UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT …...MSME Micro, small and medium enterprises MTR Mid-Term...

1

UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION

West Africa Competitiveness Programme –

Strengthening the regional quality infrastructure and improving the regional policy framework for industrial competitiveness

Project number: 170095

Project title: West Africa Competitiveness and Quality Infrastructure Project

Thematic area code GC2: Advancing Economic Competitiveness GC21: Investment, Technology and Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) Development; GC22: Competitive Trade Capacities and Corporate Responsibility; GC23: Entrepreneurship Development

Starting date: 15.08.2018

Duration: 48 months

Project site: 15 Member States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS):Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo and Mauritania

Government Co-ordinating agency:

ECOWAS Commission Department for Industry and the Promotion of the Private Sector

Donor: European Union (EU)

Executing agency/ cooperating agency:

UNIDO

Project Inputs: 5,564,000 EUR (EDF contribution)

- UNIDO inputs: 100,000 EUR - Indirect costs (7%): 370,542 EUR

- Counterpart inputs: in-kind

- Grand Total: 5,664,000 EUR

Brief description: To stimulate industrialisation in the region, ECOWAS regional industrial strategy has identified strategic interventions that must be implemented. To that end, the proposed actions intend to cover interventions pertaining to the development of sustainable value chains, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and facilitating a platform for dialogue on industrialisation between state and private sector, including enhancing the capacity of Member States to develop and implement industrial development policies along value chains. The project will focus on quality obstacles along value chains in line with sectorial priorities at regional and national levels with high potentials of industrialisation and job creation such as: (i) fruits and vegetables (mangoes, pineapple, onions, cassava.) (ii) textile/garments, (iii) leather and (iv) services (information technology (IT), renewable energy). The project aims to support the selected value chains at national and regional levels to promote transformation, better access to regional and international markets, taking into account social and environmental issues. The support will also cover the preparation of the regional policy framework for the

2

development of the value chains set in the regional industrial strategy. With the specific objective of improving the performance and growth of selected priority value chains and related services in terms of transformation, industrialisation, regional trade and exports, the Programme will

put an emphasis on value chains in line with the West Africa Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)

Development Programme (PAPED) and the regional industrial and private sector strategies. It will specifically help to: (i) develop value chains, improve competitiveness of MSMEs, strengthen the supporting intermediate organisations and create better regional linkages among selected product value chain actors (ii) improve the business climate policy framework in line with the West African agenda and support capacities at national and regional levels. It will build on past support of the European Union in favour of competitiveness related issues, capitalize on lessons learnt and complement ongoing EU and other development partners’ interventions. To achieve these objectives, the Programme will be implemented through a national component in each concerned country by selected agencies and a regional component by UNIDO and the International Trade Centre (ITC). In accordance with the subsidiarity principle, the regional (ECOWAS/ West African Economic and Monetary Union(UEMOA)) component of the programme is structured to promote regional linkages between private sector operators and organisations of the selected value chains, in order to optimise the quality infrastructure for those value chains, to improve the regional business environment as well as to ensure all interventions of the programme positively contribute of the regional industrial strategy specific goals of increasing by 2030 (i) the rate of local raw material processing from current average of 15-20% to 30%; (ii) the contribution of manufacturing industries to gross domestic product (GDP) from the present average of 6-7% to over 20%; (iii) the intra-community trade in West Africa from less than 12% to 40%, with a 50% share of the region’s trade in manufactured products; (iv) the volume of manufactured exports in West Africa to the world market from 0.1% to 1%. UNIDO will implement actions related to (i) the strengthening of the regional quality infrastructure system in order to support quality issues raised at regional value chains level, and (ii) the harmonisation, formulation and monitoring of the regional policy and framework to improve competitiveness, with a view to promote environmental issues. The project is expected to start by mid-August 2018.

Approved: Signature: Date: Name and title: On behalf of ECOWAS: ___________________ __________ ___________________ On behalf of UNIDO: ___________________ __________ ___________________ On behalf of European Union: ___________________ __________ ___________________

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. CONTEXT ................................................................................................................................................... 6

A.1. Purpose ........................................................................................................................................ 6

A.2. Baseline Scenario ........................................................................................................................ 7

A.3. Main Target Groups ..................................................................................................................... 8

A.4. Stakeholders ................................................................................................................................ 9

A.5. Synergy ........................................................................................................................................ 9

B. UNIDO APPROACH ................................................................................................................................... 9

B.1. Rationale ...................................................................................................................................... 9

B.2. Comparative Advantage ............................................................................................................. 10

B.3. Inception Phase ......................................................................................................................... 14

B.4. Sustainability Strategy ................................................................................................................ 14

B.5. Gender Mainstreaming Strategy ................................................................................................ 15

B.6. Environmental and Social Assessment ...................................................................................... 16

C. THE PROJECT ......................................................................................................................................... 17

C.1 Objective/results ......................................................................................................................... 17

C.2. Project logical framework ........................................................................................................... 18

C.3. Risks and mitigation measures .................................................................................................. 23

C.4. Institutional Arrangements and Coordination Mechanism ......................................................... 24

D. INPUTS ..................................................................................................................................................... 28

D.1 Counterpart inputs ...................................................................................................................... 28

D.2. UNIDO inputs ............................................................................................................................. 28

E. BUDGET ................................................................................................................................................... 29

F. MONITORING, REPORTING AND EVALUATION ...................................................................................... 29

F.1. Reporting .................................................................................................................................... 30

F.2 Monitoring and Evaluation ........................................................................................................... 30

H. LEGAL CONTEXT ....................................................................................................................................... 31

Annex 1: Logical Framework

Annex 2: Timeline

Annex 3 Budget per output

Annex 4: Communication and visibility plan

Appendix A: Results from previous interventions

Appendix B: Comparative Indicators/Targets 11th # 10

th EDF

Appendix C: ToRs of CTA and PTE

4

List of abbreviations AB Accreditation Body

APR Annual Project Review

BSO Business Support Organization

BsO Back-stopping Officer

CAB Conformity Assessment Body

CATS Cross-Application Timesheet System

CTA Chief Technical Advisor

ECOWAQ ECOWAS Agency for Quality

ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States

ECOWAS FEBWE ECOWAS Federation of Business Women Entrepreneurs

ECW Project activity code

EDF European Development Fund

EPA Economic Partnership Agreement

ERP Enterprise Resource Planning

EU European Union

FAFA Financial and Administrative Framework Agreement

FEWACCI Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce and Industry

FEWAMA Federation of West African Manufacturers Associations

FDI Foreign Direct Investment

GDP Gross-domestic product

GVC Global value chain

HQs Headquarters

ISID Inclusive and sustainable industrial development

IT Information Technology

ITC International Trade Centre

MNC Multinational companies

MSME Micro, small and medium enterprises

MTR Mid-Term review

NAO National Authorizing Organizations

PAGODA Pillar Assessed Grant or. Delegation Agreement

PAPED West Africa Economic Partnership Agreement Development Programme

PCP Programmes for Country Partnership

PM Project Manager

PMU Project Management Unit

PPP Public Private Partnership

PSC Programme Steering Committee

QI Quality infrastructure

RQI Regional quality infrastructure

RTCU Regional Technical Coordination Unit

RVC Regional value chain

SDG Sustainable Development Goal

SME Small and medium-sized enterprise

SQAM Standardization, quality assurance, accreditation and metrology

TAPs Technical and Administrative Provisions

TIPO Trade and Investment Promotion Office

UEMOA West African Economic and Monetary Union

UN United Nations

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization

WACIP West African Common Industrial Policy

WACP West Africa Competitiveness Programme

WAQP West Africa Quality Programme

WAQSP West Africa Quality System Programme

5

WTO World Trade Organization

6

A. CONTEXT A.1. Purpose

This programme is relevant to Agenda 2030. It contributes primarily to the progressive achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), notably SDG 8 (“Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all”) and in particular target 8.2 “Achieve higher level of productivity of economies through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high value-added and labour intensive sectors”, as well as target 8.3 “promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage formalisation and growth of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises including through access to financial services”. The programme also contributes to SDG 9 (“Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”), and in particular towards the achievement of target 9.2 “Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and, by 2030, significantly raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries”. Moreover, the programme contributes to SDG 12 “Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns” by supporting companies and Centres of Excellence to move towards more sustainable patterns of production. UNIDO is contributing to achieve the industry-related goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Organization’s programmatic focus is structured in three thematic priorities, namely, Creating shared prosperity, Advancing economic competitiveness, Safeguarding the environment. In the context of the West Africa Competitiveness Programme, UNIDO’s activities will fall under its thematic priority of advancing economic competitiveness by supporting the development of well organised and competitive value chains, as a crucial driver of the regional industrialisation strategy, in view of its potential for expanding production possibilities and enhancing cross-border utilisation of natural and human resources. This approach has to ensure the linkages between national, regional and global levels. Thus, moving upwards and strengthening regional value chains (RVCs) and taking positions in critical segments of global value chains (GVCs) constitute major drivers of industrialisation in ECOWAS.

