholder farmers to larger commercial entities.

Impact - Double the value of intraregional trade in the EAC.

•

Government stakeholders are aware of select trade constraints and suggested solutions for overcoming them, including implementation of already agreed to EAC policy. EAC staple food traders are aware of beneficial EAC trade policy and available systems/technology/structures that smooth EAC cross-border trade. Resolved choke points with two-way information flow.

Impact - Increase the EAC’s intraregional trade in staple foods by 40 percent.

Target Audiences •

EATIH private sector stakeholders and beneficiaries

•

EAC governments and public authorities

•

USAID East Africa Missions

•

USAID/USG Washington

•

Regional development partners

To maximize impact, the EATIH will collaborate with and communicate to multiple U.S. Government agencies and development partners who have a shared interest in advancing FTF goals. As with all

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USAID projects, the EATIH will also tailor some of its communications materials to the American people, the ultimate funders of the project.

In general, the EATIH communications products will be repackaged multiple times to effectively target its many audiences. The EATIH will also maintain current talking points and impact numbers to respond to internal communications/U.S. Government needs quickly and efficiently.

Messages The EATIH will have a set of consistent talking points around FTF core initiatives. One or more of these messages will be incorporated into all public-facing documents and events. Talking points will be backed by trade analysis and ongoing impact produced by the EATIH and its partners. All messages will be couched in the positive, and will focus on solutions. For FTF specific events, the EATIH will create vertical banners with FTF appropriate photos, logos, and language.

The EATIH will also incorporate approved USAID messaging to ensure recognition of the American people and recognition of the USAID mission. This includes the overall USAID mission statement “We partner to end extreme poverty and to promote resilient, democratic societies while advancing our security and prosperity,” which is the reason that USAID/FTF is investing in the Hub. The EATIH will use specific FTF language, such as the below, when appropriate and incorporate the FTF logo on relevant documents.

Feed the Future strives to increase agricultural production and the incomes of both men and women in rural areas who rely on agriculture for their livelihoods.

Investments in inclusive agricultureled growth encompass improving agricultural productivity, expanding markets and trade, and increasing the economic resilience of vulnerable rural communities.

Messaging in public-facing documents and events will be supported by the EATIH’s website and social media platforms. The most relevant social media platforms for the EATIH are Twitter and Facebook.

The EATIH will regularly update its Facebook page, taking advantage of the flexibility and ubiquity of Facebook to create a community of collaborators and supporters. The Hub will also use Facebook to generate information by “liking” businesses and people who are potential or current traders or investors in East Africa. The “like” feature will then generate a news feed of stakeholder updates that the EATIH will share or absorb to maintain awareness of its audience and stakeholders.

Action Plan The following table consists of ongoing and periodic activities and tools (noted in the frequency column) that the EATIH will use to reach its component 2 / FTF communications objectives of a). Building awareness around EAC trade policy and systems that can help East African cross-border traders and potential cross-border traders, from smallholder farmers to commercial entities; and b) Government stakeholders are aware of select trade constraints and suggested solutions for overcoming them, including implementation of already agreed to EAC policy. EAC staple food traders are aware of beneficial EAC

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trade policy and available systems/technology/structures that smooth EAC cross-border trade. Resolved choke points with two-way information flow.

The communications team will be able to point to quantitative success by using the indicators outlined.

The comments provide more specific information about each tool or activity, especially if it requires USAID approval.

TABLE 2: COMPONENT 2 ACTIVITIES AND TOOLS Tools/ Activities

Purpose

Face-to-Face Meetings and Networking Participation in Attend relevant regional events conferences, seminars, and and workshops events (agribusiness fairs) to promote/distribute training manuals staple foods standards and build a stakeholder database. Use database to facilitate future networking and sharing of information.

Events, VIP Publicize the results of key visits, and initiatives or the launch of a launches new initiative. Show strong stakeholder collaboration, including U.S. Government, East African governments, U.S. and East African private sector, and the East African and U.S. general public. Promote achievements.

Agricultural conferences and expos

Create valuable business networking opportunities and check out the competition.

Social Media and Website EATIH website Ensure access to relevant information about the expansion of food staples trade in domestic and regional markets with a focus on FTF priority staple foods. Enable stakeholders to comment and share that information directly through the website. Provide an egateway for EATIH stakeholders to obtain trade and investment data, analysis, and tools.

Linkedin The EATIH technical team should maintain

Frequency Ongoing

Indicators Number of current traders and stakeholders in Hub database.

Expanded reach for Hub publications.

Comments

•

• Periodic

Number of stories generated, number of EATIH or FTF mentions, number of followup inquiries or partnerships.

• •

•

Periodic

Number of business partnerships established and contracts signed.

Ongoing

Google analytics or platformspecific metrics, hyperlinks clicked, conversation generated, stakeholder information needs met.

Ongoing

Number of contacts and

Database is tagged with key words to designate interest and inform followup, allowing for specific outreach, for example, by sector, maize, or livestock.

Manage database in Constant Contact.

All materials must be cleared through USAID/State.

EATIH to provide drafts of all material, including press releases, media advisories, and talking points/remarks.

The EATIH plans to conduct several soft launches to gather stakeholders and build awareness of different aspects of the project.

The EATIH website will include interactive features with short video clips of agricultural traders who have benefited from the FTF inititative.

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Tools/ Activities

Purpose professional profiles that expand the project network Spur conversation around current/trending topics and share information.

Twitter

Flickr

Facebook

Instagram

Maintain photo site to use in EATIH communications materials.

Create a community of collaborators and supporters. Like other pages to follow update and shared information.

Photo sharing.

Frequency

Indicators

New tweets daily

Twitter analytics and URL clicks.

Ongoing

Flickr analytics.

Ongoing

Facebook analytics.

Ongoing

Instagram analytics.

e-Updates, Newsletters, Print Media, and News Aggregation Monthly Keep all stakeholders Monthly Number of opens, newsletter informed of EATIH events number of clicks, and successes. Lead number of shares, stakeholders to relevant number of information through recipients. hyperlinks and video.

Provide helpful information and updates that can be easily forwarded to other interested parties. e-invitations Provide shorter EATIH Weekly Number of opens, and e-updates updates or relevant number of clicks, stakeholder information number of shares, that might be more time number of sensitive. Invite recipients, number stakeholders to events. of RSVPs. Establish RSS Keep stakeholders abreast Aggregate Database reach, (Rich Site of current developments daily. hyperlinks clicked, Summary feed) and share success stories Disseminate of trade in staple foods with weekly. a focus on FTF priority Distribute staple foods standout news in oneoff email blasts Print media Read the East African Ongoing Number of stories papers (The East African, that mention FTF Standard, Nation, etc.) to or the EATIH, gather regional information number of stories and look for good news circulated for pitches. stakeholder information.

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Comments

networks reached.

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East Africans are active Twitter users. The EATIH will engage with EA traders and potential traders around investment and trade.

Safaricom just launched a platform to promote the generation of local content for subscribers in the region and it is a more interactive tool than Flickr for photo content sharing.

