International Development Grant
TFO Canada - CESO - Trade Capacity Building
Project Number: CA-3-S065525001
Status: Closed
Country/Region:
Maximum Contribution: $858,867.00
Start Date: July 05, 2012
End Date: December 31, 2014
Duration: 2.5 years
Project Description
This project aims to improve the export competiveness and readiness of 55 small and medium-size enterprises that employ approximately 4 000 people with a particular emphasis on businesses led by women. The project aims to provide trade-related advisory services to these firms and to help them establish connections with international markets particularly in Canada which in turn helps them generate new export sales and ultimately contributes to increased or improved employment opportunities in their own countries. Finally the project aims to increase the capacity of five local trade support institutions to deliver improved services that benefit local exporters in a sustainable way.
Expected Results
The expected outcomes for this project include: trade service institutions from target countries have strengthened their trade development services in a gender-responsive manner that benefits both female- and male-led businesses; trade service institutions from target countries are undertaking activities that improve their ability to attract and/or support women-led businesses; small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) particularly women-led businesses from target countries have improved their export competitiveness and/or readiness; and SMEs particularly women-led businesses from target countries have established linkages with international markets such as Canada and this has resulted in new export sales.
Progress & Results Achieved
Results achieved as of the end of the project (December 2014) include: - Nine trade support institutions from Bolivia Burkina Faso and Guyana have established new plans to deliver new/enhanced trade development services as well as new tools to assist them in their efforts to attract/support women-led businesses to use in their services. In Guyana for example the Guyana Arts and Craft Producers Association are now able to offer tax exemptions for their members and the Guyana National Bureau of Standards are now providing enhanced training and certification support for local agro-exporters; - 43 small and medium enterprise (SME) exporters and potential exporters including 26 women-led businesses from Bolivia Burkina Faso and Guyana have a greater awareness and practical knowledge of international market requirements trends and opportunities; - Six SMEs in Burkina Faso are participating in one export consortium that the project helped to establish; - 45 SME exporters from Bolivia Burkina Faso and Guyana including 25 women-led businesses have identified and/or undertaken changes/actions that will increase their export competitiveness including (for 20 of these SMEs) means to improve the environmental impact of their product and/or incorporate the environmental impact of their product in their export marketing; 12 of these SMEs have received new export marketing tools or assets through the project (e.g. photography brochures and export prices lists); - 23 SME exporters from Burkina Faso Bolivia and Guyana including 15 women-led businesses have improved their export competiveness/readiness (e.g. creation of new products changes to improve labour safety measures/procedures and worksite improvements undertaken to meet international food safety standards) including some that have made changes to improve the environmental impact of their activities; - 19 SME exporters from Bolivia Burkina Faso and Guyana including 15 women-led businesses have establish
Key Information
Executing Agency:
Consortium TFO Canada and CESO
Reporting Organization:
Global Affairs Canada
Program:
YFMInternaAssistPartnershp&Programing Br
Last Modified:
September 19, 2025
Development Classifications
DAC Sector:
Aid Type: Project-type interventions
Collaboration: Bilateral
Finance Type: Aid grant excluding debt reorganisation
Selection Mechanism:
Pre-APP