Catch up with the Global Shea Alliance and other leading organizations involved in sustainability in the cosmetics industry at the fourth North American edition of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit in New York City.

www.globalshea.com

The Global Shea Alliance invites you to the Inaugural North American Shea Trade and Industry Conference and Luncheon, to be held May 13, 2013, at the Radisson Martinique on Broadway, New York City.

For more information and to register, visit www.globalshea.com

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).

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

The Trade Hub’s monthly newsletter, Tradewinds (www.watradehub.com/tradewinds) published this week focuses on the Salon International de l’Artisanat de Ouagadougou (SIAO) in October and includes a review of the Border Information Center on its first anniversary and a report on the Shea Quality Improvement Program launched by the Global Shea Alliance in June. A video interview of Inoussa Dao of Centre Lukare, a Trade Hub-assisted handcrafts exporter in Burkina Faso, and a video about the shea training workshops are also featured.

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.

Have a stake in the natural, organic, and healthy products industry? You should not miss Natural Products Expo East, taking place in Baltimore, Maryland. www.expoeast.com

Unearth the latest in home décor design trends at this summer's New York International Gift Fair, held at the Javits Center. www.nyigf.com

The Cracking the Nut 2012 Conference, taking place in Washington D.C., focuses on leveraging public private partnerships to develop rural and agricultural markets and helping identify investment opportunities at all points along dynamic rural and agricultural value chains.

www.crackingthenutconference.com/

The annual AGOA Forum is taking place in Cincinnati, Ohio. Read more about it in this Tradewinds article.