Constant Contact

Constant Contact and Evite

Tie EATIH initiatives to current news when relevant, hyperlink to additional information.

Tools/ Activities

Purpose

Frequency

Knowledge Management, Training, and Behavior Change Information Develop and execute Periodic Campaigns informational campaigns to increase awareness of beneficial EAC. trade policy and systems.

Info Graphics Distill complex trade and Periodic agricultural policies or systems into easy-to-digest visuals Ongoing Training and Inform traders about workshops changes to EAC policy or ask for input toward proposed changes to policy.

Indicators

Comments

Material distributed, followup questions and action.

Hyperlinks clicked, shared, follow-up questions.

Sign-in sheets with number of participants.

Before and after surveys.

All workshops and conferences will include freestanding vertical banners that brand the Hub and Trade Africa.

Organize and facilitate workshops to target suppliers and buyers in all five EAC Partner States to disseminate EAC Staple Foods Standards and demonstrate procedures and processes that are required to conform to the standards.

FTF sectorspecific workshops and strategy sessions Success stories and beneficiary testimonials

2

Videos

2

Conduct a Training of Trainers to create sustainability of this intervention.

Work with EAC to support accreditation of select laboratories for the testing of staple foods standards.

Promote increased understanding of and ability to apply staple foods standards to increase domestic and regional trade. Showcase livelihood gains through examples of success and anecdotal case studies.

Engage agribusiness traders and potential traders with a video/teaser that leads to more information on beneficial

Ongoing

Hyperlinks clicked, stories shared.

As needed, to serve as teasers for project events or

Number of clicks, number of shares, conversation generated.

Video can be close-captioned as required by USAID. Please see additional notes on video below.

Videos can be produced cheaply by using any modern smart phone to capture the images. The footage can easily be downloaded and edited with bundled film editing software such as iMovie or Windows Movie Maker. Videos can act as simple teasers for project events or they can showcase successes from project beneficiaries. With today’s phones and inexpensive add-on microphones, short, simple videos are easy to create. These videos could be embedded on the Hub website and then shared via social media to generate interest in the project, also driving more traffic to the Hub website (as opposed to a YouTube channel).

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Tools/ Activities

Informational flyers, brochures, and posters

Free-standing vertical banners

Purpose trade policy or systems to help with cross-border trade.

Distribute easy-to-digest information on agricultural trade policy and trade systems to relevant areas like border crossings and government agencies.

Promote USAID investment at all EATIH events, workshops, and training.

Frequency

Indicators

Comments

showcase success stories

Ongoing

Number distributed, number of clicks once uploaded to e-platforms like ISSUU. Survey— familiarity with USAID.

Other FTF Assets Include: •

The FTF East Africa regional strategy

•

The FfF website www.feedthefuture.gov, which includes resources, cleared USG language/talking points, and statistics

•

USAID/Kenya’s cache of stunning FTF-related photos, available through their flickr page

•

The Agrilinks website www.agrilinks.org, which includes a robust knowledge management database, a forum for agricultural debate and practice, and an established network of experts and practitioners.

•

Points of contact at the USAID East African bilateral missions who are designated to help support EATIH initiatives

•

Trade associations such as East African Grain Council

•

Initiatives such as ReSAKSS (Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System) and RATIN (Regional Agricultural Trade Intelligence Network)

MONITORING AND EVALUATION EATIH has based the Development Objective, Intermediate Objectives, Intermediate Results, and their associated Indicators present in this workplan on the ACTE Results Framework. We used this for work planning purposes to demonstrate the flow of our activities to results and the objective, but recognize that EATIH’s pending Performance Management Plan will be the guiding document to formalize our objectives, results and indicators.

GENDER CONSIDERATIONS As noted above, EATIH adds three filters to our investor lens approach, including a gender filter. Initial assessment of gender issues for Feed the Future include improved policies and capacity building to encourage women to engage in regional trade; obtain credit; gain access to land, resources, agricultural research results and extension; and overcome barriers to women-owned businesses. EATIH will proactively seek out interventions that support women owned and/or controlled businesses in targeted value chains and include the opportunity for to participate in and benefit from more competitive agribusinesses. In particular, gender analyses will be an integral part of the M&E reporting, focusing on the roles and benefits of women and youth entrepreneurs in staple foods value chains; women and youth 62

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access to information, markets and finance; and, monitoring how the proposed interventions will impact on women / youth entrepreneurs and their relationship in the various segments of the value chain.

Woven into our activities below are specific efforts to engage businesses where women hold key stakeholder roles and will benefit directly from EATIH assistance. This includes having the EATIH Gender Specialist – Lydiah Ojiambo– will fully engage in Component 2 Activities including: identify businesses and development opportunities to promote equal gender engagement as stakeholders and EATIH partners; assure that gender intelligence is included in value chain intelligence reports; assure that “gender related choke points” are included in choke point intelligence addendums; serve as a member of Value Chain Review Working Groups and internal Intervention working groups that select target value chains and choke points; and finally, advise Choke Point Intervention Working Groups to integrate gender strategies and activities in each targeted value chain Choke Point Intervention Strategy and Workplan.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS The EATIH anticipates that a majority of Component 2 activities will receive a categorical exclusion per 22 CFR 216, as there will be no direct environmental impacts for most activities of this component.

However, due to the nature of our work in the agricultural sector and with agribusinesses, am Initial Environmental Impact (IEI) assessment will be completed to ensure that all of our activities facilitate compliance with the spirit and intent of USAID environmental policies. Should any other determination than a categorical exclusion is made, appropriate management and mitigation activities will be included in the Component 2 workplan as well as in the EATIH Environmental Management and Mitigation Plan (EMMP).

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D. COMPONENT 3: EXPORTS AND TRADE PROMOTION, PARTICULARLY WITH THE U.S. UNDER AGOA, INCREASED OBJECTIVES This component’s objective is to spur inclusive economic growth in East Africa through increased trade and investment, particularly with and from the U.S.; foster value-addition; improve sector-wide business practices; and promote the achievement of economies of scale.

Component 3 will support the countries of East Africa (EAC + Ethiopia, Mauritius, Seychelles and Madagascar) to use trade to advance economic growth and development. It will facilitate an increase (40%) in exports of value-added products under AGOA, including: apparel, home décor and fashion accessories, footwear, floriculture and specialty foods/processed agricultural products. Through Origin Africa, an ongoing campaign and initiative dedicated to changing perceptions about Africa, EATIH will enhance Africa's image in U.S. and world markets. In collaboration with key institutions, it will develop and tailor trade enhancing activities to specific countries and sectors as informed by National AGOA Strategies, and will identify and work with key private sector associations and individual companies to foster impactful trade and investment in the region.

TECHNICAL APPROACH INVESTMENT LENS All EATIH components will apply an investment lens to identify key opportunities and chokepoints that impact integrated trade and competitiveness in their respective areas. This investment lens will be reflected in each component’s initial activity prioritization and integrated throughout their technical approach.