In-depth analysis and stakeholder consultations took place at ECOWAS and country levels (8 countries) and led to the selection of priority value chains and type of interventions with the potential to deepen regional and global participation. These value chains provide opportunities for (i) economic growth via their potential to increase regional trade and/or export, job creation, inward investments, generation of value-added, market-based improvements in production yields, reliable responses to market requirements, access to loans and other forms of finance; (ii) social impact through working conditions, inclusiveness, female labour force participation and youth engagement; (iii) environmental challenges related to sustainable production modes and climate change mitigation. The project will benefit from earlier initiatives conducted by UNIDO, EU and ECOWAS, as well as other implementing agencies in the region. The project complements other regional development initiatives and national projects under the 11th EDF programme, contributing towards the overall objective of strengthening the competitiveness of West Africa and enhancing the countries’ integration into the regional and international trading system. The specific objectives of the European Action document are:

1. To improve the performance, growth and contribution to industry, regional trade and exports of selected value chains and

2. To improve the climate for business at national and regional levels. UNIDO’s activities will specifically contribute to Output 1.4 “Regional quality infrastructure system is strengthened, with a view to promote environmental issues” under specific objective 1, and Output 2.2 “Regional policy and framework to improve industrial competitiveness harmonised, formulated and monitored” under Specific Objective 2.

http://www.unido.org/what-we-do/creating-shared-prosperity.html?L=0

http://www.unido.org/what-we-do/advancing-economic-competitiveness.html?L=0

http://www.unido.org/what-we-do/environment.html?L=0

7

A.2. Baseline Scenario

Context The region’s economic performance is driven primarily by developments in resource-intensive activities, namely the oil, gas and minerals industries, while limited progress being recorded in other sectors, especially manufacturing. This scenario constitutes a major weakness of West African economies and, accordingly, the intensification of an inclusive growth process can be regarded as the main medium-term challenge. West Africa’s globally poor economic performance is largely attributable to a lack of competitiveness that has prevented the region from progressing towards a model of ‘dynamic competitive advantages’, capable of generating new, higher value-added products, services and decent jobs. International competitiveness surveys invariably rank West African countries at the bottom of the list, with only a few countries able to improve their positioning over the course of time, while studies and data from enterprise surveys show a significant and persistent gap in productivity, with MSME being particularly disadvantaged. Intra-community trade, based on a wide range of products with low added value (in particular agro-industrial products), remains weak. The competitiveness of West Africa’s private sector and trade is a crucial issue for a stronger integration of its respective countries into the world market. Indeed, the theme of competitiveness has been at the core of regional policy documents developed, and it figures prominently in the Economic Partnership Agreement - Development Programme (PAPED). The West African countries need to enhance their integration into different value chains of the global economy, the main economic challenges include the need for better value-chain integration at regional and national levels, a more welcoming business climate, diversification and transformation of exported products and, in particular, an increase of intra-regional trade. Also, while the private sector plays an increasingly important role, it is still highly fragmented with the large majority of enterprises operating in low value-added activities. Economic development in the region is also limited due to the low diversification and productivity of economies combined with relatively high production costs and the overall poor state of infrastructure. Yet, there is large unexploited aspect of economic growth linked to regional integration in West Africa with substantial potential impact on poverty and inequality reduction. The West African Common Industrial Policy (WACIP) reinforces ambitious reforms put forward by ECOWAS to accelerate and integrate the much-needed policy coordination in Western Africa. Member States, civil society and the private sector play an important role in the implementation process supported by the institutions put in place at national and regional levels. The 2020 Vision of an “ECOWAS of people” aims to lift the region out of poverty. WACIP’s vision is to “maintain a solid industrial structure that is globally competitive, environment-friendly and capable of significantly improving the living standards of the people by 2030” and is well in line with UNIDO’s mandate of fostering inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID). The ten programmes of WACIP are centred on specific key objectives and can be supported through the three programmatic areas of ISID and the SDGs, like the diversification and widening of the industrial production base, increasing the contribution of the industrial sector in the region’s GDP, improving intra-regional and inter-regional trade, deepening regional integration and integration in the global economy. The potential of deepening regional economic integration through regional value chains At the core of regional development strategies and policies, as well as other development initiatives, including in the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), is enhancing productive capacity and trade competitiveness to integrate local into regional and global value chains. Challenges to be addressed are therefore the lack of a favourable business environment, access to finance, skills, information and technology and business development services that provide training schemes for meeting standards and requirements of markets chains. Several studies estimate that official statistics only account for a third of actual trade flows in Western Africa and that informal trade is dominant and creates serious challenges for ECOWAS, UEMOA and their Member States. Nonetheless, intra-regional trade, and especially intra-industry trade, remain weak and is based on a range of products with low added value. Regional value chains, such as livestock, maize, rice, cassava and many others are widespread throughout West Africa. Cattle, maize and rice are very widely and substantially traded within the region, along primary trade corridors.

8

Growth opportunities can be leveraged through supporting infrastructure development (transport, logistics, information and communication), an enabling business environment, liberal trade and investment regimes, harmonization of regulatory and policy frameworks, trade facilitation, enhancing the quality of traded goods and services, and other value-added activities, fostering regional division of labour and hence diversification and specialization along these corridors. West Africa, and especially ECOWAS, is a large open region. The completion and harmonization of national reforms, leveraging natural endowments, investing in human resources capacity building, infrastructure development (transport, utilities, energy and business infrastructure) and good governance will contribute to deepen regional economic integration and integration into the global economy. Standardisation and certification procedures as well as business environment reforms can contribute to foster formal regional trade. Regional trade agreements could facilitate the deepening of regional integration through the inclusion of more simplified and flexible rules allowing for imports of intermediate goods, regional rules of origin, less costly compliance-related procedures, more cooperation in infrastructure and corridor development, open competition, enforcement of international contracts between buyers and suppliers, movement of capital and the temporary movement of economic agents and could also foster inclusive and sustainable industrialization in the region. Pursuing inclusive and sustainable industrialization assumes cleaner production technologies and processes, renewable energy and effective use of material resources to preserve planetary resources. Industrial upgrading in Western Africa. Manufacturing in West Africa is dominated by the agro-industry and accounts for very low percentage of the regional GDP. The bulk of manufacturing value added comes from four countries: Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal. Upgrading within the agro-food complex is a first step towards structural transformation of economies and a shift from informal to formal employment, particularly in more productive agro-processing and other higher value-added industries. Structural transformation can progress from agriculture to agro-industries by moving from the fragmented and supply-driven practices, to those that are well integrated, demand driven and based on quality and are boosting agro-processing and stimulate investment, human resource development, innovation and specialisation. New value chain activities are created such as marketing, sales, transport, distribution, disposal after use, waste treatment and so on. By promoting specialisation, important off-farm jobs can be created that are particularly attractive to youth. Skills development schemes and fostering entrepreneurial capacity of young people contribute to improve rural youth employment and facilitates private sector development in rural areas. A.3. Main Target Groups

The table below provides a summary of the key needs of the main target groups:

Needs Target group

Institutional capacity building (technical assistance, training, information technology (IT) equipment, studies, logistical support etc.) (i) to elaborate, sensitise, implement and monitor competitiveness policy, strategy and regulations on priority value chains; (ii) to address coordination failures and create better regional linkages among selected products value chain actors; (iii) to promote new business models in production and processing; to support regional fora and networking as well as to coordinate and pilot the programme.

ECOWAS/UEMOA Commissions Government Ministries.

Institutional capacity building to effectively (i) mainstream and implement competitiveness policy and reforms; (ii) promote an operational information system in favour of value chains actors; (iii) encourage the establishment of commercial infrastructure in major production areas and lead markets; (iv) facilitate access to finance and promoting investments to create jobs.

Government Ministries.

Capacity building to improve quality and standards by (i) addressing the fragmentation in the current regional and national quality institutions set-up, and develop and implement national quality infrastructure strategies; (ii) improving product quality to meet export standards (notably in agriculture), including SQAM, upgrading of laboratories (quality infrastructure); (iii) enhancing the capacity of

Regional and national standardization, quality assurance, accreditation and metrology (SQAM)

9

MSMEs to access services to improve production of goods and services that meet the quality requirements of local, regional and international markets at competitive prices.

bodies

(i) Expand portfolio of services of TIPOs and BSOs to members in particular to address competitiveness and market access constraints for exports. (ii) Improving skills, advocacy capacity and quality and provision of Business Development Services at the level of Intermediary organizations, with a particular emphasis on finance, innovation and new technologies, women entrepreneurship, informal and micro-businesses, entrepreneurship education and training, cleaner technology and production. (iii) Strengthening and focusing the public-private policy dialogue on critical trade, regional integration and private sector development reforms.

Trade and Investment Promotion Offices (TIPOs), Business Support Organisations (BSOs) like: Intermediary organisations, business associations, women business associations, Vocational training Centres, research centres and Universities

(i) Improving competitiveness and export capacity at the level of firms. (ii) Promoting local value addition through the upgrading of the processing industry, quality and marketing channels. (iii) Increasing sustainable production, including resource efficiency, dissemination of appropriate technologies in processing industries, contracts between processors and producers, awareness and training for value chain actors to respect norms and standards.

