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The European Union, in partnership with the Southern African Development Community (SADC), has launched the Africa Trade Competitiveness and Market Access (ATCMA) program, a €200 million initiative aimed at enhancing trade competitiveness, strengthening regional quality infrastructure, and boosting intra-African and Africa-EU trade.
This is aimed to improve the competitiveness of African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in high-potential value chains, develop harmonized systems for quality infrastructure, trade facilitation, and value chain development and promote sustainable industrial development, economic diversification, and integration into global trade systems.
It is also focusing on building harmonized systems for quality infrastructure, trade facilitation, and value chain development and covering five regional economic communities, including SADC, COMESA, EAC, ECCAS, and ECOWAS, with a focus on supporting SMEs and promoting sustainable business practices.
The program is jointly implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the International Trade Centre (ITC), with a strong emphasis on supporting women- and youth-led businesses and fostering economic inclusion.
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