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Physical Trade Infrastructure

Like Supply Capacity, this is a category where the boundary between trade support and more general support to production or develop­ment is not clearly defined. Some agencies try to allocate spending on individual projects partially to trade and partially to other purposes; others focus on the principal purpose of a project or a type of activity.

japan

japan

Summary of activities included in this category
Enhancing Private Sector Assistance for Africa (EPSA)

Trade-Related Financial Services

Trade finance is one of the areas where exporters from developing countries are most disadvantaged compared to those from developed coun­tries because selling at a distance to purchasers who are not directly known within the country requires special skills and risk assessment from banks. Only when exports reach a sufficiently high level is it profitable for banks in a country to acquire these skills, so exporters, par­ticularly SMEs, are hampered by difficulty in accessing export finance. Therefore both the cost and the availability of appropriate finance are problems. Some agencies offer support to build national capacity, while others try to fill the gap until such capacity is available.

japan

japan

Summary of activities included in this category
Facilitating trade and investment in Africa – JBIC (Facility for African Investment and Trade Enhancement 2(FAITH2))