devinitorg/iati-policy-markers huggingface dataset:
T4SD: Advisory Services T4SD has become a go-to source of information on voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) that is widely recognized and cannot be found elsewhere with the same level of detail and user-friendly action oriented tools. VSS will continue to be the primary vehicle underpinning the shift towards sustainable value chains for private sector players, and the new sustainability regulation and legislative actions planned by governments will inevitably include these existing VSS/private initiatives. In line with the 2021-2025 T4SD strategy, the programme is therefore moving towards enhancing its advisory services, in addition to the provision of impartial, credible and freely accessible global public goods and country-specific field interventions.Based on the increasing demand for such projects, coming from both the private and public sector, T4SD plans on scaling up these activities substantially in 2021-2025, with special emphasis on support to the development of sustainable value chains, and newly to the advice for policy-makers. In doing so, T4SD will use its deep understanding of requirements, processes, and substantive areas covered by sustainability standards, to create efficiencies in application of sustainability frameworks in GVCs. Between November 2021 and December 2025, and fully in line with the new medium-term T4SD strategy, the project will aim to deliver the following types of activities: a) driving and enabling benchmarking, convergence and/or harmonization on VSS and related sustainability frameworks; b) supporting research on sustainable sourcing and procurement efforts as well as alignment of lead firms in various sectors; c) providing VSS insights and delivering customized sustainability assessment tools, training and capacity building to private and public organizations; d) facilitating international efforts on convergence between voluntary and mandatory standards and provide input to policy-makers on incorporating VSS into related efforts; e) supporting individual (human rights & environmental) due diligence efforts via benchmarking and advice on relevant sustainability-related regulations. The efforts that will be supported via this project are currently fragmented and not coordinated at a global level. As such, it is expected that smaller-scale requests of varying sizes will be part of this project, subject to demand and specific agreements with the individual donors. T4SD, with its global repository of knowledge on sustainability standards is poised to play a central role in unifying these efforts and build on its cooperation with other ITC technical programmes, in particular with ITC Alliances for Action (A4A) and its sector perspective also focusing on mandatory due diligence and related sustainability frameworks.
SheTrades and UPS 2022 Update: 

The project "SheTrades and UPS", funded by The UPS Foundation aims to achieve inclusive growth by ensuring that women entrepreneurs are more competitive and ready to trade.The project will facilitate tailored capacity building activities to improve women entrepreneurs' competitiveness - at the global level through online offerings, and at the national level, with in-country activities in Vietnam, Mexico and India.The project contributes directly to ITC's focus area 5: Promoting and mainstreaming inclusive and green trade; and SDGs 5 and 17.
Trade Facilitation The Trade Facilitation Window-1 project will strive to leverage the knowledge and expertise gained in the implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in recent years and assist its target beneficiary countries and regions to implement trade facilitation reforms after factoring in the perspective of the business community. The activities of this project include various technical assistance, capacity building and advisory services initiatives which will seek to: enhance the awareness and knowledge of all stakeholders on implementing TF reforms; formulate and/or endorse TF implementation strategies and recommendations; and support in the implementing of selected measures of the WTO TFA. These will enable beneficiary countries to address non-tariff trade barriers and procedural inefficiencies by improving the transparency and efficiency of cross-border procedures and building a conducive business environment. In addition to making continuous improvements to the existing technical material, the project will continue to develop new downstream services to develop synergies with complementary areas such as logistics, e-commerce, regional integration.The project is closely aligned with ITC Trade Facilitation Programme, which seeks to strengthen the competitiveness of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) by reducing the time and cost of international trade, enhancing the transparency and efficiency of cross-border procedures, facilitating the inclusion of private sector in the design and implementation of trade facilitation reforms and building the capacity of MSMEs to improve compliance with trade procedures.
Cameroon: UK Trade Partnerships Programme ITC through the UK Trade Partnerships Programme in Cameroon is working with small and medium-sized enterprises along the value chain to increase exports of Penja pepper and cocoa to the UK and EU markets.
