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Co-funded by the European Union

We support partners in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries to improve their business environment

Our focus is on business environment reforms that support women’s full participation in the economy

This is how we support you

 We support public and private stakeholders in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries so that the private sector can thrive, create decent jobs and sustainable growth. 

Business Environment Improvement Initiatives

We offer targeted and on-demand expertise for business environment and climate investment improvement initiatives of up to 90 expert days over the course of a year. 

Support to Development Finance Institutions

We provide expertise to national and subregional DFIs to become stronger institutions and to identify, prepare and implement projects and investments with high development impact.

 

Knowledge Hub

We share recommendations, lessons learnt and good practices through reports and trainings to support business environment reforms. 

 

Our Interventions

The ICR Facility offers specific and targeted technical assistance of up to 90 expert days for business environment and investment climate improvement initiatives. Technical assistance is provided at the economy-wide, sectorial and value chain level based on requests for eligible stakeholders in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. The map displays ongoing and completed interventions of the ICR Facility, especially in support of women’s economic empowerment and inclusion.
Interventions Map

The beauty of the ICR Facility is seeing the European Commission, four European countries and the OACPS Secretariat working together with public and private stakeholders in our countries and regions to promote a brighter future for our private sector. Everyone is very committed to move the project forward.

Escipión Oliveira Gómez – Assistant Secretary General, Structural Economic Transformation and Trade, Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS)

Thanks to the ICR intervention we were able to direct our efforts towards what we consider, at the Ministry, the most important enterprise not only for our agency but for all other cross-border regulatory agencies. It will enhance our trade facilitation efforts in Dominica. The Single Window ecosystem will, certainly, become a one-stop-shop for investors, the issuing of approvals, and the making of payments, providing an end-to-end facilitation for trade. This would not have been possible without the assistance of the ICR Facility.

Mr. Matthan J. Walter – Director of Trade, Dominica

Thanks to the ICR intervention now we have integrated a gender dimension into our processes to serve our members as well as other institutional partners. A gender focal point has been designated and she supervises our processes, documents, and forms so that they are in line with gender best-practices. Our goal is now to formally develop with our partners a gender policy for the chamber. The intervention also brought to light concrete opportunities to develop the apiculture cluster in the north of the country.

Mr. Raymond Adjakpa Abile – General Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Benin

The ICR support was very timely as the Development Bank of Samoa (DBS) was seeking partners for technical assistance. The connection to the ICR Facility came through Samoa’s Ambassador in Brussels. This is the first time that we have engaged with the EU and partners in Europe. This was not a one-off support but was longer-term, and we are very appreciative of this opportunity to work with ICR to address capacity priorities of the DBS.

Susana Laulu, CEO of DBS

As a result of the private sector lending study, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) decided to dedicate resources to preparing and submitting a proposal to EFSD+ (European Fund for Sustainable Development, a guarantee tool set up by the European Union).” “The studies provide us with the background and information that we need to make a strategic decision. The great value of the studies is that they serve us with options on how we can enhance our private sector engagement and lending.

Miguel Almeyda Casillas – Head of the Private Sector Division, Caribbean Development Bank

Events & Trainings

We organize online and face-to-face trainings and events on recommendations, lessons learnt and best practices to support business environment reforms from different angles, including women and youth’s economic empowerment, innovative financing solution, climate smart investment, social economy and others.

Latest ICR Stories

We showcase good examples of business environment reforms and initiatives that benefit workers, entrepreneurs and investors in ACP countries.

Small and Medium Enterprises and Start-Ups
Building a better business ecosystem for entrepreneurs in Côte d’Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire has been an African success story for much of the last decade. The World Bank estimates that its GDP growth rate was on average 8.2% in the seven years between 2012 and 2019, one of the most dynamic in the world. Much of its growth comes from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for […]
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Women's Economic Empowerment
Leading the fight for Women’s Economic Rights in Uganda
Under Ugandan law, a woman who lives with a man but is not legally married to him has no legal rights to their joint finances. It’s a situation that needs to change for women to gain equal access to property and ownership, and to fulfil their economic potential. FIDA-Uganda is an association of women’s lawyers which would like to see the law changed so that women in cohabiting relationships have equal access their property. This is crucial for women’s economic empowerment – without the ability to access and control their own economic assets, women cannot have economic autonomy or access credit.
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Green Economy
“Sargassum is bigger than us”: Dealing with the adverse effects of climate change in the tourism industry
Last month, we embarked on a visit to Belize as part of our Investment Climate Reform (ICR) facility intervention, aiming to evaluate the business environment for the tourism sector of Ambergris Caye. This Caribbean destination is renowned for its vibrant marine life, beaches, and the warm hospitality of its people, attracting over 60% of all visitors to Belize. One of the recurring concerns that emerged during our discussions with private and public representatives was the persistent and escalating presence of sargassum seaweed. This natural phenomenon, intensified by the impacts of climate change, poses a significant threat to the local tourism industry and its associated businesses.
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