Micro, Small and Medium Size Enterprises (MSME) Groups of MSMEs

A.4. Stakeholders

The main stakeholders for the implementation of this Project are the ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions, the governments of the eight pilot countries and the private sector of the region. More specifically, the main targets are West African Member states, governments and national agencies; Professional associations as well as quality institutions and business and trade support organisations, Research Centres and training institutions; MSME clusters involved in the selected value chains and/or sectors of intervention. In the thematic area of quality, a major stakeholder will be the ECOWAS Agency for Quality, which is currently being established under the 10

th EDF Private Support Programme and which will be the core

institution coordinating and implementing all regional quality interventions in the future. A.5. Synergy

The project aims to foster synergies between the regional quality infrastructure component of the programme and the national projects targeting the selected national and regional value chains. Meeting quality requirements of the markets value chain is a key to companies’ competitiveness and close coordination with the project focusing on quality infrastructure is important to the success of the whole project. Furthermore, UNIDO will work in close collaboration with ITC, the implementing agency of activities under Outputs 1.3 and 2.2 in the thematic area of foreign direct investment (FDI) partnership agreements promotion, the establishment of a business council to attract investment and a trade alert mechanism. The implementation of these additional activities will have important synergies with the activities implemented by UNIDO under the same outputs, and therefore, close collaboration is envisioned starting from the inception phase. The successful delivery of all outputs implemented by different implementing agencies will be crucial for the overall success in achieving sub-result 2.2 of the action document. B. UNIDO’s APPROACH B.1. Rationale

UNIDO’s approach is based on its experiences and the lessons learnt during the 9th and 10

th EDF Trade and

Private Sector Development related projects underway in various countries of the region, and the ongoing 10

th EDF “West African Private Sector Competitiveness Programme” and “West Africa Regional Economic

10

Integration and Trade Programme”, as well as projects funded by other donors in support of value chains and/or private sector.

B.2. Comparative Advantage

B.2.1. Support to quality infrastructure UNIDO has been implementing national and regional quality programmes in the region since 2001. The current West African quality Programme (WAQP), started in 2014 and extended to a second phase from 2016 to 2018, aims at finalizing the setting up of the regional quality infrastructure. This quality infrastructure will then be strengthened during the current project to address challenges related to meeting quality standards for specific priority value chains and linking the local chains to regional and global ones. B.2.1.1. Results of previous programmes promoting the development of quality infrastructure UEMOA and West Africa Quality Programmes (PQ1 and WAQP) From 2001 to 2012 two important programmes for the development of quality were implemented. The first (UEMOA Quality Programme - PQ1) Programme was carried out from 2001 to 2005 and involved UEMOA Member States (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo). The second (West Africa Quality Programme - WAQP) Programme was implemented over the period 2007 to 2012, and covered the 15 ECOWAS Member States (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo), 8 of which are UEMOA members, and Mauritania. Both programmes were funded by the European Union for a total budget of over 31 million euros (of which 14.5 million for PQ1 and 16.5 million for WAQP) and technically implemented by UNIDO. The key results achieved in these two programmes are summarized in the table in Appendix A. In general, these previous programmes led to:

- Increased awareness at every level for quality, evidenced by the adoption of a regional quality policy at the ECOWAS Commission and quality policies in some countries, development of drafts on quality at the level of the UEMOA Commission with the establishment of regional quality structures, the development of drafts in support of the development of quality and the implementation of national programmes for quality in some countries;

- The strengthening of the national and regional quality infrastructure through: the creation or strengthening of national standards, metrology, certification or inspection bodies, the improvement of the competence of the conformity assessment bodies (of which 19 have been accredited);

- A greater involvement of the private sector in quality through: the establishment of quality management systems in several companies (of which about thirty have been certified), the training and qualification of national expertise to assist companies in their different quality approaches.

UNIDO Support to ECOWAS during a transition period Early in 2013, realizing that the Programme would not start until 2014, the Commissioner in charge of Industry at ECOWAS requested UNIDO to secure a minimal technical assistance during transition. Therefore, UNIDO managed to mobilize internal funds to sustain for the year the chief technical advisor and organize with ECOWAS two important regional meetings aiming to move forward the implementation of the quality policy. These two meetings have just taken place (October 2013) in Lomé, Togo, where experts from 15 countries, adopted a regional scheme for Quality Infrastructure. They also discussed and adopted the ECOWAS model for Quality Awards. Ongoing West Africa Quality System Programme (WAQSP) Many activities undertaken under the ongoing Support Programme for the Private Sector in West Africa (10

th

EDF), such as upgrading of laboratories, setting up of a network of accredited laboratories in the region, setting up of an industrial database, establishment of a product certification Mark, training of regional competences in the fields of quality, and institution of a national and a regional quality awards, will focus on the specific quality needs of the selected value chains.

11

An overview of comparative indicators/targets between the 11

th and 10

th EDF interventions entrusted to

UNIDO is provided in Appendix B, which shows the links and coherence between both. B.2.1.2. UNIDO approach to support value chains in quality matters Taking advantage of experiences from previous and current programmes in the field of quality, the project will follow a three-pronged approach as follows:

a) The national quality infrastructure of West African countries as well the regional quality infrastructure (QI) framework will be consolidated to enable QI institutions (calibration and testing laboratories, inspection bodies, certification bodies, the regional accreditation body, etc.) to support the 5 priority sectors (including agro food industries; pharmaceutical industry; construction industry; and automotive and machinery) as well as the selected value chains.

b) In parallel, the capacity of countries will be built in relation to the selected value chains, enabling them to understand product requirements imposed by national, regional and export markets; to define process/product specifications by each value chain and apply the quality tools to ensure that at the end of the chain, the finished product complies with the requirements;

c) An action plan will be drawn up and proposed to the ECOWAS Commission for implementation.

Thus, the project will support product upgrading, so that products comply with standards/specifications. At the same time the project will build/consolidate QI institutions so that it can reliably demonstrate to the regional and export markets that products comply with their respective market requirements. It is not worth making the best product in the world if one cannot demonstrate in a credible and internationally recognized manner that the product is what it claims to be. So, the double-layer of intervention is closely linked and has to be implemented in parallel. Finally, it is essential to improve the technical skills of producers in processing to meet market requirements (good processing practices, good hygienic practices, provision of equipment etc.). This has to be undertaken through the national components of this Programme as it cannot be catered for within the current available budget for the regional component. B.2.2. Supporting the operationalization of the regional/industrial private sector strategy Over the past decade, UNIDO has increasingly focused on the promotion of foreign investment and technology transfer on the one hand, and on strengthening the technical and managerial capacities of SMEs to respond effectively to the challenges and opportunities posed by the process of globalization, on the other hand. Strengthening Regional Value Chains can also help achieve integration into Global Value Chains. The Programme will enable UNIDO to coordinate its efforts on the national level in Western African states to the regional level. It will allow significant synergies between activities on the national and regional level, and it will support the intra-regional practitioners’ exchange of decision makers as well as the multiplication of achievements by relying on South-South transfer of methodologies. Several external and internal factors play a critical role in the performance and competitiveness of SMEs. Factors related to business environment and support institutions are as important as internal factors, influencing production and growth of SMEs. Therefore, UNIDO and ECOWAS are actively cooperating in many areas that are supporting the formulation of regional industrial policy and strategy and, hence, UNIDO is aware of the current institutional set-up, the need for capacity development initiatives as well as the good prospects for successfully implementing the activities outlined in this project concept for the region. The UNIDO approach aims to create capabilities in the relevant ECOWAS and corresponding Member States’ departments for industrial strategy design, monitoring and continuous improvement. Experts should be trained to increase their capability to review existing strategies and policy recommendations, and to propose new policy measures and instruments to monitor ongoing programs in terms of delivering results, which are in line with the strategic vision, objectives and targets. UNIDO recognizes that stakeholder engagement and building solid partnerships are necessary to pursue successful structural transformation in developing countries. Value chain mapping and upgrading

12

During the inception phase, the value chains that will be the target of regional directives will be identified based on their importance to the region and corridor development (logistics, industrial and economic). The opportunities for corridor development in the region require thorough analysis and detailed mapping of agglomeration activities and mapping of value chain activities as well as stakeholders (horizontal and vertical). An analysis of such value chains highlights the need for SMEs and cluster development, enhancement of product quality and safety, mapping value addition along the chain, promotion of coordinated linkages among producers, processors and retailers, and enhancing market competiveness of individual enterprises. UNIDO’s approach goes beyond looking at agro-industrial production in isolation to scrutinize interactions and synergies with other actors and the business and policy environment. By revealing strengths and weaknesses, value chain analysis helps identify possible corrective measures. Stakeholders and policy-makers develop a shared vision of how the value chain should develop and forge collaborative relationships that will improve coordination and performance in the future. The value chains identified in the EU Action document for regional value chain development and upgrading include among others tropical fruits (mango and pineapple), cassava, leather, and information and communication. Each of these value chains are identified as relevant for several ECOWAS Member States and will be thoroughly reviewed during the inception phase of the project, for their regional development potential.

