Bono, the international recording artist, his wife and Edun founder Ali Hewson, and Renzo Rosso, the renowned founder of apparel brand, Diesel, visited bogolan producer in Mali with USAID Trade Hub Director Vanessa Adams.

16 consultants to major U.S. political parties learned about the issues affecting exporters’ competitiveness during visits to the Port of Tema in Ghana and companies in Accra, which were facilitated by the USAID Trade Hub.

Business
Handcrafts companies in Mali and Senegal received technical assistance in product development as they prepare for two upcoming international trade shows – the New York International Gift Fair (Jan. 28 to Feb. 2) and Ambiente, Europe’s largest home décor trade show held in Frankfurt, Germany (Feb. 10-14). AfricaNow! will present an informational booth at the shows to promote buyer tours and capacity building initiatives while importers that are members of the AfricaNow! network display new products. www.africa-now.org

The Global Shea Alliance and USAID Trade Hub facilitated a visit to Sekaf Ghana’s traditional handcrafted shea butter processing village with a ONE campaign organized group of political consultants to familiarize themselves with USAID West Africa’s value chain work in rural communities. Senyo Kpelly, the Managing Director said he is a Hub-trained shea expert and emphasized the support he has received from USAID in terms of training on quality, packaging, formulation and market linkages as well. They asked “how has all this impacted women’s income?” The leader of the women said they receive cash to pay school fees and other family needs and the work also keeps them busy.

The GSA is planning to undertake a shea quality improvement program in Northern Ghana and Benin. The Alliance traveled to five rural shea associations to begin collaborating with the women groups and start planning the training for next month.

Transport
The Government of Cote d’Ivoire has eliminated a Value Added Tax on imported new trucks and reduced customs duties on the vehicles from 51% to 21%. The changes were part of recommendations from the USAID Trade Hub to reinvigorate the country’s transport industry. Reducing the taxes will lead to more investment and important upgrades in the nation’s 12,000 vehicle trucking fleet. www.borderlesswa.com

Business Environment
The Border Information Center helped traders resolve a tense claim of harassment that led to spoilage in a shipment of peppers. The BIC staff worked with officials and the traders to resolve the dispute at the Ghana-Togo border. The center opened in August and is hosted by the Ghana Shippers’ Authority and the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organization. www.borderlesswa.com