From Parts to Products: Why Trade Logistics Matter

Published on http://www.worldbank.org.

Washington, 24 July 2018 – Take a close look at your smart phone for a moment. What trade-lpi-2018-warehouse-shutterstockdo you see? A glass screen. A button equipped with fingerprint recognition. A camera lens, flashlight, microphone, and speaker. Each of these components, and others – including chips, processors, batteries – are independently sourced from companies located all over the world and assembled into a finished product at factories, often in China. Any smart phone you purchase, and its components, has likely passed through customs several times, landed on multiple countries and continents, and been touched by countless workers.

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eC2: Stocktaking of the Trade Facilitation Support Program

Deadline: 14-Aug-2018 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

The World Bank Group (WBG) is seeking an evaluation firm to undertake a mid-termworld money small stocktaking of the Trade Facilitation Support Program – a $40 million flagship technical assistance program administered by the WBG that supports countries in aligning their trade practices with the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). The firm should have strong knowledge of trade issues and demonstrated experience in evaluating global partnership programs and development projects, assessing results frameworks, implementation risks and M&E frameworks.

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Innovating for Growth in Latin America

STORY HIGHLIGHTSpsd-peru-students-780

  • The World Bank Group is helping countries across Latin America improve their policies and programs to encourage innovation.
  • To become competitive in global markets, companies need to adopt new technologies and better management practices.
  • Universities and the private sector are opening the lines of communication to align research with business and broader societal needs.

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eC2: Clean Technology Manufacturing value chain in Egypt

Deadline: 28-Feb-2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

The Government of Egypt (GoE) is one of T&Cs current clients. The country has committed light-bulb-297489_640to improving and promoting energy efficiency driven by the energy security risks associated with the pressures from growing population and rising fuel demand on its finite fossil fuel supply. This shortage of traditional fuels poses a serious challenge to the industrial growth of Egypt. The industrial sector energy demand amounts to approximately one third of final energy production. Yet energy efficiency within industries is not adequately exploited due to high energy subsidies, the lack of an effective policy framework, weak environmental law enforcement, and the lack of availability of clean technologies in the local market, among other factors.

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eC2: Baseline Survey on Women Entrepreneurs in Guinea

Deadline: 12-Dec-2016 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

A range of reasons is cited to explain gender differences in business performance in Africa.

Within those, the sector of operations is consistently identified as a major issue. The promotionalWorld Banks Africa Gender Innovation Lab and the World Bank Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice (henceforth the WB research team) is conducting an experiment to measure the impact of providing women entrepreneurs with adequate information, technical support, coaching and know-how, as well as necessary exposure, in succeeding as entrepreneurs in male dominated productive sectors.

In this context, the WB research team is seeking to contract a survey firm to develop and implement all aspects of a baseline survey of 1,000 women identified by the research team in the context of the Women Entrepreneurs and Crossing Over Impact Evaluation in Guinea.

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eC2: Global Investment Competitiveness Survey

Deadline: 07-Sep-2016 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

The Global Investment Competitiveness Survey aims to capture business perceptions on banknotes_640the role of investment climate factors in guiding foreign direct investment (FDI) decisions. The survey aims to analyze the investment-decision process of FDI firms across all the steps of their investment cycle (e.g., investment plans, entry, expansion, and exit). The survey also measures the importance of investment climate variables in influencing FDI decisions (e.g., investment incentives, promotion, regulations, administrative processes, etc.). We have developed a preliminary draft survey comprises around 30 questions that should take around 20-30 minutes to complete.

The survey firm will be responsible for pilot testing and implementing the survey. In person (face to face) or telephone follow up interviews of selected respondents and write up of a small set of case studies will also be required to complete the assignment.

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eC2: Sector Diagnostics for Competitiveness and Export Diversification for Bangladesh

Deadline: 24-Aug-2016 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice in Bangladesh intends to hire a consulting firm banknotes_640to assist in sector prioritization and value chains selection with a strategic perspective to contribute to Bangladesh’s economic growth agenda. The objective of this assignment will be to conduct a rapid sector diagnostic and prioritization with focus on potential export, jobs, SME intensity, investment generation etc. in Bangladesh. The sector analysis would review relative strengths and weaknesses of a number of high potential sectors, assessing global market opportunities and relative competition, including an indication of any binding obstacles at a sector level among local businesses that should be addressed in order to enhance competitiveness in these sectors. The analysis would build on existing sources of information on recent industry trends in each sector as well as a sector outlook for the future in order to identify the key drivers of competitiveness.

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Breaking Down Barriers: Unlocking Africa’s Potential through Vigorous Competition Policy

  • A new report finds that reducing the price of food staples by 10% could lift nearly half a million people out of poverty in Kenya, South Africa and Zambia alone.
  • African countries have much to gain from promoting competitive markets. Cartels, anticompetitive business practices, and rules that shield markets from competition are significant issues that increase prices for a variety of products.
  • Competition authorities have made progress in recent years, but many challenges remain. A starting point is to remove barriers to competition in critical sectors, such as cement, fertilizers and telecommunications.