The following methodology will be adapted:

1. Mapping the value chain to understand the characteristics of the chain actors and the relationships among them, including the study of all actors in the chain; mapping the sequence of activities in the chain (long versus short value chain); understanding employment features such as what type of work is allocated in the existing value chain and will such work sustain local jobs and income, gender equality and opportunities for poverty alleviation.

2. Analysing the governance in the chain. Within the concept of value chain, governance defines the structure of relationships and coordination mechanisms that exist among chain actors. By focusing on governance, the analysis identifies: where value is created and captured in the chain; knowledge flow in value chains; the distribution of income and power in the chain; where pockets of rents emerge and can be appropriated; weakest links as well as prospects for product, process, functional and value chain upgrading; the role of key leading firms in the chain; institutional aspects such as setting the various standards along the value chains and their enforcement and how they enhance or constrain the scope for policy networks, and local upgrading; the role of export incentives and multilateral and bilateral rules; the market destination requirements (domestic and foreign). Thus, governance constitutes a key factor in defining how the upgrading objectives can be

Cape VerdeCôte

d'IvoireGhana Niger Nigeria Senegal

Sierra

LeoneTogo Benin

Burkina

FasoGambia

Guinee

Bissau

Guinee

ConakryLiberia Mali Mauritania

Fisheries X

Poultry industry X

Fruits / tropical fruits X X

Mango X

Pineapple X X

Cassava & derivatives X X X X

Cereals X

Cashew X

Cocoa X

Ginger X

Tomatoes/Pepper X

Onion X X

Oil palm X

Honey and its by-products X

Soya X

Cotton / Cotton oil processing and by-

products X X

Textiles & clothing, garments X X

Skin, hide and leather X X X X

Rubber & plastics X

Gum arabic X

Cosmetics and Personal-Care Products X

New information & communication

technologies) X X X X

Renewable energies / solar energy X X

Culture, events and media, tourism and

leisure X

First Phase 2nd Phase

Country

13

achieved and it is therefore the aim to provide policy makers with solid recommendations for supporting the upgrading of regional key value chains.

3. Africa’s GVC integration is generally shallow: 13 countries—predominantly in Western and Central Africa—are among the bottom 30 globally. Analysing barriers and obstacles for regional and global value chain integration is therefore imperative. This would include identifying structural weaknesses related to the infrastructure and business environments conditions; logistics and trade facilitation capabilities; accreditation frameworks issues; trade barriers among countries; and harmonization of trade and investment regime among countries.

Supporting the integration of MSMEs in to regional and global value chains In many developing economies the MSME sector is weak and underdeveloped, with a significant gap between a few large companies in the formal sector, and many small companies and informal sector enterprises. A “missing middle” often characterizes the structure of the economy, with very few commercial linkages between large companies in the formal economy and small enterprises. Different developing country economies have different structures and face different challenges, but this disconnect between the more formal economy and small enterprises is a common theme. The degree of formalization of small enterprises is often the product of the regulatory environment and the costs of formalization, as well as traditional practices relegating more often women than men to informal markets. Often, developing country economies have evolved over a relatively short period of time, and under significant external influences, making it difficult for the local small enterprise sector to develop to meet the needs of the corporate sector. This lack of engagement is a vicious circle, as SMEs have limited opportunities for feedback and thus many have been unable to gain the technical and business skills necessary to meet the needs of the international and large domestic corporate sector. Adopting a partnership approach between large multinational companies (MNCs) and MSMEs is crucial to improve MSMEs access to markets, technology and capacity. UNIDO provides support to fostering wider partnerships with development agencies and others in support of small enterprise development. Entrepreneurship development and training UNIDO has long-standing expertise and experience in the development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurship programmes in developing countries. Through its technical assistance projects and programmes, including those with a regional dimension, UNIDO has established a strong entrepreneurship development network in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and Europe. In Africa, UNIDO has developed several initiatives in the area of youth entrepreneurship promotion to address the high youth unemployment rates on the continent. In the context of this project, UNIDO’s intervention under ECW 2.2.A.5 will focus on strengthening the capacity of business support institutions in the field of entrepreneurship training/curricula. Consequently, the target audiences will have access to qualitative entrepreneurship training adjusted to their needs (targeted for women entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs) Public Private Partnership (PPP) platform based on previous UNIDO experience with Programmes for Country Partnership (PCPs) Aligned with the national development agendas and focused on sectors with high growth potential, the UNIDO’s innovative model of PCPs supports a country in achieving its development goals through leveraging multi-stakeholder resources and building synergies with ongoing national governments and partner interventions initiatives. It is also aligned with the priorities of development finance institutions that provide credit lines for large-scale infrastructure development, such as industrial zones, as well as multilateral/bilateral finance institutions that provide finance for private investment. With an increasingly complex array of actors, strategies and means of intervention, it is important that activities and resource flows are well-coordinated. The PCP brings together actors through a multi-stakeholder platform to coordinate and optimize the contribution of each. As such, it allows the mobilization of partners and resources to achieve larger development impact, which will be an important model for the establishment of the regional PPP network and online platform B.2.3 Lessons learned and results from previous evaluations

14

Various evaluations of current UNIDO projects implemented in West Africa have been recently conducted. The latest one, the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the West Africa Private Sector Competitiveness Support Programme, conducted in September 2017, refers at the extended experience of UNIDO in implementing similar projects in the region, and concluded that “the overall design of the programme was found to be of good quality”

1, praising in particular the monitoring and reporting system.

One of the main recommendations made from the MTR is the value chain approach: “The two programmes should bear in mind the value chain approach, which has proved to be effective, in the programming of the activities to be carried out during the remaining period. These concerns, in particular, better consideration of the market niches already identified by WACIP and WAQSP programmes.”

2 This project follows the

recommendation and capitalizes on the lessons learned and recommendations from previous UNIDO projects in West Africa. Another recommendation of the MTR relates to addressing quality needs from the demand side: “Tackling QUALITY needs from the demand side is recommended to encourage the private sector to make increased use of the ‘strengthened’ quality and regulatory institutions. The private sector as the beneficiary of the programme is not sufficiently engaged. All the efforts and resources that were invested in strengthening these institutions will be constrained, unless they can attract more companies to their services and companies can simultaneously be encouraged to take advantage of the wide array of services on offer. In this regard, clear pathways for the use of services for product quality should be laid out.”

3

To address this recommendation, in the current project formulation, the private sector has been involved and constantly consulted. B.3. Inception Phase

Given UNIDO’s longstanding experience in the field of developing a regional quality infrastructure in ECOWAS and its ongoing presence through the 10

th EDF intervention, the Inception phase for activities

under Output 1.4 will be kept to the minimum and will be mainly dedicated to the identification of the real quality support needed by selected value chains at regional level and selection of the institutions or structures to be supported. Under output 2.2, the inception phase will entail the conducting of supply chain diagnostics, leading to the selection of priority value chains, as well as the identification of key players (large national companies and MNCs) active in these selected value chains. Counterpart institutions for providing the entrepreneurship training will be identified and the needs related to the training programme and capacity building component of this sub-activity will be ascertained. Further, the inception phase will serve to identify key stakeholders for the regional PPP online platform and policy makers and stakeholders will be engaged in liaising for growing a solid network. For both outputs, the inception phase will include a gender analysis (performed by a short-term gender expert) and be used to confirm base line and targeted indicators in the logical framework. The inception phase will also allow the project coordination team to be fully operational, preparing the terms of reference of various services needed, including consultants to be recruited, and to update work plans and specific budget items. The inception phase findings will be documented in an Inception report. B.4. Sustainability Strategy B.4.1. Quality Infrastructure The construction of the West African Quality Infrastructure has undergone several phases since it started in 2001. After having built the fundamentals within UEMOA region (eight countries), the intervention has been extended to the group of 15 ECOWAS countries plus Mauritania, at the end of 2007. The ECOWAS Quality

1 Mid-term evaluation of the West Africa Private Sector Competitiveness Support Programme, p. 12



15

Policy (ECOQUAL) was adopted in 2013 by the Heads of State and was broken down into an EU-funded programme implemented from 2014 to 2018 called the “West Africa Quality System Programme”, which laid the foundations of the regional quality system and set up, through an array of community regulations, the Community Quality Council and its committees governing the activities of standardization, accreditation, metrology, conformity assessment and technical regulations. An agency fully dedicated to Quality, which will be the executive arm of this infrastructure has also been set up. It will mainly start its operations under this 11

th EDF West Africa Competitiveness Programme (WACP),

taking progressive responsibility for managing, with the support of UNIDO, the activities of the programme. This phase project will therefore focus on operationalising the ECOWAS Agency for Quality (ECOWAQ), recruiting and building the skills of its first staff, notably by ensuring the functioning of the Community committees (including the Regional Accreditation entities) and supporting their operations for progressive empowerment. B.4.2. Industrial policy and competitiveness improvement Capacity building is crucial as industrial policy design and implementation is a process of experimentation and learning by doing (“trials and errors”). The ECOWAS countries cannot improve their industrial policy management capacities without being committed to and engaged in this process of learning and embedded management.

