On 13 September 2022 and alongside WIC22, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) organized a Conference for Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) region.
In this context, UNIDO also officially launched its cloud-based digital Invest-in-ACP Platform. The Platform was developed in the framework of “ACP Business-Friendly: Supporting value chains through inclusive policies, investment promotion and alliances” Programme, funded by the European Union (EU) and the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).
Invest-in-ACP provides valuable and dynamic information on investment project opportunities, ACP country and regional level institutional partners. The Platform also houses information related to value chains, sectoral data, and information on industrial park sites and its related authorities.It will bring a fundamental change in how ACP IPAs promote investment opportunities in their countries and related regions, also supporting investment mobilization efforts of domestic SMEs via traditional and new forms of finance.
At the conference, Ismail Ersahin, Executive Director of WAIPA asserted his appreciativeness with the sustained collaboration with UNIDO and expressed his gratefulness to this platform as it plays an essential role in equipping IPAs with recent best practices and opportunities for ensuring steady flows of sustainable FDIs.
Escipión J. Oliveira Gómez, Assistant Secretary General, Structural Economic Transformation and Trade, OACPS, affirmed the importance of the continuous partnership with the EU and the implementing agencies of the “ACP Business-Friendly” Programme, WAIPA and ACP IPAs.
Cécile Billaux, Head of Unit, Micro-economic Analysis, Investment Climate, Private Sector, Trade and Employment, European Commission noted the EU’s appreciation of the Invest-in-ACP Platform describing it as “user-friendly, bringing key targeted information about projects looking for investments, creating links to the financial community”.
Bernardo Calzadilla-Sarmiento, UNIDO Director Division of Fair Production, Sustainability Standards and Trade assured the importance of this initiative not only for the attraction of FDI but serves to enhance the social and environmental impact of existing investors established in ACP countries.
At the conference, Stefan Kratzsch, Industrial Development Officer at UNIDO, presented also the empirical results from a recent 2022 survey for ACP IPAs conducted by UNIDO and WAIPA. The early findings of the survey contribute towards a better understanding of emerging IPAs’ strategies and technical assistance needs, with a specific focus on the application of digital and data-driven technologies as cornerstones of a more agile and effective investment promotion efforts.
For more information, go to: https://www.unido.org/news/innovative-invest-acp-platform-launched-world-investment-conference-wic-2022