Our focus is on business environment reforms that support women’s full participation in the economy
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.
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.
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.
We share recommendations, lessons learnt and good practices through reports and trainings to support business environment reforms.
The ICR Facility offers specific and targeted technical assistance of up to 90 expert days for business environment and investment climate improvement initiatives, especially in support of women’s economic empowerment and inclusion. 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, especially in support of women’s economic empowerment.
We showcase good examples of business environment reforms and initiatives that benefit workers, entrepreneurs and investors in ACP countries.
Access the latest resources, reports and factsheets.