The project has been designed to set up systems and approaches to ensure the sustainability of project intervention in the selected key value chains. More specifically, the project will rely on the following operational principles:

● Ensuring national leadership and ownership: The close collaboration with the ECOWAS Commission and national governments and other stakeholders in the formulation of recommendations to enable them to take informed policy decisions.

● Ensuring multi-stakeholder participation and consultation: The project will foster a high degree of participation and engaging stakeholders from both public and private sector. This is critical to generate the sense of ownership and interest after the lifetime of the project.

● Avoiding duplication and maximizing on past investments and programmes: The project will build on the existing capacities in value chain development and the promotion of private sector development, of MSME in particular.

● Adopting a long-term approach: The project will support the promotion of policy frameworks for long term policy change and develop critical capacities at regional and national level for value chain development, MSME development and the management and oversight of PPP projects.

● Access to information: Through the development of a PPP network and online platform, regional and national stakeholders will gain access to information to make informed decisions, and stakeholders will be involved closely in the design and set-up of the platform, with the aim of transferring ownership at the end of the project.

● Ensuring sustainability: The project will contribute to the sustainably of the ECOWAS Quality Infrastructure being set up by the institutions such as Community Quality Council and its Committees, as well the Agency for Quality, and their first staff to implement the activities of the programme. At the end of the project, the value chain approach related to quality will be embedded within those institutions, that will gain economic returns from services provided to ensure own sustainability.

B.5. Gender Mainstreaming Strategy

The impact of value chains on gender equality and the opportunities to incorporate strategies to advance the level and nature of female labour force participation, as well as vulnerable population groups such as youth, in the value chains together with the value chains’ impact on households will be analysed at the inception stage in the assessments of value chains and considered in the final selection of regional value chains. Strategies to promote regional value chain formation offer opportunities for active involvement of women and youth in productive activities. For instance, opportunities for women and youth in the mango value chain are substantial in all producing and processing countries. In addition, many of the traders and retailers are young women and men. In downstream processing, especially in urban centres, most of the jobs are held by

16

women and provide economic returns and additional household income. These activities also enhance household food security and multiply nutritional options for the rural poor. The project will aim at ensuring that women and youth concerns and needs are reflected in legislative documents, strategies and measures that are produced by the project. Furthermore, the goal of ensuring that informal businesses are formalized will ensure a better understanding of the situation of women and youth in regional value chains in Western Africa. Through attempting to formalize MSME policies and strategies, disadvantaged population groups will in particular be on the agenda of policymakers and will benefit from informed policy formulation and decision making.

Gender parity will be promoted throughout the UNIDO component. The proposed project will ensure the equal representation of both women and men among the stakeholders and beneficiaries, at events, training, decision making processes and bodies, as well as in providing access to information, resource empowerment and inclusion will give the disadvantage groups the opportunity to take advantage of value chain development.

In addition, regarding recruitment of the team of experts to be involved in this project, where candidates of different sexes shortlisted for the various consultancy positions are equally qualified, priority will be given to female candidates.

Moreover, in line with UNIDO’s gender mainstreaming guidelines, all project staff will be sensitized on gender equality issues and will take the basic online course; “I Know Gender” on UN Women’s eLearning Campus https://trainingcentre.unwomen.org to participate in gender training and promotion of gender.”

Lastly, the project will factor in the Supplementary Act on Gender Equality in ECOWAS as well as the ECOWAS Plan of Action on Gender and Trade 2015-2020, and endeavour to mainstream these in its strategies, recommendations and activities. It will therefore liaise with the ECOWAS Gender and Development Centre (based in Dakar, Senegal). B.6. Environmental and Social Assessment

It is well documented that agro value chains in general play significant roles in the socioeconomic development of Western Africa, as the crucial sector for job creation. In addition, exports of agricultural products are the major source of income in the region. Other value chains that have high potential to diversify the industrial base of Western Africa are targeted too and may help the region to strengthen high value added activities in the region. Deepening regional integration has been identified as one of the best avenues for regional development, and the project focus on regional value chains and on building regional capacities of business support institutions in the region is adopted to respond to these recommendations.

On the global developmental agenda, the project is in line with the SDGs, in particular SDG 9 on “Building resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”, SDG 17: “Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development; and SDG 8: “Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.”

Furthermore, the adoption and implementation of standards and technical regulations related to energy and environment will be considered within the activity relating to quality matters.

https://trainingcentre.unwomen.org/



17

C. THE PROJECT C.1 Objective/results

C.1.1 Objectives/outputs of the regional Programme The overall objective of the programme is to strengthen the competitiveness of West Africa and enhance the countries' integration into the regional and international trading system. The specific objectives are:

1) To improve the performance, growth and contribution to industry, regional trade and exports of

selected value chains;

2) To improve the climate for business at national and regional levels.

The Outputs associated with each Specific Objective are: Specific objective 1:

Output 1.1. Country level: Competitiveness at firms’ level is improved, especially through the Clusters' approach

Output 1.2. Country level: Intermediate organisations of the selected value chains are strengthened and service delivery to MSMEs is improved and expanded (quality, standards, new green solutions, market access, etc).

Output 1.3. Regional level: Better regional linkages among selected value chain actors are promoted and key regional intermediary organisations are supported.

Output 1.4. Regional level: Regional quality infrastructure system is strengthened, with a view to promote environmental issues.

Specific objective 2:

Output 2.1. Country level: Regional policies in favour of competitiveness are mainstreamed in the country and help enable a business-friendly environment.

Output 2.2. Regional level: The regional policy and framework to improve competitiveness are harmonised, formulated and monitored.

Output 2.3. Regional level: The capacity of the ECOWAS Commission, UEMOA Commission and Member States to successfully manage, coordinate and monitor the programme is strengthened.

The programme targets interventions at both the regional and national levels in compliance with the subsidiarity principle. The regional component will cover activities with a regional character, namely those leading to Output 1.3, 1.4, and 2.2 of the programme.

C.1.2 Activities of the component implemented by UNIDO UNIDO will implement the following activities leading to Output 1.4:

ECW 1.4.1: Consolidating ongoing support and enhancing the regional quality infrastructure to develop and implement standards and regulations with a focus on selected value chains;

ECW 1.4.2: Supporting the setting-up and promotion of regional reference laboratories;

ECW 1.4.3: Promotion of quality and ECOWAS Certification Mark;

ECW 1.4.4: Coordinating quality infrastructure of Member States as well as encouraging networking of national quality units.

UNIDO will furthermore contribute (with ITC) to Output 2.2 and implement the following activities:

18

ECW 2.2.A.4: Supporting ECOWAS/UEMOA to operationalize the regional industrial/private sector strategy through elaboration of regional directives on key value chains of regional and national interest, and implementation of regional investment and competition policies and regulations;

ECW 2.2.A.5: Supporting the implementation of the ECOWAS MSME Strategy and MSME Charter;

ECW 2.2.A.6: Establishment of a regional PPP network and online platform.

ECW 2.2.B.2: Setting up, within ECOWAS/UEMOA, in the areas of quality promotion, of management tools, supervision, coordination, networking, sharing of expertise/experiences and evaluation mechanisms, etc.

C.2. Project logical framework

The programme attribution chain is presented below. It depicts the contribution of each implementing partner to the activities, outputs, specific objectives and overall objective (impact level) of the Regional stratum of the overall WACP. It implies that the specific objectives and the overall objective will be achieved only if the regional and all national components are successfully implemented. The logical framework matrix in Annex I presents the expected outputs and all the indicators, targets and baseline, as well as the activities to be implemented. But some of them are indicative and may be updated during the implementation of the action. When it was not possible to determine the outputs of an action at formulation stage, intermediary outcomes have been presented, and the outputs will be defined during the inception phase. The indicative log frame matrix will evolve during the lifetime of the action: new lines will be added for including the activities, as well as new columns for intermediary targets (milestones) for the output and outcome indicators whenever it is relevant for monitoring and reporting purposes. The indicators are disaggregated by sex whenever relevant. Based on the results obtained during the inception phase, concrete objectives and targets for value chain development and upgrading will be formulated. This will be notably important for the policy framework and policy instruments as well as for program development to strengthen regional value chains. This step will be based on a wider consultation of stakeholders (ECOWAS Commission, minister of member States, the private sector, etc.). The framework will provide greater clarity and a pledge to the MSMEs and the social partners about the investment decisions of the ECOWAS countries. For this purpose, a clear commitment from the Governments to work for the implementation of the common vision of industrial development is necessary to convince stakeholders from the private sector. In addition to the development of a regional industrialization framework it is important to undertake a dynamic learning and process in the long term through the capacity-building of ECOWAS stakeholders to design, implement, monitor and evaluate their strategies and policies. In support of the MSME charter, this will involve, in particular:

i) the creation of governmental or independent institutions (both at regional and national level) in charge of the analysis of competitiveness and industrial policy coordination and

ii) the capacity-building in industrial statistics to produce reliable data for industrial policy design and evaluation

20

Under Output 1.4, UNIDO will be responsible for the implementation of the following four activities and sets of sub-activities:

Output 1.4 – Regional quality infrastructure system is strengthened, with a view to promoting environmental issues

Activity 1.4.1: Consolidating ongoing support and enhancing the regional quality infrastructure to develop and implement Standards and regulations

Sub Activities Actors

- Setting up of regional technical standards harmonisation committees in the new fields identified from value chains process

- Identification of standards needs in the selected value chains, including those related to environment

- Support SME capacity building for compliance to quality - Dissemination of information on harmonized standards and collaboration

with the World Trade Organization (WTO) to Member States - Support for the adoption of national and regional standards - Support for the drafting of harmonized technical regulations covering the

identified priority sectors, particularly at the value chains level - Identification of supervisory bodies in charge of compliance of the

harmonized technical regulations and capacity building - Establishment of an interstate control mechanism.