Pacific: UK Trade Partnerships Programme The United Kingdom Trade Partnerships (UKTP) Programme aims to increase trade from developing countries to the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) by maximizing the benefits of UK and EU Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and the UK&apos;s Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS). The UKTP Programme works in partnership with government agencies, private sector organisations, public sector institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises and other local stakeholders.&nbsp;The UKTP Programme in the Pacific from April 2023 is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth &amp; Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland&apos;s Asia-Pacific Region. The UKTP Programme in the Pacific is complementing the UKTP Programme under the UK Trade Centre of Excellence. Realizing synergies between sectors and activities between the two projects will be key to the success of UKTP.&nbsp;In the Pacific, countries signatories to the UK EPA will have access high quality trade-related technical assistance through sector initiatives. Target beneficiaries will be export-ready SMEs that are committed to securing new trade opportunities with the UK. This project will aim to promote exports of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Solomon Islands, through facilitating access to markets, providing advisory to SMEs to improve their products and business operations, and strengthening business support organizations.&nbsp;
AfCFTA: Identifying sustainable regional value chains at continental scale The overall objective of the proposed project is to attract investment and promote trade and sustainable industrial and business development at continental level, concretely supporting the AfCFTA Secretariat and the African Union and delivering on the Africa-EU partnership for sustainable growth and jobs.

The project contributes to this objective by 
- identifying trade and investment opportunities along regional value chains with potential at continental scale in Africa, including potential for investment by EU economic operators;
- Strengthening the EU-Africa dialogue on trade and economic integration, informing high-level events such as the upcoming AU-EU Summit and European- African Business Forum (EABF);
- identifying pilot/selected continental value chains that could be targeted for support in the EU 2021-27 aid programming exercise.

It supports the implementation of the AfCFTA and ITC's One Trade Africa Initiative.
Afghanistan: Ethical Lifestyle Initiative for the Economic Reintegration of Returnees and Internally displaced people This 4 year project aims to develop two broad value chains in the lifestyle market as tools to create sustainable employment and livelihoods for documented and undocumented returnees, internally displaced people, potential migrants, farmers and artisans. The Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI) will focus on the following markets: Fashion and interiors; Fine foods. EFI will contribute to the implementation of the Citizens Charter National Priority Program (CCNPP), the Return and Reintegration Response and the overarching National Peace and Development Framework, Afghanistans Agribusiness Charter, the National Export Strategy (NES) and other initiatives linked to fashion, agriculture and displacement in Afghanistan. The project will work with works with twelve (12) social enterprises as implementing partners targeting 2,000 direct beneficiaries and up to 6,000 indirect beneficiaries.
Partnership for enhancing export capacity of Africa to China (PEECAC) This 3-year project aims to promote economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa through participation in the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) and the Distribution, Trading and Processing Centre (DTPC) of Hunan Province, China.&nbsp;The project will support selected African countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia) to increase export of agriculture and food products to China and attract sustainable Chinese investment with the overall objective to contribute to job creation and poverty reduction in these selected African countries.
Senegal: Alliances for Value Addition in Cashew Nut  (NTF V) In September 2021, The Government of the Netherlands and the International Trade Centre (ITC) signed a four-year partnership agreement aimed at enhancing the trade competitiveness in selected African countries, through the strengthening of digital and agribusiness services and especially the connection between the two.In Senegal, ITC will implement a value chain development project with the objective of improving the competitiveness of livelihood farmers and agribusiness MSMEs in the cashew nuts and associated crops. Cashew will be the main crop of focus, nevertheless the project will additionally support the commercialization of associated horticulture products (e.g. maize, cowpea, cassava/yam and vegetables) etc) following the A4A multi-products multi-market approach. The exact basket of associated horticultural products will be defined at the beginning of the project through the foreseen detailed cashew nuts value chain analysis that will be undertaken in collaboration with the University of Thies.&nbsp;Through the project, ITC aims to promote more efficient and sustainable agri-business and support services that will lead to increased trade, better incomes and livelihoods opportunities, especially for the smallholder cashew growers.The main objectives of the action in Senegal are:Understand market trends and identify resilient and sustainable business and production models for the cashew sector.Strengthen Public-Private alliances to support the development of more solid ecosystems including through digital applications.&nbsp;Facilitate linkages for SMEs, SEs and Producers Associations with international, regional and domestic partners, business and investment opportunitiesThe agri-business component of NTF V in Senegal will apply the ITC Alliances for Action (A4A) approach that has proved to be a successful model to promote responsible partnerships for development, to leverage investments and technical support and achieve measurable impact for smallholder farmers and MSMEs. In the framework of NTF V, A4A will look beyond sustainable production to work on enabling environment and target all steps of the value chain from farm to fork. Digital application will be used to increase the overall competitiveness of the agribusiness value chain as well as to scale-up results and reach more partners and beneficiaries.