Component 3 will apply an investment lens in their initial activity prioritization through AGOA strategies at the national level and regionally through the EAC. We will integrate an investor lens into our overall technical approach by focusing on restrictions to the efficient flow of products, information, and investment in our focus sectors/activities, which create an investment constraint, inhibit trade, or reduce competitiveness. We will do so by looking at the core sectors under AGOA and seeking to identify potential areas for investment.

COMPONENT 3 STRATEGY EATIH, in line with its overall mandate to spur inclusive economic growth in the region, will promote private sector competitiveness to increase trade and investment, particularly to and from the U.S. Our implementation approach is to build on the progress of the previous East Africa Trade Hub to increase trade to the U.S. under AGOA. We will work to expand and evolve EATH’s firm-level relationships, connecting them to EATIH’s more strategic supply chain and sector relationships.

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EATIH will partner with public and private sector entities to develop National AGOA Strategies. The strategies prioritize key value chains in consultation with government entities, civil society and the private sector, and outline trade policy and business support needed to take advantage of the opportunities offered

by AGOA. Through this consultation process, the value chains supported under EATH were primarily cotton, textiles, apparel (CTA), footwear, home décor and fashion accessories, cut flowers and specialty processed foods. Coffee, which enters the U.S. duty-free without AGOA preferences, was also an important value chain for export.

EATIH will prioritize value chains/sectors through an inclusive process, and will work with the EAC to develop a regional AGOA strategy. EATIH will employ a methodology, using the Origin Africa event as a model, to convene key stakeholders to identify opportunities, chokepoints and develop sustained engagement towards solutions. The project will also incorporate a gender lens into this prioritization process, both to feed back into the EATIH project Gender Strategy for Women’s Business Empowerment and to inform gender considerations in the AGOA strategies.

EATIH will proactively organize and promote use of business-to-business events such as trade shows and buyers missions across all of the identified core sectors. The goals of these activities will be to increase EAC+ exports internationally and to the U.S. under AGOA and promote economies of scale so that the individual deals build the foundation for integrated global supply chains.

We will undertake a tiered approach to trade show participation, broken down by: Tier 1 (Exhibitors) and Tier 2 (Emerging Exhibitors). Exhibitors will consist primarily of large, experienced, export-ready companies. Exhibitors at trade shows gain valuable contacts, market presence in the eyes of buyers, and sample orders potentially leading to firm orders. Increased orders and sourcing by buyers will in turn drive new investment opportunities. Due to its proven success, this is the traditional approach and will continue to be the mainstay of our trade show strategy: support to companies with the power to effect and deliver on strategic shifts in sourcing on the part of buyers as buyers look to Africa for their sourcing needs, which in turn will drive new investments. Support will be on a cost-share basis, where companies are asked to fund their airfare and hotel accommodation, while EATIH covers the exhibition costs.

Importantly, companies are “graduated” after several interventions in a particular activity so that companies reach a point where they are able to fund themselves.

The Emerging Exhibitors consist largely of SMEs and companies not yet export ready or experienced in exporting. These companies are given the opportunity to walk the show, to conduct market research, learn about the U.S. (and other) markets, and learn the art of exhibiting from peers. This tier of companies will also be supported on a cost-share basis (similar to above). The Emerging Exhibitors that we target receive 3 modules of training: 3. Preparation: in country/field training on how to get the most out of trade shows; 4. Implementation support: training at the show – a tool kit on how to be an effective exhibitor, and; 5. Feedback: post-show training – effective communication and follow-up with buyers.

The companies in the Emerging Exhibitor program are then faced with a decision regarding whether or not they want to pursue the export market. The emerging exhibitors who successfully complete the training modules and are assessed by EATIH as export-ready are subsequently elevated to full trade show exhibitor status. With this two-tiered approach, we assist the companies with the critical mass and ability

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to create new sourcing (and investment) opportunities in East Africa. We also are able to assess and introduce a new set of export-ready companies across the core sectors.

Under the previous Trade Hub, the AGOA team built valuable relationships with the organizers of major trade shows like MAGIC (Las Vegas) and Interstoff (Hong Kong), relationships that the EATIH will now leverage. In the case of Messe Frankfurt, the relationship is in fact recognized by both parties as a partnership where we collaborate to build value for East African companies. This takes the form of outreach and promotion of Africa on the part of Messe Frankfurt and valuable Africa-focused seminars that become part of the official trade event program. (It bears noting that a previous seminar run by EATH at Interstoff Asia in Hong Kong was the initial contact with PVH which led to the group’s further consideration of East Africa as a sourcing destination and regional hub.)Trade shows in this scenario then become much more than B2B and trade promotion vehicles for individual companies, to include broader, higher-level discussions on AGOA sourcing and investment from Africa.

MAGIC in February 2015 will have a special focus on Africa. EATIH has already engaged show management regarding joint activities to highlight Africa and opportunities under AGOA. The Friends of Africa meeting in January/February 2015 will have a special country focus on Madagascar. EATIH is already in discussions with Messe Frankfurt about Africa-themed seminars at Texworld (JAN 2015), Interstoff Asia (March 2015) and others.

EATIH will team with Wal-Mart to deliver an innovative seminar on opportunities for sourcing from East Africa. Working in close collaboration with Wal-Mart senior management, apparel and general merchandise buyers will be invited to attend the seminar at Wal-Mart’s corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. The Wal-Mart senior management team overseeing sourcing will discuss the company’s strategy for East Africa and opportunities for sourcing. The seminar will also include country presentations and an introduction by EATIH to Wal-Mart of manufacturers from the EAC+ Ethiopia and Island countries.

EATIH will build relationships with key U.S. buyers interested in sourcing from East Africa (and potentially investing) in all of the core AGOA sectors. EATIH will consult with U.S. Department of Commerce in this process. We will seek to replicate the Anthropologie model, where we build value on both sides of the buying equation. This involves targeted technical assistance to companies in the region to meet product specifications and quality standards.

EATIH will also make information on AGOA available through strategic outreach to public and private sectors and private sector associations. Targeted national and sector-specific seminars will accomplish this goal, as in Madagascar, which only recently regained its AGOA eligibility and seeks to return to its status as a top 5 exporter to the U.S. under the initiative.

EATIH intends to explore a reengagement with African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA) in collaboration with the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) of California to build upon previous trade hub support to expand the AFCA strategic market development services to its members. The initial target markets are primarily high quality buyers/roasters in the US followed by similar buying group in the Gulf (GCC) and the European Union.

The EATIH team will ensure sustainability of our efforts and will maximize of resources under Component 3 by providing support only to initiatives that are built on strong and broad-based private sector demand. East African and U.S. private sectors are best positioned to understand where the real opportunities are for increased trade, especially under AGOA. EAST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB ANNUAL WORKPLAN

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Finally, EATIH will endeavor to the build the capacity of select local business associations and investment / trade promotion institutions, using Enterprise Mauritius as the model, to support greater private sector utilization of exports opportunities to the U.S. under AGOA and internationally.