UNIDO

ECOWAS (Regional Quality Infrastructure)(RQI); UEMOA

Member States

Activity 1.4.2: Supporting the setting-up of regional reference laboratories

Sub Activities

- Identification of testing needs for the selected value chains as well as the laboratories likely to carry them out

- Harmonisation of testing methods - Building capacity of identified laboratories for international accreditation

(training of technical experts, support for the establishment of a quality system with the aim of accreditation)

- Densification of laboratory proficiency testing scheme network taking into account the new needs from value chains process

UNIDO

Counterpart: ECOWAS, UEMOA and Member States

Activity 1.4.3: Promotion of quality and ECOWAS Certification Mark


- Support for the implementation of sectoral applications of the ECOWAS Certification Mark related to the identified needs of the value chains (development of specific regulations, upgrading of laboratories, support towards certification of companies, etc.)

- Support for the national certification bodies to be mandated by ECOWAS for the deliverance of ECOWAS certification Mark

- Promotion of the ECOWAS Certification Mark and sectoral applications related to the value chains

- Support for the continuation of the value chain approach quality dimension, on the priority sectors, within national and regional quality structures.

UNIDO

Counterpart: ECOWAS, UEMOA, Member States

Activity 1.4.4: Coordinating quality infrastructure of member states as well as encouraging networking of national quality units

Sub Activities

- Organise regional committees meetings (Quality Council, Committees for accreditation, Standardisation, Conformity Assessment, Technical regulation) related to issues raised from value chains

- Update the regional data base with data collected from value chains approach and supports.

- Build internal capacity in the ECOWAS Commission on quality infrastructure

UNIDO

ECOWAS RQI

UEMOA

21

Under Output 2.2, UNIDO will be responsible for the implementation of the following three activities and sets of sub-activities:

Output 2.2: Supporting ECOWAS/UEMOA to operationalize the regional industrial/private sector strategy through elaboration of regional directives on key value chains of regional and national interest and implementation of regional investment and competition policies and regulations

Activity 2.2.A.4: Supporting ECOWAS/UEMOA to operationalize the regional industrial/ private sector strategy (regional directives of key value chains) and implementation of regional investment and competition policies and regulations


- Conduct supply chain diagnostics of regional priority value chains - Select two regional priority value chains for further activities - Identify key players in the selected value chains (large national companies

and MNCs) - Elaborate guidelines for effectively linking local MSMEs to large national

companies and MNCs in priority regional and global value chains - Conduct workshop with procurement managers of large national

companies and MNCs to discuss best practices and experiences in their engagement with MSMEs in the selected value chains.

- Organize a networking event for procurement managers of large national companies, MNCs and representatives of MSMEs for delineating main barriers and obstacles in supplying goods that meet requirements of the buyers and establishing partnerships arrangements. Sharing experience and elaboration of supplier development strategies.

- Develop an MSME supplier database, including profiles of MSMEs in the database.

- Capacity building of BSOs, enabling them to host further networking events after the finalization of the project and to ensure sustainability

- Capacity building for policy makers on lessons learnt and recommendations on supporting policies to be put in place

UNIDO

ECOWAS/UEMOA

Member States, MNCs in key regional value chains, MSMEs in key regional value chains, BSOs, Business Associations, Chambers of Commerce

Activity 2.2.A.5: Supporting the implementation of the ECOWAS MSME Strategy and MSME Charter

Sub Activities

- Develop a business coaching programme for entrepreneurs at various stages of growth for various target groups (youth, women, social entrepreneurs) to become a standard package of programmes in BSOs, Chambers of Commerce, etc.

- - Select counterpart institutions for conducting pilot training - Organize a train-the-trainer programme for selected counterpart

institutions and issue master training certificate - Conduct pilot training in cooperation with certified master trainers - Organize a cross border exchange programme for aspiring or new

entrepreneurs to learn from established entrepreneurs at different stages - Capacity building for BSOs and business development agencies that

could act as service provides for trainings to ensure sustainability of the project

- Organize study tours for representatives of selected BSOs to BSOs in other countries and regions that are providing entrepreneurship training

- Capacity building for policy makers on successful business environment frameworks for start-up entrepreneurs and social enterprises to become a standard programme at ECOWAS level

UNIDO

Counterpart: ECOWAS, UEMOA and Member States, BSOs business development agencies, including Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FEWACCI), Federation of West African Manufacturers Associations (FEWAMA), ECOWAS Federation of Business Women Entrepreneurs (FEBWE), local Chambers of Commerce

Activity 2.2.A.6: Establishment of a regional PPP network and online platform


- Identify and liaise with key stakeholders from the public and private sector, UNIDO

22

development finance institutions and other key PPP stakeholders on the national and regional level.

- Liaise with parties involved in ongoing and past regional PPP projects to determine difficulties encountered during planning and implementation stage.

- Involve policymakers on the national and regional level to ascertain information needs regarding PPP projects.

- Design a regional PPP network and online platform that allows to share best practices, connect key stakeholders and share and monitor key data on past, ongoing and future regional PPPs.

- Subcontract the set-up of the online platform to most competitive provider to set-up such a platform based on the design developed by UNIDO.

- Launch the PPP online platform at a regional inauguration conference bringing together key stakeholders from governments, private sector, development finance institutions and partner institutions.

- Hand over operational management of the platform to a regional PPP unit at the inauguration conference, ensuring sustainability of the network and online platform.

- Prepare report with recommendations for regional Directive on PPPs


Activity ECW 2.2.B.2: Setting up, within ECOWAS/UEMOA, in the areas of quality promotion, of management tools, supervision, coordination, networking, sharing of expertise/experiences and evaluation mechanisms, etc.


1. Set up a Regional Technical Coordination Unit (RTCU) at ECOWAS Commission supported by a Project Management Unit (PMU) at UNIDO Headquarters (HQs).

Refer to paragraph C.4.3 below

2. Organization of technical committee meetings with counterparts and stakeholders

Refer to paragraph C.4.2 below

3. Dissemination of information on the project to all programme beneficiaries

This activity will be carried out through the implementation of the communication and visibility plan (see Annex IV.) 4. Collection and provision of data on value chain development through

the programme website and database

The programme website from the 10th EDF West Africa Quality System

programme will be maintained and enriched. The database on quality and industrial statistics will also be fed and promoted through an on-line platform. 5. Organization of dedicated meetings at sub-regional level focusing on

specific regional value chain and exchange of experience between countries

UNIDO will collect data from the countries and monitor the progress made in each of them through the reporting by the national implementing partners and participation as observer to the national steering committees. When deemed relevant, UNIDO will support ECOWAS Commission in convening national stakeholders working on a value chain of regional interest to a meeting for experience sharing or a study visit to some advanced countries or regions. 6. Field supervision visits by the project management staff

The Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) and the key experts from the RTCU will

UNIDO


23

regularly travel to some countries in order to monitor the implementation of the programme. UNIDO Project Manager will also visit countries occasionally, in the margin of steering committee meetings or other milestone events. The Director in charge of the project at UNIDO is also expected to execute two supervision missions during the implementation period.

Further details can be found in the logical framework and timeline of activities provided in Annex I and II. C.3. Risks and mitigation measures

A stable political and security environment in the region is essential for the achievement of the objectives set for this intervention. During the implementation of the Project, if appropriate measures are not taken at the highest level of the Commission to ensure proper implementation, the achievement of the results could be compromised; Effective public-private dialogue and a strong involvement of the private sector for the implementation of the Programme is necessary.

Risk Probability Impact on the project

Mitigation measures

The political environment in some countries might create uncertainties

Medium Medium Close cooperation with project partners in countries

Human resources limitation in certain institutions, limited availability of counterpart staff in the institutions

Medium High Within the framework of the West Africa Quality System Project, a dedicated agency on Quality has been created: ECOWAQ. The main personnel of the secretariats of ECOWAQ will be recruited by UNIDO. This should limit to a certain extent the dependence from the HR of counterpart institutions

Employee turnover in the counterpart institutions (after having trained them and invested on capacity building)

Medium High Preventive approach (knowledge sharing, mentoring). Advise partner institutions and encourage them to execute an agreement, which ensures that persons majorly trained are kept for a minimum of 2 years with obligation to train others

Lack of engagement of regional and national stakeholders

Medium High Involve all stakeholders and beneficiaries during design of activities (participatory approach)

Outbreak of diseases in the countries covered by the project

Medium High Keep some flexibility in the realisation of project milestones and if possible allow extension of implementation period

24

Lack of synergies with national components

Medium Medium Ensure adequate communication channels with national counterparts; support ECOWAS Commission in ensuring coordination between regional and national components

Duplication of activities with other implementing agencies

Medium Medium During inception phase and throughout the implementation phase, coordinate intervention with the other implementing agencies

C.4. Institutional Arrangements and Coordination Mechanism

C.4.1 Global governance of the overall Competiveness Programme

Wider programme coordination will be ensured through a Programme General Steering Committee chaired by ECOWAS Commission and comprising indicatively of ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions, the EU Delegation, representatives of the National Authorizing Organizations (NAO), the implementing agencies at regional and national level, Member States and other national and international stakeholders. It will also include, as observers, other donors active in the sector (competitiveness and the development of regional value chains). ECOWAS commission will set the member list of the Steering committee. It will meet at least once a year to discuss programme achievements, coherence and set strategic orientations. It is envisaged that overall programme performance and impact will also be monitored through the forthcoming “Observatoire régional de la Compétitivité”.