Mongolia: National Export Strategy The project focuses on the facilitation and design of a National Export Strategy (NES) for Mongolia, covering six (6) export sectors and four (4) functional strategies to be selected through consultations with country counterparts, as per the standard NES methodology.  The NES design process aims to support increased export competitiveness and diversification within a 5-year horizon. Specifically for Mongolia, which is self-funding the project, the NES will build on the country’s Trade and Investment Roadmap (TIR), previously facilitated by ITC, and align to Mongolia’s Vision 2050 and other strategic priorities.
SheTrades and Mary Kay Funded by Mary Kay Inc., the project "SheTrades and Mary Kay" aims to achieve inclusive and sustainable development through the increased participation of women in trade. The project will support a) women interested in taking the entrepreneurship route and b) women entrepreneurs from developing countries interested in expanding their businesses and integrating in regional and global value chains. The project will work at the global level, through online activities, and at the national level, with in-country activities in Colombia, Brazil, Mexico and India.Impact: Inclusive and sustainable development through the increased participation of women in tradeOutcome: Women entrepreneurs are more competitive and ready to tradeOutput 1: New SheTrades Entrepreneurship Curriculum created to foster female entrepreneurship in all sectorsOutput 2: Women entrepreneurs supported with training on business development and export strategy to improve their competitiveness  The project is one of the central elements of the Women's Entrepreneurship Accelerator, a multi-stakeholder strategic partnership between six United Nations agencies: UN Women, United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP), International Labour Organization (ILO), International Trade Centre (ITC), UN Global Compact (UNGC), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). ITC leads the capacity building component of the partnership.
SheTrades Rwanda Financed by the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Rwanda (MINICOM) is leading the implementation of “The project to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of export growth initiatives” (EGI project). The overall objective of the project is to facilitate supplier development and market linkages to boost value added sectors (manufacturing, agro-processing, services) growth, job contribution and exports. The SheTrades Rwanda project (September 2020 – February 2022) is a component of and contributes to the following Outputs of the EGI project: (i) To establish the SheTrades Rwanda Hub integrated into the Made in Rwanda Unit that contributes to a more supportive ecosystem for women owned businesses; (ii) To support women owned businesses to improve their competitiveness and connect them to markets
Eswatini: Promoting growth through competitive alliances II The project will seek to generate a private sector-led export drive, with implementation relying on the &ldquo;Alliance for Action&ldquo; (A4A) approach, that has successfully been applied already in other EU-funded programmes. This involves building up alliances that bind value chain actors in collectively upgrading Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), value-chains and support services in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, including value addition, public private dialogue and strong anchoring in markets. Following a diagnosis phase, solutions are collectively developed to address the major hindrances of the MSME sector in an inclusive manner, so as to also benefit people living in vulnerable situations or under-represented groups such as youth, women entrepreneurs and people with disabilities.
Burundi: Market Access Upgrade Programme - MARKUP The project consists of national interventions under the Partner States Window of the EU-EAC Market Access Upgrade Programme - MARKUP funded by the 11th European Development Fund. 

The action aims at addressing both supply side and market access constraints in coffee, tea and horticulture sectors, supporting the participation in regional and global value chains, with a particular focus on exports to the European Union (EU). The selection of coffee, tea and horticulture sectors was guided by requests of country stakeholders identified during the project inception phase in 2016 and programming missions in 2017.  

Despite the current transition and recovery from conflict, Burundi's economy is growing and accession of Burundi to EAC in 2007 offers great opportunities for increase in trade of agricultural products in the region. The EAC has already begun to play an important role for Burundi's expansion into horticulture products. However, significant trade barriers persist and severely inhibit Burundian exporters in the coffee, tea and horticulture sectors to integrate in regional and EU markets. If non-tariff barriers, such as quality requirements, TBT and SPS issues were reduced, then highly regulated and higher value markets, in particular the EU and EAC could be accessed. 

To prove compliance with quality standards and technical regulations, it is essential for Burundi to have a competent and internationally recognized quality infrastructure system. Hence, the goal and focus of the project will be on strengthening the National Quality Infrastructure services to enforce compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and technical regulations, with particular focus on coffee and tea sectors. Accordingly, the overall objective of this project-  to contribute to economic development of Burundi, - and its specific objective - to improve market access to EU and EAC region for Burundian agro-industrial and horticultural sectors - shall be achieved through three expected results of project activities. These results are: 
1) National Quality Infrastructure framework, inspection and certification services strengthened, 
2) Laboratory testing capacities for coffee/tea improved, and 
3) Quality-related extension services strengthened.