Communications and messaging are critical given that this component is heavily activity based and will generate high-profile success stories under Trade Africa.

CROSS-COMPONENT INTEGRATION Given the nature of trade promotion as end-market driven and ultimately transaction-oriented, i.e. export deals between buyers and sellers, there are natural synergies with all of the project components. The process of value chain selection under AGOA, informed in part by National AGOA Strategy exercises, will invariably identify critical areas for EATIH interventions.

In the EATIH Policy Component 4, this means identifying key regulatory and other hurdles – “chokepoints” – specific to a given sector, country or the region as a whole, the removal of which will allow a greater flow of goods and greater international competitiveness.

In the EATIH Investment Component 1, the companies that source from Africa—both currently and potentially—are also potential investors. A case in point is PVH, which has established its Africa hub in Nairobi for sourcing but is also now looking to draw in regional investment across the CTA value chain.

Trade and investment go hand in hand, so Components 3 and 1 will be strategically linked throughout all of project activities and in line with the overarching investment lens of EATIH. In the EATIH Agribusiness Component 2, the sectors within the specialty foods space that have the greatest potential for export, both internationally (AGOA and otherwise) and regionally, have the potential for backward linkages. An incubator model that crosses over specialty foods and staple crops will be considered to further this objective. There is an emphasis on value-added food processing for both export and the domestic market (formal and informal).We focus heavily on walking existing SMEs through the process of product, market and business development. This would involve mapping the range of companies operating in the region and then selecting a core group of SMEs to support with certifications, registrations, brand development and markets.

The link to the staple crops side is one of supply, working with co-ops to strengthen their organizations, provide GAP practices, and link them to fresh produce markets and processing companies. The result is not only development of export markets for value-added food companies but also sustainable companies with sound sourcing policies.

Project Year 1 •

Trade show participation in focus sectors – at least 4 trade shows completed.

•

Firm-level technical assistance in focus sectors – specialty foods/agribusiness incubator model launched.

•

At least 4 AGOA workshops delivered.

•

National AGOA Competitiveness Strategies – at least 2 strategies developed/updated.

•

Origin Africa event successfully held.

•

Friends of Africa meeting with focus country/sector held.

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•

At least 2 U.S. Buyers Missions organized.

•

Strategic market development plan agreed and launched with AFCA in collaboration with CQI.

•

Targeted grant(s) facilitated under Partnership Fund which support national, regional or sectorspecific export development institutions - at least one grant in the export promotion/AGOA space, e.g. FPEAK/floriculture.

ACTIVITIES We have aligned activities under Component 3 with the Intermediate Results (IRs) of: •

Intermediate Results 2: Increase global export competitiveness

•

Intermediate Result 6: Increase intra-regional export competitiveness

ACTIVITY 1: AGOA INFORMATION DISSEMINATION Project Partners: National trade associations, export promotion agencies Connected Components: Component 1; Country Representatives.

Activity Description: Continue to serve as the “go to” source for businesses, private sector associations, and national governments seeking information to take advantage of trade opportunities under AGOA. Expected Benefit: Public and private sectors educated on AGOA opportunities Year 1 Milestones: Knowledge management resources on AGOA disseminated ACTIVITY 2: DEVELOP AGOA STRATEGIES Project Partners: National and regional stakeholders, public and private sectors Connected Components: Country Representatives Activity Description: With governments and key stakeholders, develop or update national AGOA export strategies.

Expected Benefit: Strategies established and validated, leading to increased trade to U.S. under AGOA. Year 1 Milestones: •

Madagascar AGOA Strategy completed (January 2015)

•

2 EAC+ countries identified for new/updated AGOA strategies

•

Rwanda AGOA Strategy completed (March 2015)

•

Uganda CTA Value Chain Study (informing Government’s larger AGOA study) completed (March 2015)

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•

Tanzania AGOA Strategy completed (June 2015)

•

Additional technical guidance to the EAC to develop an EAC Regional AGOA Strategy

ACTIVITY 3: BUILD CAPACITY OF NATIONAL EXPORT PROMOTION AGENCIES Project Partners: Export promotion agencies Connected Components: Country Representatives Activity Description: Strengthen national export promotion agencies to develop new marketing and matchmaking strategies and serve as a center of information and assistance for local firms on accessing U.S. markets through AGOA and other international markets.

Expected Benefit: Increased capacity of national export promotion agencies to support private sector needs vis-à-vis AGOA and other export markets.

Year 1 Milestones: •

MOU with Enterprise Mauritius signed outlining synergies and collaboration with EATIH (January 2015).

•

Opportunities to assist other national-level promotion agencies explored to replicate the Enterprise Mauritius model and/or develop AGOA resource centers, e.g. new AGOA resource center in Ethiopia.

ACTIVITY 4: DELIVER AGOA WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS Project Partners: Trade show organizers (e.g. Messe Frankfurt), national associations, private sector collaborators Connected Components: Component 4; Country Representatives.

Activity Description: Educate private sector groups and associations, government export promotion agencies and others about AGOA opportunities.

Expected Benefit: Greater AGOA information dissemination and uptake, leading to increased exports to the U.S. Year 1 Milestones: At least 5 seminars held—high priority/confirmed events bolded: •

Origin Africa Seminar held (November 2014, Nairobi)

•

Madagascar AGOA Workshop held (November 2014)

•

Texworld workshop held (January 2015, New York)

•

MAGIC: Focus on Africa/AGOA Seminar (February 2015, Las Vegas)

•

Friends of Africa meeting, Las Vegas (February 2015)

•

Wal-Mart/EATIH Seminar: Opportunities for Sourcing from East Africa (February 2015,Bentonville, Arkansas)

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•

Prime Source conference, Hong Kong (March 2015)

ACTIVITY 5: FOSTER GREATER LINKAGES BETWEEN KEY BUSINESS GROUPS Project Partners: CCA Connected Components: Component 1; Country Representatives Activity Description: Encourage and foster increased linkages between business groups and associations, such as Friends of Africa, AAFA and ACTIF, to link U.S. and international importers and distributors in sourcing goods and services from Africa.

Year 1 Milestones: Origin Africa event held ACTIVITY 6: TARGETED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND COST-SHARING GRANTS TO SUPPORT INCREASED VALUE CHAIN COMPETITIVENESS Project Partners: Sector-specific organizations, national and regional Connected Components: Component 1; Country Representatives Activity Description: Provide technical and financial support through grants or engage in subcontracting under the Partnership Fund to share initial risk that support increased value chain competitiveness that attracts additional private investment in core sectors under AGOA and the related engagement in the coffee-value chain via AFCA for a strategic market penetration plan.

Expected Benefit: Greater capacity of organizations to deliver value to its members Year 1 Milestones: •

At least 2 grants to support entities in core AGOA sectors.