C.4.2 Governance of the Regional Component of the Programme

In addition to the global governance mechanism, the regional Component comprised of Outputs 1.3, 1.4, 2.2 and 2.3 of the Programme will have its own Technical Steering Committee, composed of relevant key stakeholders at the regional level, in particular the ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions, ITC and UNIDO, plus the EU Delegation in Nigeria as observer.

It will be chaired by the ECOWAS Commission and will meet every quarter through videoconference or physically in Abuja (or in other places when more cost effective and on an exceptional basis) to discuss the implementation progress report and once a year to discuss the annual financial and narrative reports. In addition to continuous communication between UNIDO and ITC starting from the inception phase, it is also envisaged to use the Technical Steering Committee meetings as occasions for bilateral consultations with a view of leveraging synergies between the activities implemented under Output 2.2.

One or two of the quarterly committees will bring together key members of the steering committees of the national components with a focus on ensuring coherence between the national and regional components activities and programmes. The participation of the national representatives will be funded directly by the national components of the WACP.

The ECOWAS Commission and EU Delegation in Abuja could organise sporadic simultaneous videoconferences with all implementing partners / Technical assistance (regional and national level) for sharing experience and reinforcing coherence.

C.4.3 Technical coordination of the Project

Project management at UNIDO HQs

UNIDO will be responsible for the implementation, monitoring and reporting of this project according to EU procedures and established UNIDO rules and regulations. UNIDO will fulfil this responsibility by appointing a Lead Project Manager from the Trade, Investment and Innovation (TII) Department. The Lead Project Manager will be in charge of overseeing the overall implementation of the project, as well as by mobilizing the required services of the related technical, administrative and financial departments at UNIDO Headquarters and the UNIDO field offices. The Lead Project Manager, with a technical background on standards and quality, will be the project manager for the Quality Infrastructure component (Output 1.4) while

25

UNIDO will assign a second project manager for the component on Business environment and competitiveness (Output 2.2.A). The Project Managers will be assisted by a project-funded junior project coordinator.

The UNIDO Lead Project Manager will also be the team leader for the overall West Africa Competitiveness Programme. As such, he/she will oversee the overall WACP-related portfolio managed by UNIDO and ensure the coordination between the present (regional) project and the various country components of the WACP under UNIDO’s responsibility (Ghana, Sierra Leone and other expected ones). The Lead Project Manager will ensure the regional coherence of the action, integration of the national interventions into the regional context, efficiency of the respective operations and permanent dialogue between the project managers and their teams.

UNIDO will notably be responsible for the following inputs:

● Overall project implementation, monitoring and reporting (see section F) ● Recruitment and remuneration of all experts and consultants required for the UNIDO component.

Experts will be identified in consultation with counterparts. In all the recruitments, due attention will be given to have a gender balance, subject to the availability of the resources. Where candidates of different sexes shortlisted for the various consultancy positions are equally qualified, priority will be given to female candidates.

● Procurement services needed for delivering of the planned outputs. All procurement will be done in accordance with UNIDO established rules and regulations.

● Setting up of a technical coordination unit at the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja. ● Promotion, advocacy and visibility of the WACP in international fora.

Project Management Unit in Abuja, at ECOWAS Commission

In the field, the Action will be managed and implemented by a Regional technical coordination unit (RTCU) based in Abuja, at ECOWAS Commission, led by a Chief Technical Advisor, and composed of one Junior Technical Associate, one Project Administrative Assistant and part time recruited experts. The RTCU will also be supported by other technical experts, to be recruited on specific technical fields, for short periods of time.

Please refer to the below chart for the RTCU structure:

26

The CTA will supervise the RTCU and manage the overall field intervention. He will ensure the technical coordination of the component “Quality Infrastructure and Promotion” (Output 1.4), while a Principal Technical Expert (PTE) will ensure the coordination of activities related to the “Business Environment and Competitiveness” component (Output 2.2.A). Please refer to the ToRs of the Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) and of the Principal Technical Expert (PTE) for more details regarding their duties (Appendix C: ToRs of CTA and PTE). For security reasons, local transportation of the RTCU in Abuja will be assured by a UN trained and certified driver through a project vehicle already purchased under the current 10th EDF intervention. Insurance, maintenance costs and fuel will be covered by the project. Both regional technical coordination units of UNIDO and ITC will support the secretariat of the Technical Steering Committee. Continuity of action between the WAQSP and the WACP: The WACP/UNIDO has at least 80% of its actions dedicated to the settlement of quality issues identified along selected value chains. The settlement of these issues inevitably involves the implementation of one or more of the following actions:

- Adoption of standards or technical regulations;

- Support the application of the adopted standards and technical regulations (awareness raising,

training, etc.);

- Assessment of conformity to these standards and technical regulations;

- Capacity building of conformity assessment bodies (laboratories, certification bodies, inspection or

verification services);

- Setting up a product or service certification mechanism;

- Calibration of devices and measuring instruments for international traceability.

The objective of the WAQSP is to provide to economic operators of the region, through the regional quality system, effective tools and institutions capable of solving quality-related issues in an efficient way. The implementation of the above listed actions requires the setting up of mechanisms and institutions over time (process of harmonizing and adopting standards, technical regulations and testing methods, setting up technical committees for standardization, technical regulations and certification, etc.). The identification and resolution of quality related issues in value chains is therefore a sectorial application of the all-encompassing tools developed under the WAQSP. During the WAQSP, the different mechanisms and institutions were progressively set up, and those in charge of its implementation, as members of various management teams in the field, particularly the regional technical coordination unit of the Project, were trained to manage it. In addition, a Community Council for Quality composed of 5 community committees, specialized in the core areas of quality and technical regulation, and its executive secretariat (ECOWAS Quality Agency) were set up. Ultimately, it is with the structures and mechanisms put in place, as well as the people trained, that quality related issues in value chains will be more efficiently addressed. With the WAQSP officially scheduled to end in December 2018, while the WACP will start before the end of the year, UNIDO has taken necessary measures to ensure that the key staff of the RTCU is maintained during the transitory period for continued implementation of the WACP. It is likely that the WAQSP be extended without costs in 2019, to complete its ongoing actions. During this period, given the phasing out and closure of the activities of the Project, the financial resources will be reconfigured to ensure rigorous complementarity with the WACP.

-

-

The below table shows the overall Project Management structure:

Staff (% of

working time,

Tasks and responsibilities Location

27

duration)

UNIDO Project

Managers

25 %, 4 years

Overall strategic steering, managerial supervision of the project and

alignment of technical inputs of respective technical components with

international standards and best practices; ensure coherence of the

UNIDO WACP portfolio and synergies between the regional and the

country components.

UNIDO HQs Vienna

Junior Project

Coordinator

100 %, 4 years

Support the Project Managers in the coordination and efficient

implementation of the project and the monitoring of results; Follow up on

work plans and expenditures; Perform project related tasks in the

enterprise resource planning (ERP) system ; Support the preparation of

technical and financial reports, liaise with all centralized support

services for organization of activities, procurement of goods and

services and financial management; Facilitates interactions with internal

and external services.

UNIDO HQs Vienna

Chief

Technical

Advisor

100 %, 4 years

International/regional senior project advisor; coordination of activities for

the entire UNIDO component; supervision and management of the

RTCU, day-to-day implementation of this Action; ensure the technical

coordination of the component on Quality Infrastructure (Output 1.4).

The CTA will act as an interim Director of the newly set ECOWAQ until

his/her official nomination by the Executive Board

RTCU Abuja

Junior

Technical

Associate

100%, 4 years

Assist the CTA in the effective technical coordination of the project.

Facilitate the coordination of operations from the various technical sides,

assist with the drafting of technical specifications and terms of

reference; Facilitate the monitoring of the performance of regional and

national experts as well as the monitoring of activities at country level;

Assist the CTA on partnership and synergy matters.

RTCU Abuja

Project

Administrative

Assistant

100%, 4 years

Support to the RTCU in all matters related to office management,

organization of regional events, local procurement of goods and

services and financial management, maintain up to date filing system

and project data base.

