Harnessing the potential of the services sector in Africa

Volume

5,

Number

4

-

18 May 2016

Services

Harnessing the potential of the services sector in Africa

19 May 2016

As countries across the African continent are striving to set in motion the structural transformation of their economies, understood as the shift to higher-value added economic activities, the services sector could play a pivotal role. The economic importance of services has significantly increased...

Services

Unlocking the potential of Africa’s services for structural transformation

19 May 2016

Bineswaree Bolaky

If Africa is to fully realise the benefits of development, services must play an enhanced role in its structural transformation and economic growth processes. This will require addressing some of the pitfalls underlying the regulation of Africa’s infrastructure services sector. Services have a...

Continental Free Trade Area

Approaching the CFTA services negotiations: Which way towards delivery by 2017?

19 May 2016

Viola Sawere, David Ndolo

What are the business challenges that need to be addressed in the CFTA services negotiations and how to engage with the private sector in this process? Is it possible for the agreement to embrace pro-competitive regulatory disciplines? What are the possible options for a successful conclusion by...

Services

SMEs in the services sector: New drivers of growth in Africa’s LDCs?

19 May 2016

Sonja Grater, Ali Parry, Wilma Viviers

How can SME service providers in Africa become key drivers of job creation and inclusive growth, and contribute to their countries’ socio-economic transformation? Today’s rapidly-changing world, fuelled in particular by ongoing advances in technology, is becoming a rich source of new economic...

Aid for Trade

Tailoring Aid for Trade to the services economy

19 May 2016

Dan Lui

After ten years of increasing support, how best can the Aid for Trade (AfT) initiative support countries to develop competitive services domestically, and encourage the growth of services exports? Since its launch at the WTO’s Hong Kong ministerial conference in 2005, the Aid for Trade (AfT)...

Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs)

Mega-regional agreements and global trade governance: Ensuring openness and inclusiveness in an increasingly complex system

19 May 2016

Fabian Bohnenberger

Mega-regional trade agreements erode WTO centricity and carry significant risks for countries excluded from the negotiations. The international community must identify ways to minimise these risks and find ways to ensure these trade deals can instead be a source of new opportunities, even for...

Africa

Newsroom

19 May 2016

EU trade chief calls for building on Nairobi momentum The results from last December’s WTO ministerial conference went well beyond expectations, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said in Geneva on 2 May, reiterating recent calls for the organisation’s members to draw on this momentum and...

Africa

Publications and resources

19 May 2016

Chinese imports from Africa: the impact of the recent commodity price declines – TRALAC – May 2016 The objective for this paper is to examine Chinese imports from Africa during 2015 and assess the extent to which falling global commodity prices have contributed to changes over more recent import...