•

MOU and related cost-sharing grant signed with AFCA

ACTIVITY 7: TRADE SHOWS AND BUYER MISSIONS Project Partners: Trade show organizers, national export promotion agencies Connected Components: Component 1; Country Representatives Activity Description: Promote direct business linkages through trade shows and inward-buyer missions.

Expected Benefit: Export deals directly tied to project interventions.

Year 1 Milestones: Participation in at least 4 trade shows across core sectors—high priority/confirmed shows bolded: •

Winter Fancy Foods trade show, San Francisco (January2015)

•

Texworld trade show, NY (January 2015 or July 2015)

•

Artisan Resource trade show – NY (January/February2015 or August 2015)

•

Africa Fine Coffees Association event, Nairobi (February2015)

•

MAGIC trade show, Las Vegas (February 2015 or August 2015)

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•

Cotiere Show – NY (February2015)

•

Dealers and Agents (D&A) trade show (February2015-NY or March 2015-LA)

•

Natural Products Expo West, Anaheim (March 2015)

•

International Floriculture Expo/United Fresh trade show (June 2015)

•

Source Africa trade show, Cape Town (June 2015)

•

Summer Fancy Foods trade show, NY (June 2015)

•

Santa Fe International Folk Art Market – Santa Fe (July 2015)

•

Natural Products Expo East trade show – Baltimore (September 2015)

•

Organize at least two U.S. Buyers Missions in: 1) apparel and 2) home décor and fashion accessories.

ACTIVITY 8: FIRM-LEVEL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Project Partners: National export promotion agencies, relevant government stakeholders Connected Components: Component 2; Country Representatives.

Activity Description: In the home décor and fashion accessories space, replicate the Anthropologie model of building key relationships with leading U.S. companies and brands, and providing TA to selected vendors to bring buying relationship to fruition. Support key communications and messaging. In the specialty foods/agribusiness space, launch an incubator model which identifies select export-ready companies and walks them through the process of certifications, product development, distribution, etc.

Critically, the specialty foods work will target staple foods suppliers in the region for supply chain linkages, which will require close collaboration with Component 2.

Expected Benefit: Increased capacity of exporters to meet product specifications and quality standards of buyers, leading to increased linkages; long-term business relationships established.

Year 1 Milestones: •

Specialty foods/agribusiness incubator model launched

•

Home décor and fashion accessories TA provided to select SMEs linked to U.S. buyer relationships

ACTIVITY 9: UGANDA COTTON VALUE CHAIN STUDY Project Partners: Government of Uganda, including the Ministry of Trade Industry and Cooperatives, CTA and cotton value chain stakeholders Connected Components: Component 2 Activity Description: The Government of Uganda has requested assistance in the form of value chain study wholly focused on the Uganda CTA sector, with a particular emphasis on cotton. This survey is intended to inform Uganda’s broader national-level s, and advise potential sector interventions (investment promotion, upgrades and modernization, industrial policy).

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The analysis will involve desk research, field visits and a stakeholder validation workshop. The final report will include information in investment needs, a cost chain analysis, and an inventory survey with a stakeholder directory and related policies/regulations.

Expected Benefit: Actionable information on Uganda’s cotton value chain that can contribute to Uganda’s national competitiveness strategy and inform interventions.

Year 1 Milestones: •

Desk research and field visits conducted

•

Stakeholder validation workshop held

•

Final report submitted

COMMUNICATIONS The EATIH provides the U.S. Government with one way to communicate success under the Trade Africa Presidential initiative. Under the direction of EATIH Communications Director, Component 3 communications activities will be fully integrated with overall Trade Africa and EATIH communication and directly connected with other Component communications strategies.

EATIH will continue to develop the Origin Africa campaign focused on changing perceptions about Africa more broadly and an in line with Trade Africa and USG priorities,; as well as specifically in collaboration with the African Cotton and Textile Industries Federation (ACTIF) in the CTA sector.

EATIH will also target innovative communications tools such as the Origin Africa video, which explored perceptions of U.S. buyers; and develop targeted, high-profile success stories of individual companies benefitting from AGOA and disseminate via social media. See Program Communications Strategy for greater detail.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION EATIH has based the Development Objective, Intermediate Objectives, Intermediate Results, and their associated Indicators present in this workplan on the ACTE Results Framework . We used this for work planning purposes to demonstrate the flow of our activities to results and the objective, but recognize that EATIH’s pending Performance Management Plan will be the guiding document to formalize our objectives, results and indicators.

GENDER CONSIDERATIONS The project will incorporate a gender lens into the sector prioritization process and will include gender consideration in its support to update or develop AGOA strategies at the national and regional levels. This Component has high potential to identify opportunities to ensure women are substantively engaged, as several of the AGOA focus sectors in the region (floriculture, home décor and fashion accessories) by their very nature include work forces with heavy concentrations of women. The primary group supporting women in business is the African Women Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP).The project will work through the Gender Manager to seek creative ways to engage with AWEP at the EAC+ national level and regionally to promote increased benefits of trade to women and to promote women stakeholders in decision-making processes.

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ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS Some activities under Component 3 may fall under those activities the IEE categorized as “Negative Determination with Conditions.” Should potential environmental concerns be identified in proposed activities, EATIH will plan any necessary mitigation in compliance with USAID and host country standards.

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E. COMPONENT 4: POLICY ENVIRONMENT FOR EAC INTEGRATION, TRADE AND INVESTMENT IMPROVED AND IMPLEMENTED OBJECTIVES To improve the EAC trade and regulatory environment, both for targeted EATIH sub-sectors and commodities and for key elements of the EAC Customs Union and Common Market initiatives. These initiatives will promote increased trade competitiveness and investment in East Africa and contribute to concrete reductions in poverty and food insecurity, strengthening the region’s resilience and deepening regional economic integration.

TECHNICAL APPROACH INVESTMENT LENS All EATIH components will apply an investment lens to identify key opportunities and chokepoints that impact upon integrated trade and competitiveness in their respective areas. This investment lens will be reflected both in each component’s initial activity prioritization and integrated throughout their technical approach. EATIH will do this by focusing on those restrictions to the efficient flow of products, information, and investment in our focus sectors/activities that create an investment constraint, inhibit trade, or reduce competitiveness. In addition, every effort will be made to incorporate and mainstream gender and youth perspectives in our activities.

In essence, the policy and regulatory environment component is a service delivery mechanism for the entire project, particularly related to the other components: Investment and Technology; Agriculture and Agribusiness, and; AGOA/U.S. Trade Promotion. As detailed below, policy and regulatory reform are cross-cutting by nature and are an integral part of other component objectives and activities. While activities and outcomes may vary by sector and commodity, all components will benefit from the economies of a shared process and tools.

The approach for Component 4 will be undertaken through establishing an Economic Monitoring Unit composed of USAID Trade Africa Officers, State Department Officers, (virual partners such as USTR and U.S. Department of Commerce) and EATIH Country Representatives in each of the five (5) EAC Partner States to monitor and report on key policy and regulatory issues related to EATIH interventions.