RTCU Abuja

Short-term

Experts

(When Actually

Employed)

Principal

Technical Expert

on Business

Environment and

Competitiveness

Senior technical expert responsible for the

coordination of activities under Output 2.2. Day to

day implementation of activities and supervision of

short-term experts under this Output. Reporting of

progress to CTA and project management at HQs.

Missions to Abuja

Monitoring and

Evaluation

UNIDO will rely on external experts for short term

missions when required (see F.2 below)

Missions to Abuja

Communication

and visibility

External experts supporting the implementation of

the Communication and visibility plan (annex 4)

Missions to West

African countries

National governance of the Project In each country, national gender-balanced steering and technical committees will be established through the national components of the WACP programme. Each country will designate a national programme coordinator who will serve as a focal point and will assist in the implementation of regional activities at national level. At national level the organisational set-up will be defined according to the specificities of each country and implementing modality and will be described in detail in Annexes to the Technical and

28

Administrative Provisions (TAPs) of each individual financing agreement. Roles and support measures of the ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions and of the beneficiary States in the implementation of the Project Through their central position in the regional framework, ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions will ensure inter-country cooperation, and the full buy-in of national Governments and private sectors. The ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions will:

● ensure awareness and information of governments on the challenges and the results of the Project;

● ensure that governments undertake actions at the national level for the effective implementation of the Project;

● take all necessary measures within the ECOWAS Commission, beneficiary states and other external partners to facilitate implementation of the Project; in particular take all necessary measures for the realization of the PPP Platform;

● take the necessary steps to involve the relevant technical departments of the Commission in the implementation of the Project;

● identify within the Commission a technical unit whose role will be to ensure the proper implementation (as general contractor) of the Project in accordance with the terms of the Delegation Agreement. This unit will also serve as the technical counterpart of the Regional Technical Coordination Unit;

● provide the Regional Technical Coordination Unit with office premises equipped with adequate furniture and Internet and the telephone access;

● ensure the official convening of regional technical meetings and governance meetings and provide logistical support for the organization of these meetings, including the provision of facilities for translation and interpretation.

● contribute to the visibility and communication about the Project, including facilitating access to ECOWAS/UEMOA Commissions’ website and communication tools;

D. INPUTS D.1 Counterpart inputs

The contributions of the ECOWAS Commission will be in-kind. Qualified staff, from the ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions which are beneficiaries of the Project, will be appointed and dedicate the necessary time to work with the long and short term experts of the Project to provide all necessary support and get exposure to the main activities of which trainings. Office space to accommodate the regional coordination teams of UNIDO and ITC would also ideally be provided by ECOWAS Commission. However, the current set-up and over-occupation at ECOWAS Headquarters gives little prospect for the coordination teams to be accommodated beyond the current 10

th EDF intervention, but availability of offices will be assessed after the

ongoing restructuring of the Commission and during the inception phase.

D.2. UNIDO inputs

The project will be implemented with a direct agreement with UNIDO. A PMU will be established at the start of the project, which will be responsible for the day-to-day implementation of all project activities, including the direct supervision of those activities contracted to external parties. The PMU will establish a good working relationship between the project, the beneficiaries, the counterparts and other on-going projects and programmes. The PMU, in addition, will ensure an effective day-today monitoring of all project activities. UNIDO will contribute € 100,000 as co-funding to the EU 11

th EDF contribution. UNIDO’s cash contribution is

typically released for implementation subject to two cumulative conditions:

1. The approval of UNIDO’s Executive Board of the project document we are currently in the process of jointly finalizing, including the proposed allocation of € 100,000;

2. The signature of the anticipated Delegation Agreement.

29

E. BUDGET See Annex III: Budget for the Action. The project follows UNIDO’s well-established and pillar assessed results-based management and accounting structure, in line with the recommendation expressed in the Pillar Assessed Grant or Delegation Agreement (PAGODA) manual which recalls that “The Annex III/Budget should reflect the structure normally used by the Organisation in its own accounting system. It is not advisable to impose models which do not reflect this structure (for instance, Annex III of the EU Grant Contract). The advantages of reflecting the budget structure of the Organisation include more robust financial reporting and audit trail showing the link between the financial report and the underlying accounting methods.” In addition to the above advantages of a budget reflecting UNIDO’s accounting structure, the result’s based nature of the budget establishes clear linkages between the logical framework and the budget, thus allows it to be a truly useful management instrument. It is understood that the Outputs constitute the budget headings, as defined in Article 11.3 of the General Conditions. The below table gives an overview of the detailed “Annex III - Budget for the Action” and enhances the budget headings:

F. MONITORING, REPORTING AND EVALUATION

30

The monitoring and reporting of the overall West Africa Competitiveness Programme are carried out by the ECOWAS Commission. The below paragraphs relate to the role of UNIDO.

F.1. Reporting

Reporting is determined by the terms of the Delegation Agreement, notably Article 4 of the Special Conditions and Article 3 and Article 19 of the General Conditions. Due consideration will also be given to the Joint Guidelines on reporting obligations under the Financial and Administrative Framework Agreement (FAFA) as well as the well-established communication and visibility requirements as stipulated in Article 8 of the General Conditions.

Report frequency

The reporting frequency and timing is determined by above-quoted terms of the Delegation Agreement which foresee one progress report for every twelve-months of the implementation. The final report will be submitted within 6 months after the end of the implementation period determined by the agreement as per the terms of Article 3.8 of the General Conditions of the agreement.

F.2 Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)

The performance monitoring will be executed based on a detailed work plan and log frame. A detailed monitoring and evaluation plan will also be developed during the inception phase. Baseline indicators established at inception will be monitored on an annual basis. The UNIDO project manager (PM) will be responsible for the overall monitoring of the project. When need arises, he will rely on short-term expertise (e.g. during the inception phase or for mid-term and final review of the project).

Day-to-day technical and financial monitoring will be part of UNIDO responsibilities. The Programme Steering Committee (PSC) will be responsible for the overall programme oversight and guidance.

In addition, this Project will benefit from recommendations made from various evaluations and assessments of previous projects implemented in West Africa in the field of Quality Infrastructure. Also the Mid-term evaluation of the “West Africa Private Sector Competitiveness Support Programme” has provided a wide range of useful recommendations for this upcoming project. (For more details, please refer to section B.2.3 Lessons learned and results from previous evaluations, on p.14).

The Project will be subject to following reviews and evaluations: - The external mid-term review will be conducted 24 months after the start of the Project. It will be carried

out by external consultants recruited by UNIDO under the budget of this project and under the responsibility of the Project Manager;

- The overall final project evaluation will be conducted by a company contracted by the EU, in

collaboration with the UNIDO Evaluation Group. Specific attention will be paid at gender statistics and the achievement of gender neutral indicators.

Type of M&E activity Responsible Parties Budget

EUR Time frame

Kick-Off meeting followed by public launch event.

UNIDO PM; RTCU staff 0* Within first 2 months of project start up

M&E design, of which tools to collect and record data (performance indicators)

PM will oversee the hiring of professionals and delegate responsibilities to relevant team members

15,000 Start and mid of project

Steering Committee and conclusion Meetings

UNIDO PM; CTA; and Technical Steering Committee

33,000 Two steering committee meetings every year.

Preparation of Inception Report, Detailed Action and Work Plan.

UNIDO PM; CTA 0* After first 6 months of project start up

Regular monitoring and analysis of performance

UNIDO PM; CTA and RTCU junior expert

0* Regularly to feed into project management and Annual

31

Type of M&E activity Responsible Parties Budget

EUR Time frame

indicators Project Review

Annual Project Review (APR) to assess project progress and performance

PM, UNIDO HQ and PSC to review the project performance and make corrective decision (based on the APR)

0* Annually prior to the finalization of APR and to the definition of annual work plans

Visits to field sites

PM, CTA, Director of the Department of Trade, Investment and Innovation (TII) at UNIDO HQ

34,000 Annually or when critically required (for TII Director)

Mid-term Review PM, UNIDO HQ, external experts (int. + nat.), Steering Committee

29,000 Mid of project

Terminal Project Evaluation

European Union, in coordination with UNIDO

EU budget

Evaluation at least one month before the end of the project; report at the end of project implementation

Project Conclusion Meeting

PM, CTA, UNIDO HQ, international/national experts.

11,000 Last month of the project. Presentation of terminal evaluation and lessons learnt.

TOTAL indicative cost * Other costs to be added, covered by Project Management Budget

122,000

G. PRIOR OBLIGATIONS AND PREREQUISITES

Signing of the Financing Agreement between the European Commission and the ECOWAS Commission. H. LEGAL CONTEXT It is expected that each set of activities to be implemented in the target countries will be governed by the provisions of the Standard Basic Cooperation Agreement concluded between the Government of the recipient country concerned and UNIDO or- in the absence of such an agreement- by one of the following: (i) the Standard Basic Assistance Agreement concluded between the recipient country and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), (ii) the Technical Assistance Agreements concluded between the recipient country and the United Nations specialized agencies, or (iii) the Basic Terms and Conditions Governing UNIDO Projects.

UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT …...MSME Micro, small and medium enterprises MTR Mid-Term...

Documents

Transcript of UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT …...MSME Micro, small and medium enterprises MTR Mid-Term...