Multinational - Support ton Investment Promotion Agencies in Transition Countries Pilot Project: Liberia, Sierra Leone, Gambia

The proposed operation is a technical assistance of UA 2,310,420 for the Investment Promotion Agency Pilot Support Project in the transition countries. Despite the importance of the private sector activities, especially FDI inflows in creating jobs and supporting economic growth, the institutional weaknesses prevent the maximization of such investments. The project seeks to ameliorate this challenge (a) through targeted capacity building of the Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency, the Liberia National Investment Commission and The Gambia Investment and Export Promotion Agency and (b) generating quality investment leads from agreed external source investment markets. This program, initially conceived as comprising of 3 individual country projects, now proposes a single composite project for reasons of economy, opportunities for cross-learning and the similarity of activities to be undertaken. The project will directly benefit each country’s Investment Promotion Agency (IPA) and other relevant ministries and government bodies, local private enterprises and the general population, through enhanced employment and wealth-creating opportunities. It will be implemented over a period of 3 years, with the third year involving limited remote mentoring of around one day per week.