This group will work closely with EATIH’s in-house team on policy and regulatory assessments as well as the Agribusiness, AGOA/Trade Promotion and Investment component teams. The EATIH team will, in turn, work closely with a network of key private business, investment and trade associations as well as other development partners to gather, collate and assess evidence for trade policy and regulatory reform dialogue with policy makers and regulators from the perspective of an investor.

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COMPONENT 4 STRATEGY EATIH’s strategy for improving the policy and regulatory environment for EAC integration, trade, and investment will combine pragmatic technical assistance for improved policy and regulatory implementation with the provision of data and evidence to support diplomacy at the U.S. and Partner State levels. To reiterate, Component 4 will function as a service provider to the rest of the components, contributing to the establishment of an enabling policy environment through pursuit of activities targeted at yielding results as prescribed in the following IRs: •

IR 3: Efficient/Cost Effective Movement of Traded Good across Borders

•

IR 4: Advancing regional and international trade and investment agreements and their support institutions

In addition, the strategy will take into consideration previous work on and on-going discussions between the U.S. government and the EAC on activities related to Technical Barriers to Trade, the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and Sanitary and Phytosanitary issues.

The technical work will be guided by a bottom-up approach that seeks to stimulate development of an enabling policy and regulatory environment for investment and trade from an investor lens perspective.

Key policy and regulatory choke points restricting trade and investment flows will be verified with private sector business and trade associations and organizations, the EAC Secretariat and EAC Partner State agencies as well as other development partners. This will be based on selected focal products and sectors as well as crosscutting policy and regulatory issues that significantly impact upon trade and investment in EAC region.

The technical support to the private sector will focus on strengthening private sector capacity to comply, advocate and help formulate key EAC policies, regulations and procedures related to EATIH targeted sectors and products. Areas of concern could range from awareness of such policies and regulations to targeted institutional capacity to meet the stipulated policy and regulatory requirements. This support will be provided through private sector associations and organizations at the regional and national levels to ensure timely introduction of the issues of concern to relevant national and EAC policy making organs for resolution. In essence, targeted technical support to the private sector will be undertaken for selected subsectors and products, geared towards evidence-based research for advocacy on implementation of agreed regional policies, regulations and procedures. ICT innovations will be explored as an integral part of the project to address key chokepoints as well as to enhance institutional capacity for implementation of the prioritized policies and regulations.

EATIH recognizes that increasing trade and investment in East Africa requires that U.S. Government support for improving African government and private sector trade capacity is undertaken in tandem with diplomatic and political engagement around the policy and regulatory framework. This will be undertaken through seamless unification of three core elements—1) partnership for action, 2) capacity built on leadership, and 3) impact from evidence—to support both sides of the Trade Africa equation. Our integrated approach will enable the EATIH team to quickly and effectively work toward achieving the program purpose of inclusive economic growth by strategically supporting U.S. Government diplomatic efforts with data and analysis, while also providing practical and effective support to African governments and African and American business associations, investors, and traders. This approach is designed to speed the transition from aid assistance to a trade and investment partnership model. This will enable EATIH to provide strategic interventions under these three core elements enable us to leverage

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existing entry points and opportunities, across countries and across sectors, to achieve impact that is sustainable over time.

CROSS-COMPONENT INTEGRATION This component is crosscutting by nature and will closely interact with and preform as a service provider to the other components, all of which have important policy and regulatory reform elements. While a small number of policy and legal regulatory activities may be at the macro level (e.g. related to the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement3, EAC Customs Union or Common Market), the vast majority will be interactively developed with other component teams as well as key partners to ensure a coordinated, focused approach on specific sub-sectors and products of importance to EATIH. PROJECT YEAR 1 Component 4 will: •

Assist the private sector in evidence based advocacy for formulation and implementation of harmonized EAC policies and regulations and procedures in support of increased trade and investment in the region through the mechanisms identified above, e.g. implementation of the twenty two harmonized EAC staple food standards, Regional Food Balance Sheet, the EAC Food and Nutrition Security Policy, policy and regulatory framework for supporting regional trade for staple foods traded under warehouse receipt systems and commodity exchanges;

•

Assist governments to harmonize and implement selected trade policies, regulations and procedures in support of the realization of the EAC Customs Union and Common Market Goals;

•

Provide capacity building at the EAC Secretariat, key private sector business associations and EAC Partner States institutions responsible for implementation of targeted policies, regulations and procedures;

•

Support effective communication, monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of targeted policies, regulations and procedures.

ACTIVITIES Per the EATIH contract (pages 33-35), Component 1 has 30 tasks. These are numbered for crossreference in Annex A. The tasks related to the Regional Food Balance Sheets, Support to COMESA through ACTESA and CAADP, and Support to COMESA Trading for Peace will be moved to Component 2 for management purposes but the Component 1 Team will play an active role in the design, implementation and monitoring of those tasks.

We have aligned activities under Component 4 with the Intermediate Results (IRs) of: •

Intermediate Result 3: Efficient/Cost Effective Movement of Traded Good across Borders

•

Intermediate Result 4: Advancing regional and international trade and investment agreements and their support institutions

3

TradeMark East Africa is planning a $9.6 million activity to support implementation of Category A, B and C commitments by EAC Partner States.

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ACTIVITY 1: STRENGTHENING THE ENABLING ENVIRONMENT-IDENTIFICATION OF KEY CHOKEPOINTS AND ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICY AND REGULATORY NETWORKS Project Partners: Private sector business and trade associations (including, inter alia, EABC, Kenya Association of Manufacturers, Kenya Private Sector Alliance, Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya, East African Farmers Federation, East African Grain Council, Rwanda Private Sector Federation, Uganda Association of Manufacturers, Private Sector Foundation of Uganda, Confederation of Tanzania Industries, Tanzania Private Sector Foundation, Burundi Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Burundi Freight Forwarders Association).

Connected Components: Components 1, 2, 3; Gender Manager; and Communications Team Activity Description: Working in close collaboration with other EATIH components, EAC, and private sector associations, EATIH will verify target sectors and products to drive the establishment of an enabling policy and regulatory environment for trade and investment in the EAC. This includes prioritizing critical policy, regulatory and procedural barriers or chokepoints to the enabling environment for trade and investment in targeted sectors and products, including regional finance and investment services. Support is geared towards strengthening existing private sector associations, e.g., EABC, EAGC and national business and trade associations that are central in ensuring that the private sector leads in the formulation and implementation of key policies and regulations.

Expected Benefit: The identification of products and sectors for use in monitoring increases in trade and investment, particularly the top five staple food commodities. Key policy and regulatory constraints related to the selected products and sectors identified to substantially increase trade and investment in East Africa. This will lay the foundation for a concentrated approach to implement and resolve longstanding policy and regulatory constraints in key sectors and commodities.

Year 1 Milestones •

Target products and sectors identified.

•

10-15 major constraints (chokepoints) identified, through the verification process of existing research and analysis and consultation with key stakeholders.

