Business
More than 30 West African women entrepreneurs formed the African Women Entrepreneurs network after meeting at the 9th annual AGOA Forum in Washington, D.C. Aug. 4-7. The network aims to increase opportunities for women to use AGOA’s trade benefits to increase exports to the U.S. and increase investment in sub-Saharan Africa.

A new cashew dryer at a processing company in Guinea Bissau will improve the quality of the kernels it produces. The dryer was designed and installed with assistance from the African Cashew Alliance, which was co-founded by USAID’s Trade Hub in 2005 with public and private sector partners across the continent and around the world and continues to receive some support from USAID. ACA experts also provided a one-day intensive training to executives at a company in Senegal this week. The ACA is holding its 5th annual conference Sept. 14-17 in Maputo, Mozambique. www.africancashewalliance.com

A handcrafts company in Ghana received its first order for “trophy” animal figures made out of recycled shaved cane after mentorship by a company assisted by USAID’s Trade Hub.
 
Transportation
Ghana’s Minister of Transport and Minister of Roads and Highways officially released the Truck Driver’s Guide to Ghana Aug. 26 with USAID West Africa’s Deputy Director Lisa Franchett and officials from Ghana’s police and customs services. USAID’s Trade Hub worked closely with the Ghana National Road Transport and Transit Facilitation Committee to write, design and publish the guide, which is available at www.borderlesswa.com

U.S. Ambassador to Benin James Knight and the Vice President of Benin’s Chamber of Commerce officially released the second joint report on road harassment Aug. 26 in Cotonou. The report compiles data on checkpoints, bribes and delays collected through surveys implemented by USAID’s Trade Hub, the USAID/Agribusiness and Trade Promotion project and the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organization.

A private company will operate the joint border post at Cinkasse at the Burkina Faso-Togo border and charge fees ranging from $30 to $100 for processing transit vehicles, the national offices of ECOWAS and UEMOA announced at a USAID Trade Hub-sponsored Borderless road show in Togo Aug. 24. The road show formally released the USAID Trade Hub-UEMOA joint report on road harassment along primary trade corridors in Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Senegal and Togo.

Finance
42 people, including 14 women, were trained in trade finance at the AGOA Resource Center at the Nigeria Bank of Industry in Lagos on Aug. 27. Participants learned how to prepare bankable requests for financing appropriate for banks and other financial institutions.
 
Telecommunications
Buyers consistently cite responsiveness as a key factor when sourcing from West African producers. The USAID Trade Hub’s ICT team trained 13 Ghanaian exporters, including 7 women, Aug. 25 in how to use ICT to improve communications, and responsiveness in particular. The training was part of the eBizBox package of ICT solutions for exporters, which the USAID Trade Hub is implementing under the USAID-Intel Alliance. www.watradehub.com/resources/ebizbox

Business Environment
Electronic import declarations will be implemented across Ghana by the end of the calendar year 2010, the Minister of Trade and Industry Hannah Tetteh told stakeholders at the fifth Shippers’ Forum in Accra. Using electronic forms could significantly decrease processing times at borders.

Stakeholders in Nigeria validated the results of the USAID Trade Hub’s analysis of the country’s implementation of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS), clarifying customs procedures while applauding the study overall. Member States launched the ETLS about 30 years ago as a step toward a full customs union and a free trade area but the USAID Trade Hub’s study of its implementation in nine countries shows no country is fully implementing it.