Madagascar - Economic Competitiveness Support Programme - Phase I (PACE-I)

The Economic Competitiveness Support Program (PACE) in Madagascar is part of the support initiatives for reforms to address post-crisis challenges, including the investment gap, which is one of the largest. The first phase of this program (PACE I), which is the subject of this support, aims at consolidating the gains of the previous programs (PARSE and PARGE) through the improvement of Madagascar's economic competitiveness and the promotion of investments. The program pays particular attention to the various factors that contribute to strengthening resilience and the fight against fragility, such as increasing investments to support the process of sustainable economic and social transformation, and improving infrastructure to open up the most remote economic areas of the country, and support for innovative approaches in agriculture focused on the development of agricultural growth poles and agribusiness platforms. The PACE I reform measures revolve around two components that are complementary and mutually reinforcing. Component 1 "Strengthening the Regulatory and Institutional Framework to Promote Public and Private Investment" will contribute to (i) creating a regulatory and institutional framework conducive to the promotion of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to finance structural infrastructure projects, and (ii) modernize the legal and institutional frameworks conducive to increased investment in agribusiness. The second component "Improving sectoral governance in support of economic competitiveness" will focus on improving the performance of the energy and transport sectors.