•

Network of research institutions, regional trade associations, business associations, civic groups, and champions within governments built to help identify problems, develop solutions, advocate for reform, and drive implementation (possibly through the provision of small grants, cash or not-cash or subcontracts through the Partnership Fund).

•

Detailed time-bound action plan developed with clear lines of responsibilities to address key chokepoints identified.

•

Comprehensive review of the rice sector as a key sensitive good under the EAC Customs Exemption Regime.

•

10 percent increase in intra-regional trade in the East African region.

ACTIVITY 2: IMPLEMENTATION OF SELECTED POLICIES AND REGULATIONS FOR SELECTED SECTORS AND COMMODITIES Project Partners: Business and Trade Associations (including EABC); Regulatory Authorities; EAC; COMESA; EAGC; Food Trade ESA; USAID Bilateral Missions; World Bank Group (IFC); TMEA and

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other Development Partners; Civil Society Groups (e.g. SEATINI); the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).

Connected Components: Components 2, 3, 4; Gender Manager; Communications Team Activity Description: Support regional and national level implementation of selected policies, regulations and procedures based on the verification work undertaken in Activity 1. In addition, support will be provided, in collaboration with Component 2, towards full implementation of the RFBS as a policy making tool in the EAC region, implementation of the Food and Nutrition Security Policy, implementation of the twenty two (22) staple food standards and formulation of enabling policies and regulations for staple foods traded under Warehouse Receipt Systems and commodity exchanges. This will be coordinated with CAADP and Feed the Future policy priorities. Engage with the EAC and national standards bodies on development and implementation of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures for key sectors and products to promote greater bilateral trade and investment; collaborating, as appropriate, with the Washington-based Standards Alliance Project. This will include, inter alia, implementation of an electronic TBT notification system in EAC Partner States (it is already established in Kenya), the Seventh Triennial Review of the Implementation of WTO TBT Agreement Workshop convened, initially in Uganda in collaboration with ANSI and the Uganda Bureau of Standards and implementation of the EAC Standardization, Quality Assurance, Metrology and Testing (SQMT) Act (in collaboration with TMEA).

Expected Benefit: Implementation of key priority policy and regulatory actions will significantly increase trade and investment in the East African region and support the increase in the competitiveness of selected sectors and commodities. Improved rankings in the implementation of the CMS and the Trading across Borders component of the World Bank’s Cost of Doing Business (CBD).

Year 1 Milestones: •

Action plan for eliminating chokepoints established and implemented.

•

Competitiveness strategies drafted for key sectors and products in support of other EATIH components with provision of input on policy and regulatory issues.

•

10 products standards harmonized or mutually recognized.

•

5 selected staple food product standards implemented at national levels.

ACTIVITY 3: ADVANCING REGIONAL TRADE AND INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS AND THEIR SUPPORT INSTITUTIONS Project Partners: EAC; TMEA; Customs Authorities; SIDA/WCO; EABC; World Bank Group (IFC); WTO; WCO; USTR; MEACs and other government agencies (Revenue Authorities, Ministries of Trade, etc.), and USAID Bilateral Missions.

Connected Components: Components 1, 2, 3; Gender Manager; Communications Team Activity Description: Support implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement; with TMEA implement harmonized customs procedures and standards to increase compliance with the Customs Management Act through training curricula and provision. Review the EAC Customs Management Act with a particular focus on reducing the exemptions regime; work with EAC and TMEA to support EAC roll out of the Single EAST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB ANNUAL WORKPLAN

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Customs Territory focusing on centralized connectivity and application of RADDEx 2.0 for transit trade.

Work with TMEA to coordinate assistance to the EAC moving toward adoption of an Integrated Border Management policy and development of an Electronic Single Windows Policy (the latter with TMEA in year 2 or 3). Increase customs interconnectivity through continued evolving support for RADDEx 2.0 implementation as the EAC Single Customs Territory is implemented. Work with TMEA, IFC, EAC, Partner States and their MEACs, regional trade associations, and civil society organizations to coordinate and operationalize selected elements of the EAC Common Market Scorecard4, advancing the EAC and its Partner States toward full implementation of the regional integration agenda and various EAC commitments.

Note: the 10th WTO Ministerial will take place in Nairobi, Kenya in December 2015. The East Africa Trade and Investment Hub will seek to play a support role in the event.

Expected Benefits: Increased compliance with WTO Bali framework, leading to increased trade in the region and externally through increased connectivity to Customs Authorities and other relevant border agencies with marked improvements in trade and investment information available and utilized.

Year 1 Milestones: •

Implementation of detailed action plan to significantly reduce tariffs on rice in East Africa.

•

Support and technical assistance provided to target countries for ten Category B and ten Category C items in the recent WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (after the joint EAC/TMEA workplan is completed).

•

Collaborate with other development partners and the EAC on a policy framework for the creation of a single investment destination for the East Africa region under the EAC Common Market Scorecard developed.

•

Coordination with TMEA and EAC on areas where EATIH can contribute to strengthening the EAC Customs Management Act and Integrated Border Management.

•

30% decrease in clearance time through selected border posts.

•

EAC SCT Centralized platform developed and applied.

•

Comprehensive review of RADDEx 2.0 and its role in the SCT.

•

RADDEx 2.0 transit module applied for transit trade.

•

A WTO-compliant electronic customs valuation system in in place for the EAC (750 customs officials and freight forward and customs clearance agents trained in Year 2).

•

Limited technical assistance support provided to COMESA to simplify the requirements and administrative practices that govern the trade of goods and services to avoid duplication or replication within the EAC (In collaboration with Component 2). −

4

3 areas of COMESA trade laws and rules where harmonization is needed identified and work towards harmonization commenced in collaboration with DFID’s Food Trade Project and others.

To be identified during the verification phase.

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−

1 awareness seminar on trade opportunities and requirements conducted along the Eastern Congo DR and Rwanda borders

−

3 policy and regulatory issues in EATIH EAC staple foods program scaled up to COMESA through ACTESA

ACTIVITY 4: ADVANCING REGIONAL TRADE AND INVESTMENT THROUGH IMPLEMENTATION OF KEY ELEMENTS OF THE EAC COMMON MARKET SCORECARD Project Partners: EAC; TMEA; Revenue Authorities; SIDA/WCO; EABC and key national business and trade associations; World Bank Group (IFC); WTO; WCO; USTR; MEACs and other government agencies(Revenue Authorities, Ministries of Trade, etc.); and USAID Bilateral Missions.

Connected Components: Components 1, 2, 3; Gender Manager; Communications Team Activity Description: The key focal point for this activity is implementation of key components of the Common Market Scorecard (CMS) from a private sector bottom-up approach. This will include working with the EAC, TMEA, the World Bank Group, particularly IFC, EAC Partner States and their MEACs and other relevant agencies, regional trade associations, and civil society organizations to coordinate and operationalize selected elements of the EAC Common Market Scorecard.5 This activity will support advancing the EAC and its Partner States toward full implementation of the regional integration agenda and various EAC commitments. Capacity of MEAC's as conveners of stakeholders and monitoring of implementation of the score card will be a primary area of focus building on the support that MEACs have received and are continuing to obtain from TMEA. The objective will ensure that MEACs attain capacity to continue supporting CMS implementation sustainably to the future.

