Enhancing trade competitiveness in African countries

The Government of the Netherlands and the International Trade Centre (ITC) signed a four-year partnership agreement to support innovative projects to enhance the trade competitiveness of the services sectors in selected African countries, focusing on digital technology and agribusiness services.
COVID-19 has contributed to accelerating the global digital transformation. Boosting the development and provision of innovative and effective digital solutions can have a major impact on traditional sectors like agribusiness, improving efficiency, enhancing productivity and value-addition, providing traceability, and allowing stronger positioning in international markets.
Digital acceleration can also support building back better in an environmentally sustainable manner: digitalization enables better usage of resources through increased resource and energy efficiency, and circular economy.
The partnership, called the Netherlands Trust Fund V (NTF V), will contribute to this structural transformation in agribusiness and related value chains. It will support thousands of small businesses and tens of thousands of jobs, thereby creating entrepreneurial opportunities for women, youth and poor communities. Through efficient agribusiness and support services, NTF V will ultimately contribute to increased trade, better incomes, and help reduce poverty.