Bénin: Stratégie Nationale d'Exportation - Élaboration et gestion mise en oeuvre Le projet vise à augmenter la production, la transformation, la diversification et la croissance des exportations pour atteindre les objectifs de développement du Benin. Cet objectif sera soutenu à travers l’élaboration et l’accompagnement à la gestion à la mise en oeuvre d'une Stratégie Nationale d'Exportation (SNE), composée également de stratégies sectorielles et fonctionnelles. Le projet apportera en outre un appui à la mise en place de mécanismes nationaux de gestion de la SNE.  La mise en œuvre de la SNE sera soutenue par un renforcement des capacités des parties prenantes nationales. Le projet sera dirigé par le Ministère de l'Industrie et du Commerce, en collaboration avec l'Agence de Promotion des Investissements et des Exportations (APIEX) du Bénin, et accompagné techniquement par le Centre du Commerce International (ITC).
Iraq: Strengthening the Agriculture and Agri-Food Value Chain and Improving Trade Policy (SAAVI) The Strengthening the Agriculture and Agri-food Value Chain and Improving Trade Policy (SAAVI) project aims to support sustainable job creation through the development of human capital and the enhancement of private sector competitiveness. This EU-funded project focuses on the development and implementation of sector strategies for high-potential products, building productive and commercial agriculture value chain alliances, as well as on defining more market-oriented policies to improve predictability and efficiency in the business environment. SAAVI also provides assistance to enhance Iraq's trade policy and supports the country in its WTO accession process. SAAVI is implemented under the leadership of the government of Iraq through the Ministry of Planning, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Trade. The project forms part of the overall European Union Special measure for supporting employment creation and improving economic governance in Iraq. As such, SAAVI is fully aligned with the activities of Cowater, FAO, IOM, ILO, UNESCO and GIZ in the domain of private sector engagement and agricultural development.
Business, trade and market intelligence: SME Competitiveness Survey and Outlook This project primarily funds ITC's corporate research function. This function is charged with delivering global public goods in the form of data and analysis that provide 1) business intelligence to beneficiary countries, and 2) key input to the organization's TRTA interventions and thought leadership structure. The research' data and analysis offer is structured around two key products. First, the ITC SME Competitiveness Survey (SMECS) is a process and a tool to collect timely and unique data on the factors that underpin firm competitiveness. Second, data collected through SMECS, other targeted and tailored surveys also funded through the SMECS budget, and secondary sources are used to produce the SME Competitiveness Outlook (SMECO), ITC's annual flagship report, which studies key topics of relevance to small businesses. These two products, together with smaller research products (e.g. data visualizations, blogs, short policy papers, academic papers, inputs into partner organizations; publications), also funded through this project, are widely disseminated to help decision makers identify obstacles and opportunities for small businesses and to strengthen ITC's thought leadership on matters of SME competitiveness.
Ghana: Building Resilient Trade Competitiveness by Fast Tracking the Digital Technology Sector (NTF V) ITC and CBI have been cooperating for decades. This cooperation led to a series of sector development programmes under the Netherlands Trust Fund - NTF) since 2005. The current project, the NTF V programme, is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands and implemented in close coordination with the Dutch Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries (CBI).The NTF V programme was approved in July 2021 and will run until June 2025. Its ambition is to contribute to building back better in the partner countries with a focus on creating a link between MSMEs in the digital technologies and agribusiness sectors. To this end, agritech start-ups will be supported to improve their understanding of agribusinesses' needs, to gain more agribusinesses partners, and, in some instances, to help digitalize agribusinesses. Digitalizing agribusinesses in the cocoa & associated crops sector will be led by the agribusiness team, working whenever possible with agritech businesses that are part of NTF V Ghana Tech project. In the digital technology sector, activities will foster business-friendly tech ecosystems, strengthen business support organizations such as tech hubs and equip tech start-ups and SMEs with resilient business models, linking them to business, partnership and investment opportunities while contributing to the digitalization of traditional SMEs in other sectors. Ghana is one of the focus countries for NTF V, under both the digital technologies and the agribusiness sectors. The Ghanaian ICT sector has been growing steadily over the recent years, even during the pandemic, attracting venture capital investment and seen a regular increase in the number of successful small tech businesses able to expand beyond the country's borders. NTF V Ghana Tech aims at contributing to the creation of sustainable jobs in the digital technologies sector.