Expected Benefits: Increased compliance with selected components of the EAC CMS, particularly relating to the free movement of goods, services and capital, including: greater effective implementation of the common external tariff; harmonization and mutual recognition of SPS and standards preventing TBT; elimination of tariffs and equivalent measures; and elimination of NTBs; establishment of an effective reporting mechanism to monitor EAC Partner State compliance.

Year 1 Milestones: •

5

Verification of key components of the CMS to be addressed for free movement of goods, services and capital

To be identified during the verification phase.

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Elimination of Tariffs and Equivalent Measures

•

−

Implementation of Common External Tariff (CET)

−

Implementation of EAC Rules of Origin

SPS

•

−

Support to Pest Risk Assessments for staple food commodities

−

Support to the implementation of the EAC SPS Protocol, once ratified

Technical Barriers to Trade (TBTs)

•

−

Support to U.S. Standards Alliance project on strengthening capacity of TBT enquiry points

Elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs)6

•

−

Strengthening of NTB monitoring in collaboration with TMEA and IFC.

•

Development of detailed action plan to implement the above.

•

Establishment of effective reporting mechanism to monitor Partner State compliance (in terms of their commitments)

•

Increased engagement of and involvement in the CMS process by the private sector.

COMMUNICATIONS The communications plan for the trade policy and regulatory reform component will focus on highlighting the social, human, environmental, economic and financial impacts of trade policy and regulatory issues that directly affect trade and investment in East Africa in specific areas as well as those policy and regulatory issues in the other components of EATIH. The target audience is large, diverse and the information needs to be in a digestible format for different stakeholders, e.g., trade policy and regulatory reform experts, policy makers, a variety of U.S. Government agencies, private sector, civil society, the public at large, etc. The need for this information in digestible formats is enormous and has been a major constraint in transparently resolving key trade policy and regulatory reform issues, which have, in turn, greatly constrained broad-based, sustainable economic growth and development in East Africa.

The communications plan will highlight project successes, and will proactively include women successes stories and role models within each sector to support the project’s gender strategy. It will also promote an exchange of information to facilitate the ripple effects of various policies and regulations, new technologies and successes. Resources will be devoted, including through the use of innovative ICT for Trade tools, e.g. the EAC Trade Help Desk, the Regional Food Balance Sheet, Single Window Information Portals, et.al. to monitoring, content creation and engagement on the sites. Efforts will be made to ensure that all social media activities feed into USAID’s greater social media presence, and engage further the project’s partners and stakeholders to help build their social media presence. The team will use social media tools to link across sectors and to support different awareness and media campaigns and to advertise events and success stories.

6

Most NTBs are related to SPS measures, rules of origin, charges of equivalent effect to tariffs and TBTs.

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Please see the Communications Strategy for specific actions and tools.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION EATIH has based the Development Objective, Intermediate Objectives, Intermediate Results, and their associated Indicators present in this workplan on the ACTE Results Framework. We used this for work planning purposes to demonstrate the flow of our activities to results and the objective, but recognize that EATIH’s pending Performance Management Plan will be the guiding document to formalize our objectives, results and indicators.

GENDER CONSIDERATIONS EATIH will look for opportunities to incentivize private sector partners to engage women employees and women owned businesses. Through cost share models and other targeted approaches, the project will imbed mechanisms that inherently promote private-sector incorporation of women into EATIH-funded initiatives. The project will also assess policies and regulations with a gender lens to identify positive and negative impacts for women.

While men carry out almost all inter-state transport, women are responsible for the lion’s share of informal cross-border trade, particularly agricultural commodities. The Policy and Regulatory Component will collaborate with the other EATIH Components to develop and implement specific gender-oriented activities to address the unique needs of women in cross-border trade. The Policy and Regulatory Team and Gender Manager will together, in collaboration with the EAC and STTA, increase women’s participation in trade and cross border trade activities in East Africa. Activities may include capacity strengthening for women’s associations, including associations and cooperatives representing women informal traders, to articulate interests and needs. Capacity strengthening maybe provided for women engaged in informal cross-border trade on trade rules, tariff regimes and standards, and other border agency requirements, and information and communication technologies.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS While there may be some tertiary environmental implications imbedded within EATIH-prioritized policies and regulations, we do not anticipate any direct environmental impacts from activities under this component.

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F. EAST AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUB YEAR 1 WORKPLAN TIMELINE TABLE 3: YEAR 1 WORKPLAN TIMELINE SepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAug14 14 14 14 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 Component 1: Investment and technology acquisition between Eastern and Sub-Saharan Africa and global markets, particularly the U.S., increased Activity 1: High-Impact Sector Assessment Validation Activity 2: U.S. Tools and Incentives & New Tools Activity 3: Partnership Fund Activity 4: Private Sector Network and Partners Activity 5: Opportunity Assessment and Transaction Pipeline Creation Activity 6: Chokepoints and Intervention Strategies Activity 7: Public Private Dialogue Activity 8: Investment Promotion Partnerships Activity 9: Information Outreach Activity 10: Communications Component 2: Competitiveness of selected regional agricultural value chains Activity 1: Promotion of structured trading system Activity 2: Enhance access to financial services Activity 3: Implementation of the Staple Foods Quality Standards Activity 4: Further Investment in Regional Food Balance Sheet Activity 5: EAC Trade Facilitation Instrument and Policy Awareness Raising Activity 6: Support enhancement of SPS capacity in the EAC region Activity

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Activity

Sep14

Oct14

Nov14

Dec14

Jan15

Feb15

Activity 7: Implementation of EAC Food and Nutrition Security Policy Activity 8: Seed Systems in Eastern and Southern Africa Activity 9: Support market and trade information systems Component 3: Exports and trade promotion, particularly with the U.S. under AGOA, increased Activity 1: AGOA Information Dissemination Activity 2: Develop AGOA Strategies Activity 3: Build Capacity of National Export Promotion Agencies Activity 4: Deliver AGOA Workshops and Seminars Activity 5: Foster Greater Linkages Between Key Business Groups Activity 6: Targeted Grants to Support Increased Value Chain Competitiveness Activity 7:Trade Shows and Buyer Missions Activity 8: Firm-level Technical Assistance Activity 9: Uganda Cotton Value Chain Study Component 4: Policy Environment for EAC integration, trade and investment improved and implemented Activity 1: Strengthening the Enabling Environment-Identification of Key Chokepoints and Establishment of Policy and Regulatory Networks Activity 2: Implementation of Selected Policies and Regulations for Selected Sectors and Commodities Activity 3: Advancing Regional Trade and Investment Agreements and their Support Institutions Activity 4: Advancing Regional Trade and Investment Through Implementation of Key Elements of the EAC Common Market Scorecard

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Mar15

Apr15

May15

Jun15

Jul15

Aug15