Border Information Center opens at the Port of Dakar

105 stakeholders in Senegal participated in the launch of West Africa’s fourth Border Information Center in Dakar. The new center is hosted by the Conseil Sénégalais des Chargeurs (COSEC).

Ghana’s Minister of Trade pledged to significantly reduce the time it takes to process trucks at the country’s border as he opened the second annual conference of the Borderless Alliance in Accra.

Featuring an interview with Paul Brenton, the World Bank’s Trade Practice Manager for Africa, and a review of the success of the USAID Trade Hub’s access to finance strategy, the USAID Trade Hub’s monthly newsletter, Tradewinds, was delivered to more than 12,000 subscribers. www.watradehub.com/tradewinds

Business
A new cashew processor in Togo has hired 400 local employees and expects to double its processing capacity three-fold within the next year with support from the African Cashew Alliance. The ACA’s business advisor worked with the company’s managers, assessing its operations and providing guidance to increase productivity. www.africancashewalliance.com

A new Border Information Center (BIC) is opening at Seme, Nigeria (on the Benin-Nigeria border). Find out more about how the BICs are encouraging trade by reducing costs and delays at www.borderlesswa.com.

Shea 2013: Global Perspectives coming to Abuja, Nigeria in March 2013

Shea 2013: Global Perspectives, the sixth annual conference of the Global Shea Alliance, will take place in Abuja, Nigeria, March 4-6, 2013, the Global Shea Alliance announced. “Shea connects people around the world, linking buyers and producers across the globe,” said Joe Funt, managing director of the Global Shea Alliance.

Business
USAID Trade Hub Business and Finance Director Roger Brou and Specialty Food Advisor Makhtar Thiam visited 13 Burkinabe specialty food companies to assist Burkina Faso’s Chamber of Commerce in selecting companies to participate in the upcoming Natural Products Expo East, Sept. 19-22, 2012 in Baltimore. The team was assisted by the AGOA Resource Center coordinator and addressed issues pertaining to product selection, packaging and labeling, food safety, and U.S. food regulation requirements.

United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk with USAID Trade Hub Director Vanessa Adams.

On July 11, 2012, United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk visited the USAID West Africa Trade Hub.

USTR at the USAID Trade Hub.flv

The USAID-UEMOA road governance initiative is targeting expansion to thousands of miles of additional trade corridors, funding permitting, the organizations announced at the project’s annual steering committee meeting in Cotonou, Benin.