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Trade and Investment Example ProjectsThe International
Finance Corporation (IFC) hired JAA to set up an Economic Reform Unit (ERU)
in the Government of Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance. JAA was responsible for identifying the
most important analytic studies on Study on Non-Fiscal Incentives to Investment within
the The EAC had, as
part of its 5-year work program, three programs for "harmonizing"
trade, tax and investment. FIAS/WB worked with the IMF on the
investment "harmonization" issues and fiscal incentives (chiefly
corporate tax breaks and holidays, and tax/customs administration systems)
while FIAS/WB looked at non-fiscal incentives to capital and labor. JAA supported this
initiative by providing the services of a specialist in workforce and labor
issues. JAA looked at the incentives (and disincentives) given by JAA assisted the
Government of Uganda (GoU) to plan the merger of the Uganda Export Promotion
Board, the Uganda Investment Authority and the Uganda Tourist Board. The work was carried out under the Medium
Term Competitiveness Strategy (MTCS), and is intended to create a new
organization focused on providing priority, effective services to
business. JAA also worked extensively
with the Private Sector Foundation-Uganda (PSFU), an apex business
association entirely in the private domain.
JAA assisted PSFU to develop and begin to implement its strategic
plan, and to offer effective services to its membership. JAA also assisted the PSFU to jump-start a
process leading to the creation of a national competitiveness council (or
similar organization). Under the Uganda
SPEED Project, JAA assisted the Government of Uganda (GoU) to plan the merger
of the Uganda Export Promotion Board, Uganda Investment Authority and Uganda
Tourist Board. The work was carried out as part of the Medium Term
Competitiveness Strategy (MTCS). A merger of the UIA, UEPB and UTB had long
been discussed. President Museveni, in September 2001, mandated the merger,
conceived to improve results and achieve operating efficiencies related to
the promotion of investment, exports and tourism. The Ministry of Finance and
Economic Planning (MoFPED) requested JAA to provide assistance to design the
organization and work plan for the new entity, and the steps to be taken to
implement the change. A team of three consultants undertook this challenging
assignment. Because of the
sensitivity of the merger, the need to minimize disruptions and
uncertainties, and the need to effectuate a smooth transition, a very
transparent and step-wise process was conceived and implemented. SPEED was
not asked to comment on or reconsider the President’s decision, but only to
provide the optimum blueprint for implementation. The process was a valuable and innovative
one, which has informed subsequent sectoral, investment and competitiveness
thinking and implementation and subsequent government budget allocations. In
the course of the assignment, the team prepared several technical notes,
which continue to provide national guidance on matters concerning
business-led economic growth. JAA, as a subcontractor to Nathan
Associates for the USAID ZAMTIE Project, assisted the Government of Zambia
(GoZ) and local businesses bring about an improved trade and investment
environment. The project had three main components: (1) reducing barriers to
trade and investment; (2) capacity building in the public and private sectors
to facilitate economic growth and reduce poverty; and (3) fostering linkages
to optimize rural income-generating investment and trade opportunities
between and among producers, suppliers, processors, traders, service
providers, and consumers within and outside of Zambia. As part of this project JAA helped the
Tourism Council of Zambia (a private-sector organization), and its
membership, develop an organizational and service delivery strategy, followed
by an implementation plan. JAA carried out strategic/management
audits of four regional business service organizations: Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce, Kabwe
Chamber of Commerce ( For Unidad de
Coordinación del Programa de Reforma y Modernización del Sector Público
(UCRESEP), Edificio de la Vice-Presidencia de la República JAA carried out an
analysis of the light-manufacturing sector in Nicaragua as input to their
development strategy for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in
conjunction with the country’s investment promotion agency, Pro-Nicaragua.
JAA’s activities on the project were structured into three phases: Phase I: Sector Analysis—JAA compiled detailed
descriptions of the medical supply, leather-footwear, electronic component,
and wood furniture industries. These analyses included a description of the
general factors that influence general and sector–specific investment flows
and the principal factors that businesses, in each sector, use in determining
where to make foreign investments. Phase II: Competitive Sector Analysis—JAA provided
a study of Phase III: Sector-Specific Strategies—Based on the
previous analysis in Phase I and II, those sub-sectors with the highest
potential for sustainable growth were chosen for further study. A report was drafted that includes specific
policy recommendations to improve the business climate, and outlines prohibitive
factors to production/distribution in the short- and long-terms. Additionally, JAA
provided Pro-Nicaragua a list of at least one hundred potential investors in
each sub-sector, as well as brief narratives of successful investments in The World Bank’s
Rwanda Country Team is conducting assessments and supporting a discussion and
decision-making process to identify priorities to encourage sustainable,
significant economic growth in JAA is providing
analytic and process inputs to the preparation for the PRSC policy matrix and
the CEM. These inputs, and the tasks
and deliverables involved, will be developed in close interaction amongst the
Client, JAA and Rwandan stakeholders. The currently
authorized work is a Desk Study to provide a baseline of information about
priority actions needed to encourage economic growth in §
Review documents provided by the World Bank and other sources
to identify constraints and opportunities related to economic growth. These will be listed with brief descriptions
of the importance and impact of these themes. §
Recommend a framework for prioritizing economic growth issues §
Begin to identify missing information and key areas for
dialogue, analysis and decision-making. §
Recommend a methodology and next steps for further
investigating and establishing these economic growth priorities. The immediate next step should be carried
out in the context of a mission to The deliverable
includes a report detailing the findings and recommendations of the
consultants. Specifically, the report
provides: (i) an overview of key actions and strategies that have so far been
elaborated on Rwanda’s exports and growth potential, in the key export
sectors; (ii) an outline of the framework to be used in prioritizing these
actions to achieve Government targets for export as well as overall economic
growth; (iii) an assessment of the realism of achieving Government targets,
based on existing assessments of identified actions, along with a
prioritization of actions. As part of the
Diagnostics for Trade and Integration Study (DTIS), JAA conducted an in-depth
trade and industry competitiveness analysis on The objective of
this effort was the rapid but sustainable growth of the Laotian export
market, and foreign exchange generation.
