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About TFO Canada : Africa Program :: About PACCIA / PACT



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ITC / CCI TFOC / BPCC / OFCC

PACCIA/PACT - ‘Programme for building African Capacity for Trade’ – is a joint programme of the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO (ITC), in Geneva, and Trade Facilitation Office Canada (TFO) of Ottawa, Canada. Funding is provided by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) under the Canada Fund for Africa.

Announced by the Government of Canada, at the Kananaskis G-8 summit, in 2002, the mandate of PACCIA/PACT is to “improve the capacity of African enterprises to do business internationally and promote their exports”.

This programme will help African countries expand their participation in the international marketplace, through targeted technical assistance projects, focusing particularly on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their support institutions.

PACCIA/PACT Objectives

PACCIA/PACT three focus areas include the:

  • Strengthening of the institutional support infrastructure;
  • Enhancement of enterprise competitiveness;
  • Promotion of concrete business opportunities.

PACCIA/PACT also contributes to the Doha Development Agenda. This Agenda enables developing countries to better reap the benefits from globalization, through combining the launch of a new round of multi-lateral trade negotiations with a commitment for trade-related capacity-building. Specifically, PACCIA/PACT addresses the supply-side constraints of developing countries and the goal to diversify their production and export base.

A Phased Approach

The programme is structured into two phases, to be implemented over a period of up to four years.

Phase I, from February to December 2003, provided a planning stage. This Phase focused on the first four countries – Ghana, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania - These countries offered a large geographical coverage, provided wider cultural diversity and their implication on trade. In addition, Phase I included a number of high-priority activities that were implemented as ‘early deliverables’.

The experience gained under Phase I in the first four countries had provided the building blocks for the development of the second phase that started in January 2004. In its current phase, the programme has expanded to three more African countries – Ethiopia, Mali, and Mozambique jointly agreed upon, by ITC and TFO, in consultation with CIDA.

International Trade Centre
Silencer Mapuranga
Senior Trade Promotion Officer

Postal address:
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland

Fax: +41-22-730 0570
Tel: +41-22-730 0111
Email: paccia-pact@intracen.org

Trade Facilitation Office Canada
Brian Mitchell
Director, Africa Program

Postal address:
56 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
K1P 5A9
Tel: +1-613-233-3925
Tel: +1-800-267-9674 (in Canada)
Fax: +1-613-233-7860
Email: info@tfocanada.ca