The key to reaching the objective was engaging the local and regional
industries, governmental leadership, and supporting academic institutions in
ways that help jump-start initiatives in order to boost foreign exchange
revenues from tourism, agriculture and light manufacturing in the short to
medium term while improving the business environment for achieving these
results. The project was implemented in three stages: Stage 1:
Benchmarking Laotian Competitiveness.
JAA reviewed global and regional industry trends relevant to Laotian
exports such as coffee, apparel, tourism, wood products, and livestock
products. The subsequent analysis of
this information provided a national competitiveness benchmark against which
JAA could rank the current state of Laotian competitiveness in respect to
exports, investment, human resources, science and technology, infrastructure,
business environment and overall economic performance. Stage 2: Strategy
Development Workshops with Private and Public Sector Leaders. JAA developed a presentation on the current
competitiveness of Stage 3: Design of
Industry Cluster Export Strategies and Action Plans. Of the four to six original industries
engaged in Stages 1 and 2, JAA will proceed to map out a practical strategy
for at least three of the industries. The team will use a highly interactive
and participative methodology for engaging Laotian leadership groups so that
the strategies identified are both understood and supported by local
leaders. This strategy will focus on
the leading potential export growth sectors for JAA was uniquely
qualified for this assignment due to significant experience in conducting
export competitiveness initiatives in the region. The project was able to investigate the
demand-side issues for each of the clusters within the region. Through
connections into industries in the neighbor countries, the project was able
to collect information on the market opportunities for Lao companies to supply
downstream products for regional exports. Under the First and
Second Private Sector Competitiveness Projects which included several contracts,
the World Bank contracted JAA to study the constraints and necessary
improvements in the service and infrastructure platform for business
investment; the analysis emphasized the quality and competitiveness of the
infrastructure-based services and the related regulations and legislation,
with a particular focus on sectoral impact. JAA drafted a
Presidential Statement on investment policy and also provided the
sector-specific expertise to update the 1997 Administrative Barriers Study to
demonstrate the impact of administrative barriers on business’ ability to
implement competitive strategies. The JAA team also prepared a technical note
on AGOA-related procedures. Using the
Coffee, Fish Processing, and AGOA-related Apparel industries as examples, JAA
worked with the Foreign Investment Advisory Service (FIAS) to consider and
test new analytical approaches that link administrative barriers to
competitiveness priorities. The Administrative
Barriers to Investment Study provided the Foreign Investment Advisory Service
(FIAS) with analytical assessments and recommendations regarding taxation,
site development, business approval procedures, and comparisons between local
Turkish practices and international best practices. Preliminary
findings were delivered in a brief presentation to the staff of the Turkish
Treasury; final, more detailed reports were compiled, and published by FIAS. Investment
Promotion Agency Case Studies Tunisia, El Salvador, Uganda, Czech Republic FIAS and MIGA
contracted JAA to carry out a study of investment promotion agencies (IPAs)
in JAA, through a MIGA
contract with partner Nathan Associates, designed and delivered benchmarking
strategies to build the capacity of local investment promotion intermediaries
to market and realize sustainable investment opportunities in ROZ Work in JAA, as a
subcontractor to BearingPoint, participated in the feasibility study of
Reconstruction Opportunity Zones in the WorkJAA worked in
conjunction with Chemonics International to identify Nigerian agricultural
products with significant potential for increased national sales in the
export and regional markets. JAA
performed a cluster analysis on the identified products. The end goal of the project was to see a
quantifiable increase in the future
value of Nigerian agricultural products being sold as measured through
increases in profit and return on investment to investors as well as
corresponding increases in employment and income occurring in the
agricultural sector. For information on more projects related to Trade and Investment, please view our JAA Corporate Capabilities and Qualifications Document
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